Rebecca Gadsby

Theatre Director

Current/Upcoming work (2022):
1. Just finished directing "The Winter's Tale" at the London College of Music (university of West London)
2. Now in R&D for a new play, "5 Years" by Hayley Davis, in association with the Crucible Theatre

About imageAbout imageAbout image
Rebecca Gadsby is a theatre Director specialising in period dramas, classics and comedy. She has built a reputation for creating shows that require a big imagination and has created work for mid-scale theatres, international touring and studio theatres. Her signature themes are quirky, cheeky, but with truth and honesty, and often using innovative digital technolody.

She began her professional career in theatre at the age of 15 as a child actor in a production with Opera North. She later went on to Warwick University to study Theatre and Performance, where her ground-breaking work into Reminiscence Theatre earned her a 1st class honours. Since then she has directed almost 70 full-scale theatre productions for Mid-scale Theatre, studio theatres, Fringe, Open Air Theatre, T.I.E and Site-Specific performances.

Her knowledge and expertise of the Regency and Victorian periods has helped to create a series of successful adaptations of Austen, Dickens, Brontë's, Wilde and Elizabeth Gaskell. It is rare that her period dramas receive anything less than a 4 or 5 Star review, and this has helped to carve a reputation for excellent quality period dramas on stage.

Career highlights have included a production of Pride & Prejudice which was performed to 3,000 people at Chatsworth House; the biggest event of it's kind in the UK. In 2011, her production of Sense and Sensibility was used in the BBC2 documentary, The Many Lovers of Austen (aired Boxing Day, 2011 on BBC 2). Most recently, she has been named "100 ones to watch" by the UK Creative Industries Council, and has won "Best Digital/Creative Start-Up" at the Mainframe Awards (2022) for creating the world's first immersive theatre app during the pandemic, thanks to a £40k grant from Innovate UK.

Rebecca is currently on a journey to experiment with digital technology in theatre, and has set up her own production company, Inside Theatre. Since Winter 2016, she has been developing technology for theatre funded by the Arts Council, Innovate UK and in association with a number of other partners. This ground breaking work is intended to assist story-telling, fuel imaginations and to engage a younger audience with theatre.

For a full list of credits, please see the profile on Mandy  

THEATRE

Current: 5 Years R&D by Hayley Davis. Crucible Theatre (April - July)

Mrs Scrooge R&D: by Hannah Khalil, Derby Theatre. Sept-Dec 2021

13: by Mike Bartlett. Stanwix Theatre. March 2021

The Emperor’s New Clothes: world premiere by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm. May/June 2020.

Wind in the Willows: by Michael Spencer. Stanwix Theatre. March 2020

Yes Prime Minister: Jonathon Lynn. Leatherhead Theatre. April 2018

Communicating Doors: Alan Ayckbourn. Leatherhead Theatre. May 2018

The Crucible: by Arthur Miller. Stanwix Theatre. Sept 2016.


Mid-Scale UK/Ireland Tours

Jane Eyre: Blue Orange Theatre. March-June 2015

Wuthering Heights: Chapterhouse Theatre. September-Oct 2014

Sense & Sensibility: Chapterhouse Theatre. Jan-March 2012

Cranford at Christmas: Chapterhouse Theatre. Nov-Dec 2011

A Christmas Carol: Chapterhouse Theatre. Nov-Dec 2011 & 2010

Pride & Prejudice: Chapterhouse Theatre. Jan-March 2011


Open Air Theatre (Highlights) - Chapterhouse Theatre Co & Heartbreak Productions

A Midsummer Nights’ Dream: ‘07- '14

As You Like It: 2007

The Tempest: 2008

Twelfth Night: 2009

Much Ado About Nothing: 2010, 2014

Taming of the Shrew: 2012

Pride & Prejudice: 2010, 2012, 2015, 2018

Peter Pan: 2016

Cranford: 2011

The Importance of Being Earnest: 2012

Emma: 2012

Sense & Sensibility: 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014

 JANE EYRE: “Rebecca Gadsby’s direction exhibits great clarity with excellent use of the small stage to depict such a vast tale.” **** 

Francesca Morrison, 27th July 2015
The Stage

 WUTHERING HEIGHTS: "...a rugged and fearless production...immersing us in a desperate melodrama " The Stage, 27th June 2014 **** 

Francesca Morrison, 27th June 2014
The Stage

 A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM: “This lively production is marked by clear delivery and well-choreographed physical antics. Director Rebecca Gadsby envisages the entire plot as a dream in which bizarre things happen and her physical comedy works well.” **** 

Kevin Berry, 2014
The Stage

 CRANFORD: "the characters matter, their schemes and hopes grip, their embarrassments are enjoyed. ****" 

Kevin Berry, August, 2011
The Stage

 COMMUNICATING DOORS: “Hilarious, inventive and brilliant rep at the Leatherhead Theatre this week – no spoilers – just go and see Ayckbourn at its best!” ***** 

Janice Windle
Essential Surrey, 3rd May 2018

 PRIDE & PREJUDICE: “The acting, direction and script were all pin sharp, and the cast received a standing ovation from the enraptured audience.” ***** 

Nick Le Mesurier, 4th May 2018
Leamington Courier

 TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS: The team managed to deliver a sugar-coated wrapping containing absurd humour, surprises, song and dance, sparkling repartee with the audience, and a heart-warming message. Can live theatre get any better than that? *****" 

Time Mottershead, Dec 18th 2011
Remotegote

 TWELFTH NIGHT "...the audience were whisked away into a fantasy world of music, trickery, mistaken identity and love...the physical comedy element was exaggerated to great effect." Birmingham Mail 18th July 2013 

18th July 2013
Birmingham Mail

 SENSE & SENSIBILITY: "...they didn't disappoint. a five-star show.*****" 

Hubert Murphey, July 27th 2011
Drogheda Independent
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