PAST TRAINEES
The extensive list of past trainees demonstrates the incredible impact the scheme has had on British theatre in the last 47 years. Below is a list of past trainees from 1960 to 2007 and their feedback regarding the scheme.
Robin Belfield (freelance 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."
Serdar Bilis (freelance 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."
Jeremy Bond (freelance director)
"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."
Topher Campbell (Artistic Director, Red Room)
"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."
Jo Combes (Associate Director, Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre)
"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, jnr (Artistic Director, Tiata Fahodzi)
"The scheme has undoubtedly changed my life and career path. Back then prior to the award I was an actor with a massive aptitude to tell stories through theatre but as a director was faced with limited resources and opportunities to kick start my 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 which 11 years on, has contributed to the grand design of the rich British theatre landscape."
Ramin Gray (Associate Director, Royal Court Theatre)
"Kicking around on the London fringe in the early 90s, I found it very hard to truly call myself a theatre director. It took me three goes to actually get on the scheme. But each attempt helped me gain a sense of myself as a director. Finally getting a place at Liverpool Playhouse opened a whole new chapter in my life, not least the unusual idea of being paid regularly for pursuing something that I loved with a passion. Starting out on the scheme aged 26 felt like starting out on my life all over again. And, for better or for worse, I am still in the same game nearly twenty years on. Had I not got on the scheme I was going to set up a business selling freshly squeezed fruit juices. It’s too late to wonder now but certainly this scheme is life-changing."
Dominic Leclerc (freelance 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."
Clare Lizzimore (freelance 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."
Adrian Noble (Patron and freelance 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."
Sarah Punshon (freelance director)
"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."
Douglas Rintoul (freelance director)
"My time at Salisbury Playhouse gave me a great deal of practical experience that enabled me to confidently call myself a theatre practitioner. The building and the scheme were incredibly supportive and nurturing, the whole experience opened up a number of avenues of work and professional working practices that would have otherwise been closed to me. I am certain that without the scheme I wouldn't be directing the type of projects I am today."
Psyche Stott (freelance 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."
John Tiffany (Associate Director, National Theatre of Scotland)
"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."
Anne Tipton (freelance 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."
Philip Wilson (Artistic Director, Salisbury Playhouse)
"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."