Tim McFarlane was the General Manager of the Adelaide Festival Centre and the Adelaide Festival from 1986 to 1994. From 1994 until 2013 he was the Managing Director of The Really Useful Company Asia Pacific and oversaw the company’s expansion into Asia with productions of Cats, The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber and The Phantom of the Opera. The company was a pioneer, opening up markets to musical theatre, including Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, China and Taiwan. In association with The Really Useful Company he produced the Australian productions of The Phantom Of The Opera, Sunset Boulevard and Love Never Dies.
Tim joined the Ambassador Theatre Group in 2013 and was CEO Asia Pacific until 2017. Productions at ATG included The Rocky Horror Show, Ghost, Thriller and 1984 The Play.
Tim was appointed Executive Chairman of Trafalgar Entertainment Asia-Pacific since September 2018. Trafalgar secured a 55-year lease on the Theatre Royal Sydney in 2020.
Tim is a Life Member of Live Performance Australia and is a former President of the Association. From 1997 until 2006, he was a Trustee of the Sydney Opera House, a was a Director of Opera Australia from 2007 until 2021. Tim was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2016 for services to the Performing Arts.