After working as a drama teacher in the East End, Sarah works as a Theatre Director and Dramaturg with a range of artists and playwrights. She originally joined the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester as Literary Manager and Associate Director establishing the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting and becoming sole Artistic Director from 2013 – 2019 winning Stage Regional Theatre of the Year in 2016.
Her productions include: The Nico Project, (co-created with Maxine Peake for MIF 2019), West Side Story, Death of a Salesman, Happy Days, Our Town (winner of Best Director at the UK Theatre Awards), The Last Testament of Lillian Bilocca (Hull City of Culture), A Streetcar Named Desire, All I Want is One Night, The Skriker (MIF15 and BBC Radio 3), Hamlet, Blindsided, That Day We Sang, The Masque of Anarchy (produced at the Albert Hall for MIF and BBC Radio 3), Black Roses, Three Birds, Orpheus Descending, Miss Julie (a new version by David Eldridge), Beautiful Thing, A View from the Bridge, Winterlong (by Andrew Sheridan, winner of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting), Punk Rock (by Simon Stephens, winner of the MEN Award for Best Production), Three Sisters, On the Shore of the Wide World (by Simon Stephens, winner of the Olivier Award for Best Play) and KES.
Her work has also been seen at the National Theatre, Bush Theatre, Lyric Hammersmith, Soho Theatre and the Crucible.
Current Projects in 2022/23 include Macbeth for Shakespeare’s Globe, The Breach for Hampstead Theatre, BETTY! a Christmas Musical for the Royal Exchange and developing a new commission for The Factory. She is currently Trustee of The GateTheatre and RTYDS (Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme).
She received a Special Recognition Award for Outstanding Contribution to Theatre in Manchester at the 2021 Manchester Culture Awards.
(she/her)