Lucy Bailey is a prolific British

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

, known for productions such as ''

Baby Doll ''Baby Doll'' is a 1956 American black comedy film directed by Elia Kazan and starring Carroll Baker, Karl Malden and Eli Wallach. It was produced by Kazan and Tennessee Williams, and adapted by Williams from two of his own one-act plays: '' 2 ...

'' at Britain's National Theatre and a notorious ''

Titus Andronicus ''The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus'', often shortened to ''Titus Andronicus'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first t ...

'', The Guardian review said, 'There is no getting away from our complicity in the unfolding events as heads roll, blood spurts and hearts crack. Bailey completely understands the Globe space and uses it brilliantly.' Bailey founded the Gogmagogs theatre-music group (1995–2006) and was Artistic Director and joint founder of the

Print Room theatre Print or printing may also refer to: Publishing * Canvas print, the result of an image printed onto canvas which is often stretched, or gallery-wrapped, onto a frame and displayed *Offset printing, the inked image is transferred from a plate to ...

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: Central London, N ...

(2010-2012). She has worked extensively with

Bunny Christie Bunny Christie (born 1962) is a Scottish theatre set designer. Career She was born in St Andrews, educated at Madras College and at the Central School of Art in London. She has won four Olivier Awards and also worked on Kenneth Branagh's Oscar- ...

and other leading stage designers, including her husband William Dudley.

Biography

Bailey was born in

Butleigh Butleigh is a small village and civil parish in Somerset, England. The nearest village to it is Barton St David, and it lies a short distance from Glastonbury and Street. The parish population at the 2021 census was 876. Butleigh has a church, ...

, Somerset, England. She has stated that her favourite films include any by

Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, film director, writer, actor and playwright. He is considered one of the defining public intellectuals in 20th-century Italian history, influential both as an artist ...

. As a teenager, Bailey studied the flute but gave up music to concentrate on theatre. Bailey studied English at

St Peter's College, Oxford St Peter's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Located on New Inn Hall Street, Oxford, United Kingdom, it occupies the site of two of the university's academic halls of the Univers ...

. She and her husband, William Dudley, have two sons.

Career

Bailey became interested in theatre when she worked as a telephonist at

Glyndebourne Glyndebourne () is an English country house, the site of an opera house that, since 1934, has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The house, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England, is thought to be about six hundre ...

at the age of 17. At age 20, Bailey wrote to Samuel Beckett requesting permission to stage his short story, '' Lessness''. Beckett agreed to meet, and she showed him her design for a production. Although he said she had got it completely wrong, he gave her permission to stage it, which she did at

The Oxford Playhouse The Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F. G. M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum. History The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road, North Ox ...

in February 1982. Bailey started her professional life as an assistant director at the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

, Glyndebourne Opera and the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

. Bailey co-founded the Gogmagogs music theatre company in 1995, with Nell Catchpole and six other string players. Her return to straight theatre came when she was invited by

Mark Rylance Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (; born 18 January 1960) is an English actor, playwright and theatre director. He is known for his roles on stage and screen, having received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Oliv ...

, then

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

the Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was destroyed by fire on ...

, to direct there in the late 1990s, and her work there has included productions of ''

'' and ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

''. Bailey has also directed Shakespeare productions at the

RSC RSC may refer to: Arts * Royal Shakespeare Company, a British theatre company * Reduced Shakespeare Company, a touring American acting troupe * Richmondshire Subscription Concerts, a music society in Richmond, North Yorkshire, England * Rock Ste ...

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

, including ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunke ...

'', ''

A Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...

'' and ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

'', with

Greg Hicks Greg Hicks (born 27 May 1953) is an English actor. He completed theatrical training at Rose Bruford College and joined The Royal Shakespeare Company in 1976. He was nominated for a 2004 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in the category "Best Act ...

in the title role.

Artistic Director

Lucy Bailey co-founded the 80-seat London venue

Print Room A print room is a room in an art gallery or museum where a collection of old master print, old master and modern prints, usually together with drawings, watercolours, and photographs, are held and viewed. A further meaning is a room decorated ...

, which opened on 10 November 2010, and along with the producer Anda Winters was Artistic Director there until 2012. At the Print Room, Bailey directed productions such as ''Fabrication'' by Pier Paolo Pasolini, Alan Ayckbourn’s ''Snake in the Grass'', Tennessee Williams’ ''Kingdom of Earth'' and Chekhov’s ''Uncle Vanya'' with Iain Glen in the title role. Bailey and her producer renovated a 1950s warehouse into the theatre, situated just off Westbourne Grove, aiming to show challenging or unknown plays as well as classics. Bailey and Winters say that they first conceived the Print Room over a large glass of wine at the National Theatre. After Lucy Bailey's departure, Anda Winters moved the theatre to the Coronet Cinema.

Selected work

*2024 - ''Murder on the Orient Express'' UK Tour *2023 - ''And Then There Were None'' Uk Tour *2018 - ''Switzerland'' at

Ustinov Studio The Ustinov Studio is a studio theatre in Bath, England. It is the Theatre Royal's second space, built in 1997 at the rear of the building on Monmouth Street. It is named after the actor Peter Ustinov who led the fundraising programme for the ...

, Bath, and Ambassadors Theatre, London *2017-2025 - '' Witness for the Prosecution'' at

County Hall, London County Hall (sometimes called London County Hall) is a building in the district of Lambeth, London that was the headquarters of London County Council (LCC) and later the Greater London Council (GLC). The building is on the South Bank of the Riv ...

*2016 - ''Comus''

Sam Wanamaker Playhouse The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is an indoor theatre forming part of the Shakespeare's Globe complex, along with the recreated Globe Theatre on Bankside in Southwark, London. Built by making use of 17th-century plans for an indoor English theatre, ...

Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse first built in 1599 for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays. Like the original, it is located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Southwark, Lon ...

*2016 - ''Kenny Morgan'' (

Arcola Theatre Arcola Theatre is in the London Borough of Hackney. It presents plays, operas and musicals featuring established and emerging artists. The theatre building, in the former Colourworks paint factory on Ashwin Street, Dalston, houses two studio ...

) *2014 - ''

Dial M for Murder ''Dial M for Murder'' is a 1954 American crime thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, Anthony Dawson, and John Williams. Both the screenplay and the successful stage play on which it was ...

'' (UK wide Tour) *2014 - ''

'' (revival) (

) *2013 - ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'' with David Haig (

Theatre Royal Bath The Theatre Royal in Bath, Somerset, Bath, England, was built in 1805. A Grade II* listed building, it has been described by the Theatres Trust as "One of the most important surviving examples of Georgian theatre architecture". It has a capacit ...

) *2014 - '' Fortune's Fool'' (

The Old Vic The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. It was established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal ...

) *2013 - ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...

'' (

) *2012 - ''

'' (

) *2011 - ''

The Beggar’s Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satiri ...

'' ( Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) *2010 - ''

'' (Shakespeare's Globe) *2009 - ''

'' (

) *2009 - ''

Private Lives ''Private Lives'' is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It concerns a divorced couple who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, discover that they are staying in adjacent rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetuall ...

'' (

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. History The original ''Hampstead Theatre Clu ...

) *2009 - ''

'' (

West Yorkshire Playhouse Leeds Playhouse is a theatre in the city centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1990 in the Quarry Hill area of the city as the West Yorkshire Playhouse, successor to the original Leeds Playhouse, and was rebranded in June 2018 ...

) *2008 - ''

Timon of Athens ''The Life of Tymon of Athens'', often shortened to ''Timon of Athens'', is a play written by William Shakespeare and likely also Thomas Middleton in about 1606. It was published in the ''First Folio'' in 1623. Timon of Athens (person), Timon ...

'' (Shakespeare's Globe) *2007 - ''Glass Eels'' (

Nell Leyshon Nell Leyshon is a British novelist and award-winning dramatist. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Alpine Fellowship and as the Deputy Chair of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. Prior, she served on the Management Committee for the Society of A ...

) (

) *2007 - ''

Don't Look Now ''Don't Look Now'' () is a 1973 English-language thriller film directed by Nicolas Roeg, adapted from the 1971 short story by Daphne du Maurier. Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland portray Laura and John Baxter, a married couple who trav ...

'' (stage adaptation)

Lyceum Theatre (Sheffield) The Lyceum is a 1,068-seat theatre in the City of Sheffield, England. History There has been a theatre on the site since 1879 when the Grand Varieties Theatre was built. Made of wood and originally intended to be used as a circus, the theatre w ...

*2006 - ''

'' (

) *2004 -2005 - The Postman Always Rings Twice (Playhouse/West End) with

Val Kilmer Val Edward Kilmer (December 31, 1959 – April 1, 2025) was an American actor. Initially a stage actor, he later found fame as a Leading actor, leading man in films in a wide variety of genres, including Comedy film, comedies, dramas, action fi ...

*2005/7 - ''Comfort Me with Apples'' (

) * 2004 - ''The Night Season''

Rebecca Lenkiewicz Rebecca Lenkiewicz (born 1968) is a British playwright, screenwriter, film director, and former actress. She is best known as the author of '' Her Naked Skin'' (2008), which was the first original play written by a living female playwright to be ...

* 2001 - ''Troy Town'' (

Battersea Arts Centre The Battersea Arts Centre ("BAC") is a performance space specialising in Theater, theatre productions. Located near Clapham Junction railway station in Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, it was formerly Battersea Town Hall. It is a ...

- BAC) *1999-2000 - ''Baby Doll'' (

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

) National Theatre/

Albery Theatre Albery is a name. It may refer to: Given name * Albery Allson Whitman (1851−1901), African American poet, minister and orator Surname * A. S. Albery, British politician * Bronson Albery (1881−1971), English theatre director and impresario * Do ...

West End *1997 - ''The Maid's Tragedy'' (

Beaumont and Fletcher Beaumont and Fletcher were the English dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather t ...

) (

)

Productions as Artistic Director, Print Rooms

*2010 - ''Fabrication'' (Affabulazione) (

) *2011 - ''Kingdom of the Earth'' (

) *2011 - ''Snake in the Grass'' (

Alan Ayckbourn Sir Alan Ayckbourn (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific British playwright and director. As of 2025, he has written and produced 90 full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen ...

) *2012 - ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897, and first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre, directed by Konstan ...

'' (

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

) with

Iain Glen Iain Alan Sutherland Glen (born 24 June 1961) is a Scottish actor. He has appeared as Dr. Alexander Isaacs/Tyrant in three films of the Resident Evil (film series), ''Resident Evil'' film series (2004–2016) and as Ser Jorah Mormont, Jorah Morm ...

Opera

*1996 - ''Gudrun Fier Sang'' (Copenhagen dry dock) *1994 - '' Jenufa'', Janacek, (English National Opera) *1994 - ''Cheryoumushki 1958'' (Lyric Hammersmith) *1994 - ''

Noye's Fludde ''Noye's Fludde'' is a one-act opera by the British composer Benjamin Britten, intended primarily for amateur performers, particularly children. First performed on 18 June 1958 at that year's Aldeburgh Festival, it is based on the 15th-centu ...

'', Benjamin Britten, (Aldeburgh Festival) *1993 - ''Il Barbiere di Siviglia'' (Wexford Opera Festival) *1992 - ''Mary of Egypt'' (Aldeburgh Festival) *1992 - Adaptation of Pasolini’s ''Teorema'' (Maggio Musicale Florence/Munich Biennale/Queen Elizabeth Hall). *1990 - ''Triptych'', Alexander Goehr (Aldeburgh Festival) *1989 - ''Mitridate'' (Wexford Opera Festival)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Lucy British theatre directors Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British women theatre directors Alumni of St Peter's College, Oxford