Persia Babayan-Taylor

I was born in Leeds to English and Armenian-Iranian parents, and grew up in Cumbria on the door-step of the Lake District. I trained at Guildford School of Acting, graduating with a First Class Honours degree before beginning a varied career in the performance industry. I have worked as an Actor and Musician performing on screen and on stage in London’s West End, as a composer creating music for theatre and short film, and as a Producer and Director.

Now working predominantly as a Director, I have worked with notable venues and establishments such as Theatre by the Lake and Guildford School of Acting.

In 2023, I'm thrilled to be making my directing debut in documentary film-making and television.

Credits

Credits as a director include: Perfume (Bradford Opera Festival), His Last Gift (Bradford Opera Festival), Native to Brunca (Docuseries in pre-production, Native to Earth) Don Giovanni (Cumbria Opera Festival 2023), Swallows and Armenians (Cumbria Opera Group, 2022), As You Like It (R&D, Guildford School of Acting 2021), Cosi Fan Tutte (Cumbria Opera Festival 2021), Twelfth Night (Jupiter Theatre, 2021), Swallows and Armenians (R&D digital workshops, Guildford School of Acting 2021), Swallows and Armenians (Theatre by the Lake), Cymbeline (Bellaire’s Studio, 2019), Venus and Adonis (Eden Valley Opera Company, 2017)

As a producer and assistant-producer: As You Like It (Regional Tour, Jupiter Theatre, 2022), As You Like It (R&D, Guildford School of Acting, 2021), Twelfth Night (Regional tour, Jupiter Theatre, 2021), Swallows and Armenians (R&D, Guildford School of Acting 2021), Swallows and Armenians (Theatre by the Lake, 2019), Cymbeline (Bellaire’s Studio, 2019), The Rest Is Silence (Guildford, 2018), Dido and Aeneas (Eden Valley Opera Company 2016)

As a composer: Swallows and Armenians (Cumbria Opera Group, 2022), As You Like It (R&D, Guildford School of Acting 2021), Twelfth Night (Jupiter Theatre, 2021), Cymbeline (Bellaire’s Studio, 2019), and Twelfth Night (Jupiter Theatre, 2016)

Training

Guildford School of Acting, B.A.(Hons)

Mental Health First Aid, and First Aid at Work

Short course training with the National Film and Television School in Directing Television Drama (under the tutorship of award-winning Director, Andrew Gunn) and an Introduction to Intimacy Coordination (under the tutorship of stage and screen Intimacy Coordinator, Haley Muraleedharan)