RTYDS Directors
The past participants of our schemes form an impressive list – many of the directors are now, or have been, artistic directors of some of the UK’s leading theatres.
- Sam Holley-Horseman
- Director
- Sameena Hussain
- Associate Director
- Leeds Playhouse
- Jay Zorenti-Nakhid
- Associate Director
- The Belgrade Theatre
- Madeleine Kludje
- Associate Artistic Director
- The Birmingham Repertory Theatre
- Nickie Miles-Wildin
- Resident Associate Director at Royal Exchange Theatre
- Daniel Bailey
- Associate Artistic Director
- Bush Theatre
“The RTYDS 18-Month residency, has been the best scheme for my artistic development, it has given me the confidence, skills and relevant experience to pursue a career as an artistic leader. The support has been invaluable, the positive impact unmistakable. The city and the building (Birmingham Rep) have nurtured my ambition and the connection to the communities and artists in Birmingham has been life changing.”
- Taio Lawson
- Genesis Fellow
Young Vic
“My time as an RTYDS resident director was invaluable. You can’t get that hands on training anywhere else, and the lessons I learnt over the eighteen months will stick with me for the rest of my career. I was exposed to texts that I hadn’t had the chance to play with before, and got the chance to understand some key aspects of running a building, which were far more complicated than I initially thought. I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
- Elayce Ismail
- Freelance Director & Artistic Associate
- Music Theatre Wales
- Rebecca Frecknall
- Associate Director
- Almeida Theatre
“My RTYDS placement threw me into the heart of one of the UK’s top producing theatres, allowing me a rare and thorough insight into the role of the Artistic Director and the importance of Regional theatre. The 18 month bursary allowed me to focus fully on my craft and ambitions as an artist and gave me the opportunity to direct my first professional production. The RTYDS is one of the most important and influential schemes of its kind and joining its alumni was a turning point for me in my career.”
- Jesse Jones
- Artistic Director
- Royal & Derngate
- Co- Artistic Director
- The Wardrobe
“Working at Royal and Derngate on my 18 month RTYDS residency has been invaluable in my development as a theatre director. Not only have the skills learnt in the rehearsal room continued to seep into my practise as a director but the unparalleled access to the running of an organisation has massively contributed to the development of my company The Wardrobe Ensemble. The theatre has continued to support and grow the company from studio spaces to the mid scale. The relationships with collaborators and organisations made while on RTYDS are meaningful, exciting and game-changing. All there really is to say about RTYDS is ‘DO IT!’”
Photo © Emma Hare
- Natalie Ibu
- Artistic Director
- Northern Stage
“My year at the Royal Court in 2008/9 was a game-changer but in ways I could never have imagined. I spent a year developing my craft and confidence on the most eclectic portfolio of work and watching the secret magic that happens when you bring an extraordinary voice together with interrogative directors and bold actors. My residency harnessed instincts that – previously – were born out of closing my eyes, clenching my teeth, muddling through the dark and transformed them into a process. I learnt that answers are overrated and it’s all about asking questions and I learnt about the culture and rhythms of a building. RTYDS is where it really all began – it made me the director and artistic director I am today.”
Photo © Robert Day
- Jo Newman
- Director
“The RTYDS residency was a totally brilliant and hugely valuable opportunity to understand all aspects of running a producing theatre through assistant directing opportunities, directing opportunities, programming, working with emerging artists and on a range of projects across the building and beyond. It involved relocating from Birmingham to Salisbury, getting to know Salisbury Playhouse’s audience and creative community and connecting up with other South West organisations. And support from RTYDS to learn and develop and be part of a network of RTYDS bursary recipients. Following on from the residency I was offered role of Associate Director to build on the work I’d started and I’m still there. I can’t emphasise how beneficial this opportunity was to my professional development – it enabled me to hone my skills as a director, gain an intrinsic understanding of the running of a regional producing theatre and build a really meaningful relationship with that building and region. RTYDS are life changers.”
Photo © Barbara-Leatham
- Matthew Xia
- Artistic Director
- Actors Touring Company
“The work I’m making now is a direct result of my RTYDS residency at Liverpool, I fell in love with the North and stayed.”
Photo © Robert Day
- Jack McNamara
- Artistic Director
- Live Theatre
- Max Webster
- Associate Director
- Donmar Warehouse
The placement totally changed my career. Before that I was kicking around, mixing bar work, fringe shows and some assisting. A year at the Exchange in Manchester helped me understand professional theatre from the inside out: what programming is; how you might start thinking about a theatre’s audience; and, perhaps most importantly, where I might fit in within the mad system of British theatre. At the end of the year they took a big chance on me and offered me a show. It was a big act of trust. And to this day I am extremely grateful.
Photo © Kaitlin Randolph
- Vicky Featherstone
- Artistic Director
- Royal Court Theatre
“The value and cultural importance of the scheme cannot be underestimated. The rigorous and challenging selection process is possibly the most terrifying thing I have ever done. The opportunity to be immersed in all areas of the theatre business and creation of work and as a developing director to find a home for 18 months to learn, watch and think is unrivalled. There is no doubt in my mind that without this extraordinary chance I would not have had the experience or confidence to be the director I am or to have set up the National Theatre of Scotland.”
Photo © Rebecca Reid
- Elizabeth Newman
- Artistic Director
- Pitlochry Festival Theatre
“RTYDS is an invaluable organisation that helps us make a difference to the national landscape”
Photo © Joel Chester Fildes
- Nikolai Foster
- Artistic Director
- Curve Theatre, Leicester
“I owe my career to this apprenticeship and it means a great deal to me that Curve will welcome a trainee during my first year as Artistic Director. The RTYDS recognises the need for true diversity throughout the arts and the importance of encouraging theatre makers from all backgrounds, ensuring British theatre better reflects the world we live in.”
Photo © John Hunter
- Topher Campbell
- Director
“If you are serious about being a director this is the scheme to get on. It really set me up in terms of understanding the industry and helping me get to grips with the craft of directing. I did my first professional show as part of the scheme. It would be great to see many more young Black directors coming forward and taking the opportunities that this scheme has to offer.”
- Rupert Goold
- Artistic Director
- Almeida Theatre
“RTYDS changed my life. It’s the best scheme of its kind.”
Photo © Johan Persson
- Douglas Rintoul
- Chief Executive
- New Wolsey Theatre
“The scheme is a crucial initiative, which identifies and nurtures the theatre-makers of tomorrow. It is of untold benefit, for it offers a unique opportunity to emerging artists – a sustained, long-term involvement in the development of theatre in a major regional theatre. In a culture in which, too often, experience is gained piecemeal, on a project-by-project basis, this is a year-long connection to the creation of drama, following through processes from first plans to first nights. It affords, also, the chance for young directors to see how artistic decisions are made; to engage with, and collaborate with, other artists; to develop confidence, skill, leadership and, above all, vision; to bridge the divide between small-scale work and main-stage productions; and to be part of the day-to-day management of a producing theatre.”
Photo © Zbigniew Kotkiewicz
- Robin Belfield
- Director
“The time I spent at The Nuffield Theatre in Southampton equipped me, not only with skills for the rehearsal room, but also skills needed to lead a company. Most valuable of all though was the opportunity to try ideas, succeed and sometimes fail, within a supportive, creative environment.”
- Theresa Heskins
- Artistic Director
- New Vic Theatre, Stoke on Trent
“RTYDS taught me that I didn’t want to run a building. So…that must be why I’m here at Staffordshire’s New Vic, relishing the opportunity RTYDS gives me to persuade the next generation of directors of the value of an audience-focused, culture-defining, regional theatre adventure.”
Photo © Andrew Billington
- Dominic Hill
- Artistic Director
- Citizens Theatre, Glasgow
“The RTYDS gave me an invaluable opportunity to discover practically how a regional producing theatre operates – and above all to start working on a main house stage. My journey to the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow can be directly traced backed to my time on the RTYDS and the doors it opened for me 20 years ago”
Photo © Eamonn McGoldrick
- Daniel Buckroyd
- Artistic Director
- Lichfield Garrick Theatre
- Clare Lizzimore
- Director
“I can’t imagine a better training. It is rigorous, fun, and utterly life changing – a real privilege to be offered the space to challenge your own tastes, to be part of a culture and to learn how artistic programmes are forged. It is rare thing to be given a safe training umbrella under which you can be bold, make mistakes and really chase what the craft of directing is, and in this way to really hone your directing skills; sharpening the tool kit that you will carry with you long after the year is complete.”
Photo © Teddy Wolff
- Lorne Campbell
- Director
- Serdar Biliş
- Director
“Where opportunities for an emerging director are scarce this scheme is a gold-mine. The scheme enabled me to take my first steps in a supportive and inspiring environment. I am hugely indebted.”
Photo © Danska Saroee
- Jo Combes
- New Writing Development Manager
- BBC Worldwide
“When I won my bursary to the Royal Exchange Theatre in 2002, I was thrown into the deep end of theatrical life. The bursary gave me an existence as a director in my own right that I would never otherwise have had, and it allowed me to form a relationship with a very special theatre building that I would, without the scheme, never have experienced. I am now, officially, an Associate Director here, and have graduated from the Studio to the Main House. The scheme has changed my life in so many ways, it made me the director that I am now and the things I learnt on my year play into my rehearsal room on a daily basis.”
- Femi Elufowoju jr OBE
- Creative Director
- Elufowoju jr Ensemble
“The scheme has undoubtedly changed my life and career path. Back then (1996), prior to the award I was an emerging director faced with limited resources and opportunities to kick start a burning ambition. The scheme came to the rescue and after a year’s attachment at Theatre Royal Stratford East, I was armed with confidence and multi-skills to set up my own theatre company and produce drama contributing to the grand design of Britain’s vast and diverse theatre landscape.”
Photo © Adrian Lourie
- John Tiffany
- Director
“Looking at a list of the key figures in British Theatre it’s hard to find someone who didn’t begin their careers as part of this scheme. It’s incredible, really. What’s also fundamental to its success is the way the scheme’s facilitators seem to be able to place young directors in an environment where they will thrive. I was fortunate to be placed at the Traverse in 1995 working with both Ian Brown and Philip Howard at a time when playwriting in Scotland was entering a golden age. Being part of this scheme defined the director I wanted to be and gave me the resources to become it.”
- Jez Bond
- Artistic Director
- Park Theatre
“The scheme gave me a wonderful opportunity to train at a major regional theatre, where I gained not just directing experience but an understanding of the running of a large scale theatre building, its staff and its audiences. These twelve months particularly inspired me and enabled me to grow as a director.”
- Sarah Punshon
- Artistic Director
- One Tenth Human
“The time I spent at the West Yorkshire Playhouse was incredibly educational – I worked with brilliant actors, directors, designers and writers; learned how a big theatre works; developed several projects of my own; directed in big and small spaces; and generally had 18 months of life-changing experiences. Ever since, the contacts, knowledge and skills have been helping me, leading me into new opportunities, and shaping my career.”
- Dominic Leclerc
- Director
“The scheme was seminal in my development as a director. As Resident Director at Sheffield Theatres in Michael Grandage’s final year with the theatre, I assisted on many of the shows, as well as choreographing much of the season. The scheme gave me the confidence to direct on large, epic stages, and allowed me to develop my craft within a supported and inspirational environment.”
- Adrian Noble
- Theatre Director
“This has been a model scheme for young directors and has certainly been a landmark in many careers, including my own. The dedication shown in the search for talented young directors and the skill put into match-making director with theatre has been exemplary.”
Photo © Ken Howard
- Psyche Stott
- Theatre Director
“I am only just starting to understand the extent of what I have gained from my training on the scheme. I don’t know of any other scheme that offers such a thorough and in depth training that can be moulded to the specific needs of the individual. It really is a life changing opportunity which will continue to inform choices I make throughout my career.”
- Philip Wilson
- Director
“The scheme is a crucial initiative, which identifies and nurtures the theatre-makers of tomorrow. It is of untold benefit, for it offers a unique opportunity to emerging artists – a sustained, long-term involvement in the development of theatre in a major regional theatre. In a culture in which, too often, experience is gained piecemeal, on a project-by-project basis, this is a year-long connection to the creation of drama, following through processes from first plans to first nights. It affords, also, the chance for young directors to see how artistic decisions are made; to engage with, and collaborate with, other artists; to develop confidence, skill, leadership and, above all, vision; to bridge the divide between small-scale work and main-stage productions; and to be part of the day-to-day management of a producing theatre.”
- Anne Tipton
- Director
“Prior to my time at Bristol Old Vic under the scheme I had only worked on small scale, independent productions, but going to Bristol gave me the opportunity to understand the workings of a large, subsidised theatre, which was an invaluable learning curve. Moreover, assisting six productions in the main house back to back allowed me to learn and grow in my own right. I owe the scheme, Bristol Old Vic and its then artistic directors an incredible amount. After the scheme they had faith enough in me to give me a studio production, which transferred to the Barbican, and subsequently my first main house show at the theatre – a leap which is very difficult for a young director.”
Past RTYDS Three-Month Placement directors and their placement theatre
-
Vedi Roy at Watford Palace Theatre
-
Jameela Khan at The Dukes
-
Ajjaz Awad-Ibrahim at Tiata Fahodzi
-
Rebekah Bowsher at Greyscale Theatre
-
Corey Campbell at Belgrade Theatre, Coventry in association with Tamasha
-
Emily Harrison at Open Clasp Theatre
-
Olly Webb at Prime Theatre
-
Alix Harris at Barbican Theatre, Plymouth
-
Elmi Ali at Contact Theatre, Manchester
-
Nikki Hammond at Core at Corby Cube
-
Leah Francis at Mind the Gap
-
Meghan Doyle at Northern Stage
-
Monique Touko at Royal Exchange Manchester
-
Omari Swanston-Jeffers at West Yorkshire Playhouse
-
Amy Trigg at Mercury Theatre, Colchester
-
Sarah Gonnet at Greyscale Theatre Company
-
Katie Brailsford at Nottingham Playhouse
-
Nadia Emam at Stephen Joseph Theatre
-
Lucy Hayward at Talking Birds
-
Phillippe Cato Intensive Residency Director at Paines Plough
-
Kash Arshad at Freedom Studios
-
Paislie Reid at 20 Stories High
-
Joe Mellor at Liverpool Everyman
-
Blaise Singh Johal at Rifco Arts
-
Joshua Val Martin at New Vic Theatre
-
Jocelyn Anne Cox at Octagon Theatre Bolton in association with Graeae Theatre
-
Rachel Ross at Nottingham Playhouse
-
Raven McGuire at 20 Stories High
-
Sarah Van Parys at Liverpool Everyman
-
Sarah Fielding at Bristol Old Vic
-
David Gilbert at Cambridge Junction
-
Jaydean Dawkins at egg Theatre, Bath
-
Balisha Karra at Strictly Arts Theatre Company/Belgrade Coventry
-
Sushil Chudasama at Oldham Coliseum Theatre
-
Hannah Treadaway at Wiltshire Creative
-
Annabel Streeton at Hull Truck and Middle Child
-
Chantell Walker at Royal Exchange Theatre
-
Amelia Thornber at The North Wall
-
Sarah Githugu Intensive Residency Director at The Belgrade Theatre, Coventry
-
Kimisha Lewis at Strictly Arts
-
Wambui Hardcastle Assistant Director Placement at Northern Stage
-
Siobhan McAuley Assistant Director Placement at Open Clasp
-
Mian Rahman Assistant Director Placement at Freedom Studios
-
Sirazul Islam Assistant Director Placement at Pilot Theatre
-
Danielle Kassaraté Assistant Director Placement at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch
-
Lau Batty Assistant Director Placement at Tobacco Factory Theatres
-
Morgan Thomas at Prime Theatre
-
Emily Howlett at Derby Theatre
-
Aiden Napier at New Wolsey Theatre
-
Michelle Payne at Mercury Theatre
-
Jameela Khan Assistant Director Placement at Octagon Theatre Bolton
-
Mandeep Kaur Glover Assistant Director Placement at Eastern Angles
-
Hannah Harris Assistant Director Placement at Mind the Gap
-
Amelia Thornber Assistant Director Placement at Wise Children
-
Joelle Ikwa at Paines Plough
-
Joseph Walsh at ThickSkin Theatre
-
Xahnaa Adlam Assistant Director Placement at Travelling Light Theatre Company
-
Rachael Abbey Intensive Residency Director at Middle Child
Past RTYDS Directors and their placement theatre, 1960 until present
Our partner theatres have included:
