About
Amy (she/her) is an Olivier Award nominated and UK Theatre Award winning freelance Theatre Director based in Leeds. Between 2017-2025 she was first Associate Director (2017-22) and then Deputy Artistic Director (2022-2025) of Leeds Playhouse. She is a proud Board member of Ramps on the Moon, and a passionate advocate for and champion of creatively accessible theatre.
Amy is currently working on a range of freelance projects including directing Brassed Off at Leeds Playhouse in Spring 2026.
Amy recently directed A Christmas Carol at Leeds Playhouse, a critically acclaimed production which was seen by over 53,000 people across the festive season 2025-26. Earlier in 2025 she directed Animal Farm, a co-production between Theatre Royal Stratford East and Leeds Playhouse in association with Nottingham Playhouse which was nominated for Best New Production in Affiliate Theatre at the 2025 Olivier Awards, and won Best Play Revival at the UK Theatre Awards 2025. Animal Farm was listed in the Top Ten Theatre of 2025 in The Guardian and in the Top Fifty Theatre of 2025 in The Stage.
Amy's directing credits include Animal Farm, Mr Snow, Lord of the Flies, Macbeth, Don't You Know It's Going To Be Alright, There Are No Beginnings (featured in The Observer Best 10 Theatre of 2019), Hamlet, A Christmas Carol, Road, Talking Heads, Queen of Chapeltown, Romeo & Juliet, Kes & The Night Before Christmas for Leeds Playhouse (formerly West Yorkshire Playhouse); Oliver Twist for Leeds Playhouse and Ramps on the Moon which can currently be viewed on NT at Home (featured in The Observer Best 10 Theatre of 2020); A Christmas Carol for Hull Truck and Hull City of Culture; The Borrowers for the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff; Wonderman for NTW, WMC & Gagglebabble; Little Sure Shot for West Yorkshire Playhouse, The Egg Bath, Theatre Iolo and Mac Belfast; The Caucasian Chalk Circle for The Unicorn, London; The Life and Times of Mitchell and Kenyon for Dukes Theatre, Lancaster and Oldham Coliseum; Wanted! Robin Hood and Arabian Nights (MTA Winner for Best Ensemble 2012) for the Library Theatre Company at The Lowry; Sabbat, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Peter Pan and My Mother Said I Never Should for The Dukes; Dracula, Peter Pan, Wilde Tales, Oliver Twist, The Animated Tales of Shakespeare and The Grimm Brothers’ Circus for Theatre Royal Bath/the egg; and Dr Korczak’s Example for the Royal Exchange in Manchester (MEN Award Winner for Best Studio Production 2008).
Amy grew up in Darwen, Lancashire and attended the youth theatre at the Bolton Octagon Theatre. On graduating from University, Amy co-founded the award winning theatre company for young people, en masse, with playwright and composer Oliver Birch. en masse toured nationally and internationally between 2003 & 2011. For en masse, Amy directed and produced UK tours of Spaceship ’87, The Echo Chamber (Fringe First Winner 2003), The Ignatius Trail (Fringe First Winner 2004), The Shelter, The Iceberg and We All Fall Down, as well as directing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in co-production with the Dukes Theatre, Lancaster.
Amy is currently working on a range of freelance projects including directing Brassed Off at Leeds Playhouse in Spring 2026.
Amy recently directed A Christmas Carol at Leeds Playhouse, a critically acclaimed production which was seen by over 53,000 people across the festive season 2025-26. Earlier in 2025 she directed Animal Farm, a co-production between Theatre Royal Stratford East and Leeds Playhouse in association with Nottingham Playhouse which was nominated for Best New Production in Affiliate Theatre at the 2025 Olivier Awards, and won Best Play Revival at the UK Theatre Awards 2025. Animal Farm was listed in the Top Ten Theatre of 2025 in The Guardian and in the Top Fifty Theatre of 2025 in The Stage.
Amy's directing credits include Animal Farm, Mr Snow, Lord of the Flies, Macbeth, Don't You Know It's Going To Be Alright, There Are No Beginnings (featured in The Observer Best 10 Theatre of 2019), Hamlet, A Christmas Carol, Road, Talking Heads, Queen of Chapeltown, Romeo & Juliet, Kes & The Night Before Christmas for Leeds Playhouse (formerly West Yorkshire Playhouse); Oliver Twist for Leeds Playhouse and Ramps on the Moon which can currently be viewed on NT at Home (featured in The Observer Best 10 Theatre of 2020); A Christmas Carol for Hull Truck and Hull City of Culture; The Borrowers for the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff; Wonderman for NTW, WMC & Gagglebabble; Little Sure Shot for West Yorkshire Playhouse, The Egg Bath, Theatre Iolo and Mac Belfast; The Caucasian Chalk Circle for The Unicorn, London; The Life and Times of Mitchell and Kenyon for Dukes Theatre, Lancaster and Oldham Coliseum; Wanted! Robin Hood and Arabian Nights (MTA Winner for Best Ensemble 2012) for the Library Theatre Company at The Lowry; Sabbat, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Peter Pan and My Mother Said I Never Should for The Dukes; Dracula, Peter Pan, Wilde Tales, Oliver Twist, The Animated Tales of Shakespeare and The Grimm Brothers’ Circus for Theatre Royal Bath/the egg; and Dr Korczak’s Example for the Royal Exchange in Manchester (MEN Award Winner for Best Studio Production 2008).
Amy grew up in Darwen, Lancashire and attended the youth theatre at the Bolton Octagon Theatre. On graduating from University, Amy co-founded the award winning theatre company for young people, en masse, with playwright and composer Oliver Birch. en masse toured nationally and internationally between 2003 & 2011. For en masse, Amy directed and produced UK tours of Spaceship ’87, The Echo Chamber (Fringe First Winner 2003), The Ignatius Trail (Fringe First Winner 2004), The Shelter, The Iceberg and We All Fall Down, as well as directing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in co-production with the Dukes Theatre, Lancaster.
Photo by Steffi Njoya