Ramin Gray (born 11 October 1963) is a theatre director of Iranian (Muslim) and British (Jewish) heritage.

Personal life

Born in London in 1963, Ramin grew up in Oxford, Tehran, New York and Paris before graduating from Christ Church, Oxford with a BA (Hons, 2:1) in Oriental Studies (Persian and Arabic) in 1987. He speaks French, Persian and German and has travelled extensively, especially in the Middle East. He is divorced, has five children, and lives mainly in London.

Career

Ramin began directing professionally in 1988 with a production of John Marston's ''The Malcontent'' at the

Latchmere Theatre Theatre503, formerly the Latchmere Theatre, is a theatre located at 503 Battersea Park Road in Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth, above the Latchmere pub. The venue is known for promoting the work of new writers. History The the ...

in London. In 1990 he was awarded a Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme bursary to

Liverpool Playhouse The Liverpool Playhouse is a theatre in Williamson Square in the city of Liverpool, England. It originated in 1866 as a music hall, and in 1911 developed into a repertory theatre. As such it nurtured the early careers of many actors and actre ...

where he directed Wedekind's '' Spring Awakening'' and Arthur Miller's ''

A View from the Bridge ''A View from the Bridge'' is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was first staged on September 29, 1955, as a one-act verse drama with '' A Memory of Two Mondays'' at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The run was unsuccessful, ...

''. He re-opened the Liverpool Playhouse Studio as a dedicated space for new plays from 1992–95, where he directed

Gregory Motton Gregory Motton (born September 1961) is a British playwright and author. Best known for the originality of his formally demanding, largely a-political theatre plays at the Royal Court in the 1980s and 1990s, state of the nation satires in the 1 ...

's ''A Message for the Broken-Hearted''. In Paris at Odéon Théâtre National de l'Europe and Théâtre National de Gennevilliers he directed ''

Cat And Mouse (Sheep) ''Cat and Mouse (Sheep)'' is a 1995 theatre play by British playwright Gregory Motton. It satirises both the left and right in British society. It was premiered at the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe, Paris and then shown briefly in Britain at the ...

'' by

. At London's

Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Gearóid Ó Lochlainn ...

he directed Jon Fosse's ''The Child'' and Paul Godfrey's ''The Invisible Woman''. From 2000–09 Ramin was at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal ...

, first as International Associate (2000–05), then as Associate Director (2005–09) where he directed over fifteen world or British premieres. In the Theatre Upstairs these included: ''Push Up'' by Roland Schimmelpfennig, ''Terrorism'' by the Presnyakov Brothers, ''Ladybird'' by Vassily Sigarev, ''Way To Heaven'' by Juan Mayorga, ''Woman and Scarecrow'' by

Marina Carr Marina Carr is an Irish playwright who has written almost thirty plays, including ''By the Bog of Cats'' (1998). Early life and education Carr was born in Dublin, Ireland, but spent the majority of her childhood in Pallas Lake, County Off ...

, ''Just a Bloke'' by David Watson, and ''Scenes from the Back of Beyond'' by

Meredith Oakes Meredith Oakes (born 18 Sept 1946,) is an Australian playwright who has lived in London since 1970. She has written plays, adaptations, translations, opera texts and poems, and taught play-writing at Royal Holloway College and for the Arvon Found ...

. In the Theatre Downstairs he directed

Simon Stephens Simon Stephens (born 6 February 1971) is an English playwright and Professor of Scriptwriting at Manchester Metropolitan University. Having taught on the Young Writers' Programme at the Royal Court Theatre for many years, he is now an Artistic ...

' ''Motortown'',

Max Frisch Max Rudolf Frisch (; 15 May 1911 – 4 April 1991) was a Swiss playwright and novelist. Frisch's works focused on problems of identity, individuality, responsibility, morality, and political commitment. The use of irony is a significant featu ...

's ''The Arsonists'',

Martin Crimp Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Au ...

's ''Advice to Iraqi Women'', two plays by

Marius von Mayenburg Marius von Mayenburg (born 21 February 1972 in Munich) is a German playwright and dramaturg. Education In 1994, Mayenburg began his studies at the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin. His first play, '' Haarmann'', was first performed at Baracke (D ...

, ''The Ugly One'', and ''The Stone'', and ''Over There'' by

Mark Ravenhill Mark Ravenhill (born 7 June 1966) is an English playwright, actor and journalist. Ravenhill is one of the most widely performed playwrights in British theatre of the late-twentieth and twenty-first centuries. His major plays include '' Shoppi ...

(also Schaubűhne, Berlin). Gray's freelance theatre work in the UK includes two plays for the Royal Shakespeare Company, David Greig's ''The American Pilot'' and

Leo Butler Leo Butler (born 1974 in Sheffield) is a British playwright. His plays have been staged, among others, by the Royal Court, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Almeida Theatre. His plays have been published by Bloomsbury A & C Black. His 2001 ...

's ''I'll Be The Devil'', and

Alistair Beaton Alistair Beaton (born 1947) is a playwright and satirist, journalist, radio presenter, novelist and television writer. At one point in his career he was also a speechwriter for Gordon Brown. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Beaton was educated at the u ...

's ''King of Hearts'', which he co-directed with

Max Stafford-Clark Maxwell Robert Guthrie Stewart "Max" Stafford-Clark (born 17 March 1941) is a British theatre director. Life and career Stafford-Clark was born in Cambridge, England. the son of David Stafford-Clark, a physician, and Dorothy Crossley (née Old ...

for

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. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director sin ...

and

Out of Joint Out of Joint is a British and international touring theatre company based in London. It specialises in the commissioning and production of new writing, interspersed with occasional revivals and classic productions. It was founded in 1993 by direct ...

. Internationally, Ramin has directed two plays by

, the German language premiere of ''Harper Regan'' at the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Ama ...

in a co-production with the Schauspielhaus Hamburg and ''On The Shore of the Wide World'' at Volkstheater Wien (Karl-Skraup Prize). His 2010 Viennese production of

Dennis Kelly Dennis Kelly is a British scriptwriter for theatre, television and film. His play ''DNA'', first performed in 2007, became a core set-text for GCSE in 2010 and has been studied by approximately 400,000 students each year. He wrote the book ...

's ''Orphans'' was nominated for the Nestroy Prize. His Russian production of ''The Ugly One'' won Best Director at the Textura Festival, Perm in 2010. From 2011 to 2018 Ramin was Artistic Director of

ATC Theatre Actors Touring Company (ATC) is a touring theatre company based in London, founded in 1978 by Artistic Director John Retallack. Previous Artistic Directors have included Mark Brickman, Ceri Sherlock, Nick Philippou, Gordon Anderson, Bijan Sheiban ...

for whom he directed ''The Golden Dragon'' by

Roland Schimmelpfennig Roland Schimmelpfennig (born 19 September 1967) is a German theatre director and playwright. His plays are performed in more than 40 countries. Biography Schimmelpfennig was born in Gottingen. He began his career as a journalist in Istanbul, b ...

, which saw 110 performances worldwide including India and Northern Iraq, the first major revival of ''Crave'' by

Sarah Kane Sarah Kane (3 February 1971 – 20 February 1999) was an English playwright, screenwriter and theatre director. She is known for her plays that deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture—both physical and psychological� ...

and a new Russian play, ''Illusions'' by

Ivan Vyrypaev Ivan Aleksandrovich Vyrypaev (russian: Ива́н Алекса́ндрович Вырыпа́ев; pl, Iwan Wyrypajew; born August 3, 1974) is a Polish, Russian-born playwright, screenwriter, film director, actor and art director. He is a leadin ...

, and the British premiere of Marius von Mayenburg's ''Martyr.'' Ramin commissioned and directed David Greig's ''The Events'', with music by John Browne, which was voted by critics in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

as the 'Best Play of 2013'. Co-produced with the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 20 ...

, Schauspielhaus Wien and Brageteatret Norway, Gray also directed the Norwegian and Austrian productions of ''The Events''. In 2016/7 Ramin's critically acclaimed production of Aeschylus' ''The Suppliant Women'' opened at the Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh and toured the UK, Ireland and Hong Kong. Ramin directed the British premiere of Roland Schimmelpfennig's ''Winter Solstice'' at the Orange Tree in January 2016. In 2009 Ramin directed

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

's ''Death in Venice'' at the Hamburgische Staatsoper, conducted by

Simone Young Simone Margaret Young AM (born 2 March 1961) is an Australian conductor. She is currently chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Biography and career Young was born in Sydney, of Irish ancestry on her father's side and Croatian ...

. The production then transferred to Theater an der Wien, conducted by

Donald Runnicles Sir Donald Cameron Runnicles OBE HonFRSE (born 16 November 1954, Edinburgh, Scotland) is a Scottish conductor. Life and career The son of William Runnicles, a director of a furniture supply company and a choirmaster and organist, and Christin ...

. At Hamburg he also directed the European premiere of

Brett Dean Brett Dean (born 23 October 1961) is an Australian composer, violist and conductor. Biography Brett Dean was born, raised and educated in Brisbane. He started learning violin at the age of eight, and later studied viola with Elizabeth Morgan a ...

's ''Bliss'' and, in 2015, the world premiere of Beat Furrer's ''La Bianca Notte''. For the Royal Opera House, he directed the British premiere of Gerald Barry's ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' in 2013. In 2016 the production was revived at the Barbican Centre and Lincoln Center, New York.

External links

Profile
thestage.co.uk
Profile
timeout.com
Profile
thisweeklondon.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Ramin 1963 births English theatre directors Living people Theatre people from London