Debs Newbold

My name is Debs Newbold (she/her) and I am a theatre maker. As well as directing, my body of work also encompasses performance, writing and dramaturgy. I am particularly interested in new writing and bold reworkings of classic texts. The bolder the better. I love working with live music as part of the on-stage story.

I am also a storytelling and Shakespeare specialist. I served as Storytelling consultant at Shakespeare’s Globe Education from 2014-19, where I trained actors to create devised solo performances of Shakespeare’s plays for family audiences in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. My own work as a performance storyteller is ongoing and tours internationally.

I am particularly interested in devising, and have a long association with director John Wright, co-founder of both Trestle and Told by an Idiot. Working with him and his approach to theatre making has influenced me a lot as a director and facilitator.

I want to work with stories that seek out clashes of style, that flip the patriarchal narrative, that get deep under the skin and seek out the epic in the everyday.

That said, I am huge fan of a big, showy number, too!

Credits

Director, Bleak House, Creation Theatre (Blackwell’s Bookshop), 6 weeks, 2020

Director, Travelling With Thomas Showcase, Laurel Swift/EFDSS, R&D one week, 2020

Director, Rising Up, HOME Manchester & Tour, 2 weeks, 2019

Director, Promised Land, Mr. Wilson’s Second Liners (Durham Brass Festival), one week, 2019

Director, The Elephant in the Room, Komola Collective (Stratford Circus), one week & showcase (R&D), 2019

Director, FERAL, The Boo & UK Tours x 2, four weeks, 2018 & 19

Co-Director, How To Be Amazingly Happy, Lawrence Batley Theatre & Edinburgh Fringe, 4 weeks, 2018

Director & Facilitator, Shakespeare tales for families, Shakespeare’s Globe Education (Sam Wanamaker Playhouse) ongoing seasonal showings, 2018- present

Director, Class Mates, Draycott-Trimm (Square Chapel, Halifax), one showcase (rehearsed reading), 2018

Assistant Director (to Jo Howarth), Merry Wives of Windsor, Shakespeare’s Globe Education (Shakespeare’s Globe Playhouse), 2014

Director, The Snow Queen Trail, Rose Theatre Kingston, 4 weeks, 2011

Training

MA in Performance, Goldsmith's College (distinction)
BA (Hons) Drama, University of Manchester (First Class)
Globe Education Practitioner training (Shakespeare's Globe)
FUSE playwriting course, Leeds Playhouse
Theatre Maker & Creator Residency, GECKO (HOME, Manchester)
Devising with Clown, JOHN WRIGHT (Actor's Centre)
Macbeth Workshop, KATHRYN HUNTER (Shakespeare's Globe)