A message from Aneesha Srinivasan, Resident Director
To Directors,
My name is Aneesha, and I’m Resident Director at the Royal Court.
Before I took up this role, I was Trainee Director here at the Royal Court. Before that, I was a freelance director – which also meant being a freelance writer, researcher, teacher, and personal assistant. I loved wearing many hats, but it was also the most practical way to survive. Like most directors I know, making theatre full-time just wasn’t possible.
When I applied for the Trainee Director job in spring 2023, I was in a strange place. Directing didn’t pay enough to go full-time, getting projects off the ground was difficult (it still is), and what I really wanted was to learn. I needed paid opportunities, and I needed to get better. And knew I couldn’t do one without the other.
Before this job, I didn’t know how a theatre ran. I didn’t know how the industry ran. I didn’t know which doors to walk through – or even where those doors might be. I knew I’d be in storied company as a Trainee Director, but the industry had changed so much in just a few short years, and I felt worried – uncertain about my path forward, and that of my peers’.
These last two years have brought the steepest learning curve of my life. I’ve been thinking: I shouldn’t be the only person able to have that curve. My fellow directors – and those coming up – need it too. To get better. To feel free enough to think creatively. To begin actively planning for a future. None of which are possible if your feet aren’t steady on the ground.
So here’s the result of all that thinking: a ladder of support for directors – open, transparent, and climbable.
We’re opening the doors to anyone who wants to learn more about how to direct, through a series of free-to-attend events designed to help you watch, absorb, and grow. These include
- Open Technical Sessions – because tech is a beast, and watching someone experienced run one can be illuminating (and often thrilling).
- Workshops – because directing is a craft as much as an art. We’ll cover everything from planning auditions, to shaping a concept, to building a good budget.
- Directors’ Nights – come see a show, then speak to the director or their team about how they made it with a drink (on us).
- A new Assistant Directors’ Pool
We’re also creating a dedicated budget line for Assistant Directors in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs for the first time. This means more paid opportunities to observe and participate in the daring, experimental work we make in our studio space. Each year, we’ll form a pool of six assistant directors. If you’re in the pool, you’ll be the first considered for assisting opportunities – and the place comes with a bursary.
And finally, we’re bringing back the Trainee Director scheme – now for two directors a year.
Twelve months embedded in the building: reading scripts, observing rehearsals, learning how departments work together in a subsidised London theatre. Because it’s a great way to learn how a building runs – in case you’d like to run one someday. And because it changes lives. It certainly changed mine.
Directing new writing takes courage, care, and a steady hand. I hope this programme helps you find your way into it – as I did, and still am.
Aneesha