Directors

‘It felt like you were in their [Sam and Auriol’s] house in the best way possible’

(Corinne Meredith, Former Youth Theatre Manager)

Sam Walters pictured at the foot of the pub stairs, c. 1987 (from a newspaper clipping). Image credit: © Unknown. Image held at Royal Holloway University Archive (uncatalogued material).

Auriol Smith performing in ‘After Liverpool’, 1972.Image credit: © Unknown. Image supplied by the OT.

Sam Walters and Auriol Smith were masterful storytellers. Both actors in their earlier days, they knew their plays extremely well and trusted the excellence of their cast.

‘It is very tough directing in the round… you constantly have to keep moving people [to liberate the sight lines] and they look rather neurotic, wandering all over the place’
(Michael Attenborough, Ambassador and Director)

Walters’s long list of accolades includes two Special Achievement Awards and an MBE for services to theatre. When he retired in 2014, Walters had become the longest reigning Artistic Director of a British theatre.

Smith directed 28 critically-acclaimed productions and was pioneering as a woman director at a time when theatre remained a male-dominated environment.

In 2014 Walters and Smith were awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Richmond upon Thames in recognition of their services to the local community. The award is the highest that the Council can give, and an honour bestowed on very few people.

‘Paul is a writers director… it is a tradition that has continued’
(Vivien Heilbron, Actor)

Undeterred by the major funding cut announced by the Arts Council on the very day that he took over as Artistic Director, Paul Miller attracted 49,000 people to the Orange Tree in his inaugural season, with nearly one third of the audience attending for the first time. With over 30 years of international directing experience, he has directed some of the theatre’s most popular productions and memorable rediscoveries to date.

‘I was very impressed indeed by the students. They were highly inventive, intelligent and I thought all marked out for good careers’
(Michael Attenborough, Ambassador and Director)

Since beginning its Trainee Director Scheme in 1986, the Orange Tree has also offered young and emerging directors the means to learn their trade. The scheme has produced numerous Artistic Directors, with graduates including Anthony Clark (Hampstead Theatre), Sean Holmes (Shakespeare’s Globe), Dominic Hill (Citizens Theatre, Glasgow) and Rachel Kavanaugh (formerly Birmingham Rep).

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