Nottingham Playhouse and Stephen Joseph Theatre among venues offering placements for young directors

The Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme, which creates professional development opportunities for directors, has announced projects at 12 theatres across the UK.

Through the scheme, seven directors from under-represented backgrounds will be supported with three-month placements at their local theatre.

The directors and theatres that have been selected include Emily Howlett at Derby Theatre, Sarah Gonnet at Greyscale Theatre Company in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nadia Emam at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough and Aidan Napier at the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich.

Other directors with on the internship programme include Katie Brailsford at Nottingham Playhouse, Vedi Roy at Watford Palace Theatre and Jameela Khan at the Dukes Theatre in Lancaster.

RTYDS has also announced 18-month residencies for directors at the Tobacco Factory in Bristol and Leeds Playhouse for the first time. As part of their residency, the participants will have the opportunity to direct their own show.

Directors can apply for the 18-month residencies on the RTYDS website, with the deadline for applications on January 2.

In addition, RTYDS has announced four Introduction to Directing residencies at the North Wall Arts Centre in Oxford, Middle Child Theatre Company in Hull, the New Vic Theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyme and Leeds Playhouse, supporting at least twenty potential directors. The residencies offer intense practical training for people interested in pursuing a career in directing.

RTYDS artistic director Sue Emmas said: “RTYDS is addressing the imbalance of opportunities between London and the regions and creating pathways for talented directors to build professional careers.

“Half of the theatres we are working with this year are new partners for RTYDS. We will be supporting seven new directors through our three-month placements, up to forty new directors through Introduction to Directing courses and two directors will spend 18-months honing their craft in Leeds and Bristol respectively.”