Michelle Payne
Michelle is a director and published playwright from Essex. She was most recently the Associate Director on the UK and Asia tour of Dear Evan Hansen and director of AiTopia for Young Vic: Taking Part.
Latest News on Michelle Payne:
BIO
Michelle is a director and published playwright from Essex. She was most recently the Associate Director on the UK and Asia tour of Dear Evan Hansen and director of AiTopia for Young Vic: Taking Part. She was short-listed for the RTST Sir Peter Hall Award in 2022.
She was one of 15 creatives on the Donmar Warehouse Future Forms programme in 2021 and completed her Regional Theatre Young Directors Scheme at the Mercury Theatre Colchester in 2019.
Productions
Additional Credits
Current and Forthcoming Credits Include: TBA (Associate Director - UK Tour)
Director Credits Include: Vivian Panka: What's Next? (Crazy Coqs); Flip (Workshop, National Youth Music Theatre); AiTopia (Young Vic: Taking Part); Pippin (Mountview); The Good Enough Mums Club (UK Tour); American Idiot and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (University of Chichester); To Have & To Hold (The Bush and Mercury Theatre); The Liberators (Writer/Director — PPA); My Three Sisters by Holly Rose Hawgood (R&D; The Bush); Squad Goals (Writer/Director – Immersive Site-Specific Production, Dagenham & Redbridge Football Stadium); Find Me (VAULT Festival); Ordinary Days (Rose & Crown).
Associate Director Credits Include: Dear Evan Hansen (UK Tour and Asia); Errol’s Garden (UK Tour); Pig’s Might Fly (UK Tour – Associate Director and Choreographer); Summer Camp for Broken People (Pleasance); Headcase (The Bush).
Resident Director Credits Include: The House With Chicken Legs (Olivier Nominated: Best Family Show – UK Tour); Bugsy Malone (Alexandra Palace and UK Tour).
Assistant Director Credits Include: Princess Essex by Anne Odeke (Queens Theatre Hornchurch); Cinderella (Mercury Theatre Colchester)
Writer Credits Include: Michelle’s debut play Squad Goals about women’s football premiered at Dagenham & Redbridge stadium in 2020 and is published with Salamander Street. She is currently under commission with i.e. Productions for a new street dance play, and is developing two new musicals; Hyper! An ADHD Musical with Emy.P and Personality Hire with Charlie Turner & Vivian Panka.
Awards Include:
Short list – RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award 2022
Short list – Young Vic Genesis Future Director Award 2023
Long list – RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award 2023 and 2024
News
by Stephi Wild - Aug 11, 2026
The musical comedy created by The Gilbert Twins and Shona Maule will move from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to London's King's Head Theatre following an acclaimed run.
by Marissa Faith Curley - Aug 8, 2026
Speakerphone Productions is set to present an original musical comedy, Under the Influence by The Gilbert Twins and Shona Maule which runs at Underbelly Bristo Square (Dairy Room) at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe
by Oliver Oliveros - Nov 11, 2025
'Dear Evan Hansen' UK and international tour stars Ellis Kirk (Evan), Sonny Monaghan (Alternate Evan), and Rhys Hopkins (Connor Murphy) recently sat down with BroadwayWorld for a chat.
by Oliver Oliveros - Oct 31, 2025
The UK and international touring production of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s beloved musical 'Dear Evan Hansen' is now playing at the Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands.
by Oliver Oliveros - Sep 24, 2025
In a move that embodies the show's powerful message that 'everyone deserves to be seen, heard, and understood,' the Manila production of 'Dear Evan Hansen' at The Theatre at Solaire will host a special Filipino Sign Language (FSL)-interpreted performance on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.
by Oliver Oliveros - Mar 27, 2025
Crowd favorite 'Dear Evan Hansen,' the Tony Award-winning musical by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, is finally premiering in Manila in September 2025. DEH will play at The Theatre at Solaire, featuring the UK touring company.
by Stephi Wild - Oct 29, 2024
Taking Part, the Young Vic's Creative Engagement Department, has today announced the world premiere of AiTopia, the inaugural production from new company The Collective, which is made up of 50 multi-disciplinary artists from Lambeth and Southwark. This new company looks to disrupt traditional conventions of theatre-making to pioneer new models of making work centred on community and collaboration.
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Oct 28, 2024
DEARThe brand-new Nottingham Playhouse production of the Olivier, Tony and Grammy award-winning Best Musical DEAR EVAN HANSEN will extend its UK tour for a further four weeks in 2025. Learn how to purchase tickets.
by Stephi Wild - Oct 11, 2024
More production photos have been released for the brand-new UK Tour of the Olivier, Tony and Grammy award-winning Best Musical DEAR EVAN HANSEN. Check out the photos here!
by Stephi Wild - Sep 16, 2024
All new production photos have been released for the brand-new production of the Olivier, Tony and Grammy award-winning Best Musical DEAR EVAN HANSEN, which opened at the Nottingham Playhouse on 9 September 2024, where it plays until 28 September, ahead of a UK tour.
by Stephi Wild - Sep 12, 2024
The UK Tour of DEAR EVAN HANSEN will perform three numbers from the new production on TikTok Live, offering fans a preview of the show.
by Stephi Wild - Jun 11, 2024
Nottingham Playhouse has announced the full cast for the brand-new production of the Olivier, Tony and Grammy award-winning Best Musical DEAR EVAN HANSEN.
by Stephi Wild - Apr 16, 2024
The Young Vic Theatre has announced brand new work from Taking Part and the Creators Program. Learn more about the upcoming works here!
by Blair Ingenthron - Nov 25, 2023
The Overture Showcase amplifies six of the most exciting and innovative new musicals written by groundbreaking, underrepresented writing teams from across the UK. Read more about the cast here!
by Stephi Wild - Oct 30, 2023
Production photos have been released today for The Good Enough Mums Club, a new musical based on the real-life moving and funny tales of motherhood.
by Laura Lott - Oct 30, 2023
Society places a huge amount of pressure on mothers to be perfect, so it's a joy to see this new musical that reassures mums that their best is good enough. With a book and lyrics by Emily Beecher, who developed the show after her own diagnosis of postnatal depression, this production is produced, directed, designed and performed by mothers.
by Stephi Wild - Sep 13, 2023
The REcreate Agency and Spin Arts have announced the cast of the premiere production of The Good Enough Mums Club. Learn more about the tour and find out how to get tickets here!
by Stephi Wild - Jul 17, 2023
The REcreate Agency and Spin Arts presents the premiere of The Good Enough Mums Club – a poignant and hilarious new musical which is based on women’s own stories of motherhood. It has been produced, written, directed and performed by mums.
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Nov 7, 2022
Stiles + Drewe and Mercury Musical Developments announced a selection of starry performers to join the line-up for this year's Stiles + Drewe Best New Song Prize, which will be celebrated in concert at The Other Palace on Monday 21st November at 7.30pm.
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Sep 28, 2022
Mercury Musical Developments and Stiles + Drewe announced the finalists of this year's Stiles + Drewe Best New Song Prize, which will be celebrated in concert at The Other Palace on Monday 21st November 2022.
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