Leading touring theatre company ATC has today announced the appointment of a new artistic director, following the departure of Bijan Sheibani earlier this year. Ramin Gray will take up the position in late October.
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) in Oriental Studies (Persian and Arabic) in 1987. He speaks French, Persian, Arabic, German and Italian and has travelled extensively, especially in the Middle East.
In a career that has included acclaimed productions at The Royal Court and Liverpool Playhouse and much work internationally, Ramin began directing professionally in 1988 with a production of
John Marston's THE MALCONTENT at the Latchmere Theatre in London. In 1990 he was awarded a Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme bursary which took him to
The Liverpool Playhouse where initially he directed classic texts such
Franz Wedekind's SPRING AWAKENING and
Arthur Miller's A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE.
He also re-opened
The Playhouse Studio as a dedicated space for new plays from 1992-95, raising finance and arranging co-productions with
The National Theatre and
The Royal Court Theatre. As well as directing a great deal of new work by playwrights from the North West, he also directed new plays in Paris at the Odéon Théâtre National de l'Europe and Théâtre National de Gennevilliers. Meanwhile at London's
Gate Theatre, he directed the first British production of a Jon Fosse play, THE CHILD, as well as plays by Paul Godfrey and Gregory Motton.
From 2000-09 Ramin was at
The Royal Court Theatre, first as International Associate, then as Associate Director where he directed over fifteen world or British premieres, including 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, JUST A BLOKE by
David Watson and SCENES FROM THE BACK OF BEYOND by Meredith Oakes.
In the Theatre Downstairs he directed the world premiere of
Simon Stephens' MOTORTOWN (and Wiener Festwochen, Falter critics prize),
Max Frisch's THE ARSONISTS,
Martin Crimp's ADVICE TO IRAQI WOMEN, two plays by Marius von Mayenburg, THE UGLY ONE and THE STONE and OVER THERE by
Mark Ravenhill which transferred to the Schaub?hne am Lehniner Platz in Berlin. Ramin also did play development work for the Royal Court on almost every continent.
Ramin's freelance theatre work in the UK includes two plays for the
Royal Shakespeare Company, David Grieg's THE AMERICAN PILOT and Leo Butler's I'LL BE THE DEVIL as well as
Alistair Beaton's KING OF HEARTS which he co-directed with
Max Stafford-Clark for Hampstead Theatre and Out of Joint.
ATC is currently co-producing Ivan and The Dogs with Soho Theatre. Written by Hattie Naylor, the production is directed by ATC's Artistic Associate Ellen McDougall. It is touring nationally and runs at Soho Theatre from October 12th to November 6th.
Over the past few years the company has toured throughout London, the UK and abroad with contemporary, international and culturally diverse work. It has developed its reputation as the producer of fresh, bold works, which have brought together both new and established talents, spearheaded new co-production partnerships and overseen a move to East London as part of ATC's commitment to engaging with new and younger audiences with the ultimate aim to make the work accessible to all.
ATC's productions under
Bijan Sheibani included The Brothers Size by
Tarell Alvin McCraney, which was co-produced by The Young Vic and nominated for an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre (Young Vic) and Best International Production by the Association of Spanish Critics. Bijan received an Olivier Award for his production of Gone Too Far! by Bola Agbaje and the company's production of Ibsen's Ghosts or Those Who Return in a new version by Rebecca Lenkiewicz co-produced with Hackney's Arcola Theatre earned its lead actor
Harry Lloyd a nomination for The
Ian Charleson Award.
ATC Chair - Maria Delgado says
"We are delighted to have Ramin Gray joining the company at this time. He brings an expert knowledge of contemporary international writing with a striking directorial vision evident in a range of outstanding productions at the Royal Court and
The Liverpool Playhouse."
Ramin Gray says -
"I am delighted to lead Actors Touring Company into the future. The Company, founded by
John Retallack and more recently led by
Bijan Sheibani, has just celebrated 30 years on the road during which time it has consistently broadened our horizons. My vision for ATC now is to tour a distinctive company of actors in a programme of cosmopolitan, modern drama that reflects and questions the complex world we share today."
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