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Production Directors

Russell Bolam - Acting Techniques and Production Director

RUSSELL BOLAM

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Trained at Middlesex University and GITIS Academy of Theatre Arts, Moscow.

Theatre includes The Woods, Cyrano de Bergerac, Crushed Shells and Mud, Three Sisters, The Seagull, Shivered (Southwark Playhouse) Beetlemania: Kafka for Kids!, The Titanic Orchestra (Pleasance Theatre) The Taming of the Shrew (Patalenitsa Shakespeare Festival), A Month of Sundays (Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch), The Monkey (Theatre 503), Marriage (Assembly), Uncle Vanya (St James Theatre), The Merry Wives of Windsor (Ivan Vazov), Ghost from a Perfect Place, In Skagway, The Road to Mecca (Arcola), The Roman Bath (Arcola Theatre/Ivan Vazov) Alfred (Vineyard Theatre) and Somersaults, Captain Oates’ Left Sock (Finborough) Three More Sleepless Nights, Fourplay (Tristan Bates Theatre) and The Physicists (Aphra Studio).

Russell is also a visiting director at Arts Ed, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Central School of Speech and Drama, East 15, LIPA, Oxford School of Drama, Rose Bruford College, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

 

Wiebke Green

WIEBKE GREEN

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Wiebke is a British-German theatre director based in London.

Wiebke works and has experience in four areas: text based theatre, live-streamed shows, live-cinema shows, & community theatre. She trained at The Orange Tree Theatre & as an intern director to Katie Mitchell. She is drawn to plays that explore grief, belonging, & foreground women.

Credits as Director: Tarantula (Southwark Playhouse), The Poltergeist (Southwark Playhouse/ Arcola), The Beast Will Rise (Tramp Theatre), Sadness and Joy in the Life of Giraffes (Orange Tree Theatre), Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands (Vault Festival), Heather‘s Wedding (Theatre503)
Credits as Intern Director to Katie Mitchell : Orlando (Schaubühne), Anatomie eines Suizids (Schauspielhaus Hamburg).
Credits as Assistant Director : Dealing with Clar (dir. Richard Twyman – Orange Tree Theatre) , Scrounger (dir. Lily McLeish – Finborough Theatre), The Beast of Blue Yonder (dir. Russell Bolam – ArtsEd London), Sirenia (dir. Jethro Compton – Edinburgh Fringe), The Frontier Trilogy (dir. Jethro Compton – Edinburgh Fringe).

Zoé Ford Burnett - PRODUCTION DIRECTOR

ZOÉ FORD BURNETT

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Zoé’s work as a director and associate director include credits at the RSC, Donmar Warehouse, Shakespeare’s Globe, Arcola Theatre, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.

She is currently Associate Director to Sam Mendes on the international award-winning play, The Lehman Trilogy.

Her Directing credits include: Close Quarters, 1984, Machinal, Julius Caesar, Octavia, MacbethHamletSonnetsRichard IIIRomeo and JulietA Life in TheatreTitus AndronicusBlood WeddingThe School for ScandalWounds, Click 2 Share.

Her Assistant Director credits include: Antony & Cleopatra, Earthworks, Les Liaisons DangereusesCloserTeddy FerraraThe VoteSplendourHenry V.

Zoé was previously Artistic Director of Hiraeth Artistic Productions and resident assistant director at the Donmar Warehouse.

Zoé is an LSDA graduate, she completed our Advanced Diploma in Acting programme in the Summer of 2010.

 

Samantha Robinson - Acting and Director

SAMANTHA ROBINSON

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Samantha Robinson is an Actress, Director, Writer and Teacher who trained at Rose Bruford College where she won the Laurence Olivier bursary award.

Her theatre acting credits include: Two (New Vic), Rita, Sue and Bob Too (Royal Court Theatre), Screwed (Theatre 503), Educating Rita (Mercury Colchester), The Grand Gesture (Northern Broadsides), Proper Clever and Dead Heavy Fantastic (Liverpool Everyman/Playhouse), The Tempest (Royal Exchange), Three Sisters On Hope Street (Hampstead Theatre), Order and Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down (The Lantern), The House Of Bernada Alba (Nuffield Theatre), The Laramie Project (Leicester Square), The Lemon Princess (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Untouchable (The Bush Theatre) and Song of the Western Men (Chichester Festival Theatre).

Television credits include: Little Boy Blue (ITV), Cilla (ITV), Five Days (BBC), The Girls Who Came to Stay (Granada), Shameless (Channel Four), Island at War (Granada), Final Demand (BBC), Holby CityDoctors and Casualty.

Film includes: Sixty Six (Working Title), and Jamaica Me Crazy (VBM Productions LTD); also FunTimes, a short film she wrote, and From Lewisham to Llandudno, a film she wrote and directed for LSDA through the initial national lockdown of 2020.

Samantha’s recent directing credits include: Blink (The Lion and Unicorn), The Toad In The Hole (Barons Court), Motherhood Or Madness (Katzpace), Me, Mum and The Patriarchy (Tour/Tristan Bates), Darknet (The Union Theatre), and Attempts On Her Life (Drayton Arms Theatre). During Lockdown she created and directed the play Crazy For Loving You with LSDA’s 2020 graduating students for their socially-distanced graduation project. This can also be seen on YouTube.

Samantha is the Creative Director of theatre company Tiny Wife Productions. 

Acting Tutor and Production Director

GEORGINA SOWERBY

Read Georgina's Biography

Georgina graduated from the Drama Centre London in 1994. As an actress, she has worked for The National, NT Studio, The Royal Court, The Almeida, Tron/Glasgow, The Wrestling School, The Unicorn Theatre for children. She’s was a member of Di Trevis’s Workshop and has recently acted at Soho Theatre. Georgina is founder and co-director of the company Dirty Market with Jon Lee. Georgina co-founded Moving Arts Initiatives, devising mixed media events for children and their families in Peckham. She assisted Gay Sweatshop Artistic Co-Director James Neale-Kennerley in his work at Drama Centre London from 1996-99. As well as her work at LSDA she teaches acting and directs at a number of London acting schools. 

Jason Lawson

JASON LAWSON

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Jason trained at LAMDA and Mountview  

Jason was awarded MA in World Theatres from University of London in 2021 and holds a BA (Hons) English and Drama from University of Leeds.  

Directing credits include: Kissing Sid James (Jermyn Street, 59e59St NYC); Not a Game for Boys (King’s Head); Christmas Concerts (Chichester Festival Theatre); Charlie & Henry (New End Theatre); Danny’s Wake & Huge (King’s Head, Edinburgh Pleasance); Sleeve Notes (Southwark Playhouse, Theatre 503, Union Theatre); Some Afternoons, Red Sky, Blue Sky (Hen & Chickens, Bridge House); Quinto Quarto & The Rose Garden (Union Theatre); Premature Burial (Corsica Arts Studio).  

Associate Director credits: Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead (Old Vic), Passion Play (Duke of Yorks’ UK Tour); Backbeat (London, Toronto & Los Angeles) 

Resident Director credits: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Playhouse) 

Assistant Director credits: Arcadia (Barrymore, NYC), Through a Glass Darkly, New York Theatre Workshop); Being Shakespeare (Harold Pinter Theatre); In A Dark Dark House (Almeida), Triptych (Southwark Playhouse) Nicholas Nickleby Parts 1&2(Chichester Festival Theatre, Gielgud Theatre, UK Tour); The Syndicate (Chichester Minerva Theatre, UK Tour), Tryptych (Southwark Playhouse), The Pagans (Abingdon Theatre NYC). 

Jason is a Visiting Lecturer at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama 

Senior Foundation Acting Tutor & Director at Mountview (2018-2021) 

Residency Director at Almeida 2008-2010 

Resident Associate Director Extempore Theatre Company 2003-2010) 

Associate Education Director at Southwark Playhouse (2005-2006)

 

Adam Meggido - Production Director

ADAM MEGGIDO

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Adam studied drama at Birmingham University and trained as an actor at Webber Douglas – although he cites his years with Claude Chagrin (formerly of LeCoq) at the French Institute as the most important part of his training. From 1995-1999 he was a director of Counterpoint Theatre, an innovative company which merged business with the arts.   Adam founded The Sticking Place with Paul Cronin in 2001. In 2013 The Sticking Place Theatre Company was renamed Extempore Theatre to reflect its ongoing commitment to improvisation in performance.

He created Britain’s first Festival of Horror Theatre and Grand Guignol, playing annually since 2004 (Soho Theatre, Southwark Playhouse); co-created Showstopper! The Improvised Musical with Dylan Emery (Winner of an Olivier Award 2016, Winner of the Spirit Of The Fringe Award 2009, nominated for 2 MTM Awards and a Chortle Comedy Award); created the London 50-Hour Improvathon; and enjoyed a five-year collaboration with Ken Campbell, creating The School Of Night (Winner Spirit Of The Fringe Award 2012) and In Pursuit Of Cardenio.

His musical Burlesque (composer/co-author/co-lyricist) won three Off West End Musical Awards in 2011 including Best New Musical. He then went on to write music and lyrics for Tailor Made Man at the Arts Theatre 2013. With Counterpoint he performed in, directed, developed and produced a number of plays and musicals including the first uncensored revival of Willis Hall’s classic The Long And The Short And The Tall (Albery, West End); Punch Junkies by Greg Hobbs (Critics’ Choice The Scotsman); Stand-Up by Roy Smiles (Critics’ Choice Time Out); The Streets of Dublin (Brixton Shaw); The Greenhouse Effect (Riverside Studios) and the glam-rock award-winning musical extravaganza Saucy Jack And The Space Vixens (Queen’s Theatre, West End and UK tour). Directing credits include As You Like It and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Natural Perspectives, One Small Thing, Robin Hood (Creation Theatre); and as Sticking Place director – Psychogeography, The Better Half, The Lie, Dark Meaning Mouse, End of the Sentence, Reanimator, The Premature Burial, My Favourite Murder, The Disappearance, two of his own plays – Stress and Best Men – for the Guerrilla Theatre Experiment, and Burlesque at Jermyn Street Theatre.

He also wrote and directed of Chaos of Delight (Soho Theatre) and Teenager In Love for the National Youth Theatre’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

 
Bruce Guthrie - Production Director

BRUCE GUTHRIE

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Bruce recently assumed the role of HEAD OF THEATRE & FILM at the NATIONAL CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS in Mumbai, India.

On taking up his role at NCPA, Bruce shares his vision, “It is a tremendous honour to have been asked to be the Head of Theatre & Film at the National Centre for the Performing Arts. During my first visit here to direct Mansi Multani & Jim Sarbh in CONSTELLATIONS in November 2018 (which will play again in November 2019 with the same cast), I couldn’t have been made to feel more welcome by the theatre team, the staff and members of the talented theatre and film community. I look forward to getting to know the many celebrated theatre companies and actors, across the vast range of languages, traditions and styles during the coming months and working with the community. As I join, we are celebrating 50 years of NCPA. This organisation represents ambitious dreams being realised. Our goal is to honour that ambition by creating, facilitating and curating work side by side with rigorous creative training programmes that push the limits of the possible. I look forward to collaborating with local, national and International Artists create, facilitate and curate work that will capture the imagination of the people of Mumbai, India and the World.”

Directing credits include: CONSTELLATIONS (NCPA, Mumbai); MAN TO MAN (Wilton’s Music Hall, UK tour & Brooklyn Academy of Music); RENT (St James Theatre & UK tour); THE LAST MERMAID with Charlotte Church (Festival of voice Wales Millennium Centre); MAN TO MAN by Manfred Karge (Wales Millennium Centre & Edinburgh Festival 2015); LOTTY’S WAR by Giuliano Crispini & Clare Slater (UK Tour); BAKERSFIELD MIST starring Kathleen Turner & Ian McDiarmid (Duchess Theatre); AN INCIDENT AT THE BORDER by Kieran Lynn (Finborough & Trafalgar Studios); THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, OTHELLO & TWELFTH NIGHT for Singapore Repertory Theatre (Fort Canning Park, Singapore); STORIES BY HEART written by and starring multi award-winning actor John Lithgow (Lyttelton NT).

Leadership roles: Member of The Guildford School of Acting’s Advisory Board; Artistic Director of the NATIONAL YOUTH THEATRE OF WALES, directing THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE in 2015 and ROMEO & JULIET in 2016; Associate Artist for Papatango 2011 & 2012.

Concerts & Events: HRH The Prince of Wales 70th Birthday Celebration SW7: Sam Warburton’s Testimonial Year for NSPCC Wales 2018 & 2019; The Welsh Guards Centenary Celebration in 2015 for the Welsh Guards Charity; St David’s Day Celebration for HRH The Prince of Wales 2013.

Training: BA Honours in Acting at Guildford School of Acting. As a Director: The National Theatre Studio and with Howard Davies, Sir Richard Eyre, Deborah Warner & Sam Mendes.

 

Caroline Devlin - Production Director

CAROLINE DEVLIN

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Caroline Devlin graduated from The Drama Centre London in 1995 and has enjoyed working at such theatres as The Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh, where she was a regular member of the company for various seasons playing many parts, including Masha in Chekhov’s Three Sisters, Hero in Much Ado About Nothing, Lady Macduff in Macbeth, Arte O’Neill in Boucicault’s The Shaughraun, and Wendy in Barrie’s Peter Pan. She has also played Marina in Pericles (Greenbelt Theatre Company), Michaela in Carmen, Gwen in Merlin (Citizen’s Theatre Company-Glasgow), Miranda/Ariel in The Tempest and Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (both Actors From The London Stage). Caroline’s television and radio projects include Casualty and The History Man, Ruth Rendell’s Lake of Darkness and played alongside Albert Finney in My Uncle Silas. Caroline’s more recent theatre projects include Spring Awakening (Union Theatre), Open Ground (Theatro Technis), Roots (Royal Exchange, Manchester) and Creation Theatre Company’s productions of Oxford Passion, Measure for Measure, Much Ado About Nothing and Othello. Caroline spent the later part of 2009 touring the U.S. with Actors From The London Stage with in a production of King Lear. When not working as an actress, Caroline directs professionally on a wide range of projects, most recently for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Sydenham Arts Festival. Caroline also teaches at many leading London drama schools where she specializes in text analysis, the Stanislavski and Method approaches, and classical text. Caroline is a professional singer working on an acoustic album of ambient Celtic music with Matt Eaton and will later in the year direct in London the rarely-performed Debussy Opera Pelleas et Mellesande.

 

Matt Steinberg - Text Analysis and Production Director

MATT STEINBERG

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Matt is an award winning Director and Actor. He trained at HB Studio, New York, and with the Shakespeare’s Globe International Actors’ Fellowship, London. Directing credits include Art and Scope (Tarragon Theatre) and Prime Targets (Toronto Fringe). Matt was also an Assistant Director for The Canadian Stage Company’s Romeo and Juliet, A Time to Reap (Royal Court), and Secret Theatre (Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith). He trained at HB Studio, New York, and with the Shakespeare’s Globe International Actors’ Fellowship, London. 

 

Ruth Carney-Nash - Production Director

RUTH CARNEY-NASH

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Ruth has an MA in Theatre Directing from The Russian Theatre Academy Moscow, and Middlesex University. Ruth recently directed the acclaimed productions of Order and Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down at Sheffield’s Lantern Theatre. Prior to this she was been Associate Director to Olivier and Tony Award winning Director Matthew Warchus on Ghost the Musical currently running at The Piccadilly Theatre London and The Lunt Fontanne Theatre, New York. For Sheffield Theatres Ruth was Associate Director and in the inaugural season after reopening, she directed the highly acclaimed verbatim play Sisters. Ruth was Associate Director to Matthew Warchus on Lord of the Rings at The Theatre Royal Drury Lane, and the national Tour of Our House. Ruths’ directing credits include Touched at Latitude and Oxford Playhouse; A Model Girl, Greenwich Theatre; the UK Professional Premiere of The Laramie Project and the World Premiere of The Lemon Princess at The West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds. Other directing credits include: Les Liaisons Dangerous; My Matisse; Blue Remembered Hills; Measure for Measure; The Sea; Music Lessons; Family; Company; Mina Laury; Emma and Oleanna. Ruth is the Director and founder of the Carney Academy, a performing arts academy based in Sheffield.

 

Charlotte Conquest - Production Director

CHARLOTTE CONQUEST

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Charlotte has a proven career as a versatile, contemporary Director. She works successfully in a range of genres having directed musicals, new writing, opera, and classical texts. Work includes directing main-house productions at The Northcott Theatre such as Alan Ayckbourn’s Bedroom Farce and Alan Bennett’s Single Spies, a new adaptation of The Turn of the Screw and a studio production of a new play, A Curlew’s Cry. Freelance work includes re-directing Abigail’s Party for a national tour (Hampstead/Bath Theatre Royal Productions), directing Elsie and Norm’s Macbeth (Salisbury Playhouse), tour director on London Cuckolds (National Theatre), and directing 14 hugely successful productions for Creation Theatre including Othello, Twelfth Night and the Snow Queen. Charlotte has a wealth of experience directing site-specific projects including a new version of Henry V in Oxford Castle, a live jousting and acrobatic spectacular version of The Green Knight in a big top on Clapham Common, and an extended sell-out run of Doctor Faustus at Blackwell’s Bookshop, Oxford. Musical work includes directing Legally Blonde, Jerry Springer and Spring Awakening (GSA), resident director on Trevor Nunn’s Olivier award winning South Pacific (National Theatre), director on a new musical version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (North Wall Arts Centre) and most recently book writer and director of a new musical, Not the End of the World (YMT performed at The Barbican, Plymouth). Charlotte has worked at Shakespeare’s Globe and with Oxford Stage Company and Kent Opera as a movement director. TV work includes directing Doctors (BBC). 

 

DAVID NEWMAN

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Trained at the University of Warwick and the National Theatre Studio Director’s Programme. In 2000 David was awarded an Arts Council Bursary to work as Trainee Director at Nottingham Playhouse under Giles Croft. He was Resident Director at Sheffield Theatres working alongside Michael Grandage on the 2003/04 season and assisting Nikolai Foster on A Chorus Line, Anna Mackmin on The Crucible, Michael Grandage on A Midsummer Nights Dream and Timothy Sheader on Piaf. As Director: Girl in the Goldfish Bowl (Sheffield Theatres), The Jazz Conductor (Sheffield Theatres), Kitty’s Story (Nottingham Playhouse, Roundabout), When the Wind Blows (Southwark Playhouse), Bitter Fruit of Palestine (Caird Company at Barons Court), I Am a Camera (Caird Company), Angels in America (Warwick Arts Centre), The Country Wife (Rose Bruford College), selected for the 50th Sunday Times National Student Drama Festival at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, The American Clock (Rose Bruford), Twelfth Night (Rose Bruford), Company (Welsh College of Music and Drama) Also two platform performances of The Haunted House and Casina by Plautus at the National Theatre (Olivier). In 2006 David worked for a month as Associate Director at the National Theatre Studio where he developed new plays by William Gaminara, Diane Samuels and Joe Fisher. He was also invited to lead a Director’s Week on Restoration Comedy. David is a selector for the National Student Drama Festival. 

 

HAMISH GRAY

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Hamish has worked extensively as both a Director and Actor since training at the Arts Educational School of Acting in 1995. He was artistic director of Two Colour Theatre Company who were the resident company at the Tabard Theatre for five years where he directed four Time Out Critic’s Choice productions. Hamish also teaches and guest directs at several drama schools. 

 

PAUL ROBINSON

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Paul is Joint Artistic Director of Olivier Award-nominated Theatre503 for whom he has directed: Land of Our Fathers, A Handful of Stars, The Life of Stuff, Desolate Heaven, The Swallowing Dark, Life for Beginners, Salt Meets Wound, Mark Ravenhill’s Manor House, Epic (Latitude Festival), The Charming Man, They Have Oak Trees in North Carolina (503/R4) and The Lifesavers (503/Colchester Mercury) for which he received a TMA nomination. Other recent credits include the West End premiere of Athol Fugard’s Hello and Goodbye (ETT/Trafalgar Studios) and Breakfast with Mugabe (Bath Theatre Royal). He also directed Who Killed Mr Drum? (Riverside Studios), World’s End (Pleasance / Trafalgar Studios) and the West End transfer of Tom Stoppard’s Rock & Roll. Having graduated from The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, he received the Arts Council Bursary at the Manchester Royal Exchange where he directed Phil Porter’s Isolated Children in Far Away Places. He was further selected to attend the National Theatre Studio’s Directors’ Course. He was then Staff Director on five productions at the National Theatre, where he also directed David Mamet’s Duck Variations. He is a fervent advocate of new writing and has developed new plays at many of the country’s leading theatres 

RÓISÍN MCBRINN

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Róisín’s most recent work was directing Crestfall at Theatre 503, Roberto Zucco by Bernard-Marie Koltes at LAMDA and Sleeping Beauty at the Helix Theatre Dublin. Other projects include The Field (Tricycle); Tejas Verdes (b*spoke at Project Dublin); Whereabouts (Fishamble Theatre Co); A Thousand Yards (Southwark); References To Salvador Dali Make Me Hot (Arcola); Gompers (Arcola) and Giants Have Us In Their Books (International Studio Dublin, Nominated Best Production, Dublin Fringe Festival). Other work includes Smaller as resident director for Kathy Burke (with Dawn French and Alison Moyet on UK tour/West End); Shoot The Crow as staff director for Robert Delamere (Sonia Friedman/West End); Fuddy Meers as staff director for Angus Jackson (Scamp /Arts Theatre) and The Quare Fellow as staff director for Kathy Burke (OSC tour). Roisin was resident Asst. Director at the Donmar (03-04) working with Michael Grandage on After Miss Julie and Caligula as well as Pacific Overtures; Hotel In Amsterdam and Accidental Death Of An Anarchist. She won the Young Vic/Jerwood Young Director’s Award in 2004. 

 

SIGGI LINDAL

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Siggi trained as an actor at the Arts Educational London School of Acting. He has worked extensively as an actor both in the UK and in his native Iceland, working both in traditional text based forms, and in forms more concerned with improvisation and physical embodiment. Siggi has more than 50 directing credits to his name. From 2000 – 2003 he was the Associate Director of Two Colour Theatre Company, the resident company at the Tabard Theatre. During his residency at the Tabard Theatre many critically acclaimed productions were mounted, both premieres of new work and revivals of forgotten masterpieces. Siggi has been teaching and directing at drama schools for over a decade. He recently completed an MA in Arts Policy and Management from Birkbeck College, University of London. Siggi has written, co-written and adapted numerous scripts, translated a number of plays and written several pieces for newspapers. He has worked with a number of new playwrights, both as director of workshop performances of new work and as a script advisor. 

 

ZACHARY JAMES

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Zachary was recently Associate Director at the National Theatre where he worked on Yellow Face by David Henry Hwang. Other theatre includes: as director– Tree of Seeds, Challenge, Hippolytus, Headstate, Terrorism, The Libertine, Unique, Special and Exactly the Same, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Death Wedding, and South Kentish Town for LSDA; as co-director – The Living Museum, The Lesson; as assistant director – Sleuth, Spoon Fed Sugar

His film work includes: Devil’s Resting Place, We Own the Night, Boogieman, Bringing People Together, Valentine’s Day Takeover, Festival, Cuffed, See the Light.