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Deborah is a theatre director and former associate director and co-director with Two Sheds Theatre.
Deborah's latest work 'In The Lady Garden' written by Babs Horton has just finished a successful four week run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, following previews at Theatre Royal Plymouth.. Read more...
Deborah began directing professionally later in her career after nearly a decade working at a regional theatre where she was head of fundraising and development. Prior to this, Deborah (who originally trained as a nurse and has a business degree) had a career spanning across the NHS, the charity sector - working for the British Red Cross and a children's leukaemia charity - social services, further education, and the City Council where, among many other duties, she project-managed a major public art commission. More latterly, she entered the political arena, working as a campaign organiser for the local parliamentary candidate, a seat he went onto to win at the July 2024 General Election.
Her directing and co-directing credits include: My Children! My Africa! by Athol Fugard (Trafalgar Studios and Tristan Bates Theatre, London), African Gothic by Reza de Wet (Park Theatre, London), Muswell Hill by Torben Betts (Park Theatre and White Bear, London), The Seagull by Chekhov, adapted by Anya Reiss , A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams (Chesil Theatre), Black Mass by Edward Bond (London Theatre), The Son of a Precariat by Sarah Hehir, Little Pieces of Gold (Southwark Playhouse and Bread and Roses Theatre, London) and more.
In 2019, she co-directed her first opera La Bohème for Instant Opera, featuring international soloists, a community choir and a full orchestra, and in June 2020 she directed her first filmed monologue, Once Upon a Time, for Slackline Productions.
Her work has regularly garnered five- and four-star national reviews and has featured in The Guardian and The Stage 'Top Ticket Picks', and nominated for five Off-West End Offies. (Read the reviews)
In 2013, Deborah received a 'Best Director' nomination for her directorial debut, A Streetcar Named Desire, and in 2015, My Children! My Africa! was listed as one of the Stage Review's Top 5 Fringe Shows.
In 2008, she and her husband, Jonathan, co-founded one of the UK's first national writing festivals The 10x10 New Writing Festival which she ran for the next ten years.
In 2013, Deborah swapped her full-time job as the Head of Fundraising and Development at a regional theatre to take up a place on the directing course at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Since then she has taken part in many workshops and masterclasses with notable directors including: Katie Mitchell; Rebecca Frecknall; Lynsey Turner; Sally Cookson; James McDonald; Lisa Spirling; Jeremy Herrin; Melly Still; Claire Lizzimore; Marianne Elliott; Rikki Beadle-Blair; Teunkie Van Der Sluijs; Jonathan Boyle; Max Webster; Gbolahan Obisesan; and with writer, James Graham; new writing company, Papatango; and theatre company, Frantic Assembly.
Deborah is a member of the Young Vic Creators Programme and the JMK Trust (Salisbury Group) and has previously been a trustee for Forest Forge Theatre Company, Platform 4 Theatre and Two Sheds Theatre. She was also Chairman of the Chesil Theatre between 2007 and 2010.
Additional skills and experience
In addition to her business degree and nursing qualification, Deborah also has over 25 years' management experience as a collaborative, flexible, strategic arts and business professional. She has considerable experience in arts and charity fundraising, project managing, writing bids, marketing, brand development, communications and PR, copywriting, producing print material, stakeholder management, governance, event management and capital project management, finance and credit control.
If you would like a copy of Deborah's CV (directing and/or business), please get in touch; she would love to hear from you.