Directors' programme

Closing date for applications: Sunday 30th August at 11:30pm

Salary information: The trainee director position is compensated at £30,795.75 (gross) per annum. The assistant directors' pool provides access to both paid roles and free opportunities across the year, alongside a one-off bursary of £1,000 to support engagement with us; this includes first access to paid freelance assistant directing opportunities for assistant directors.

Location: London

Develop your directing career through training, mentoring and opportunities focused on new writing at the Royal Court.

The Royal Court is the writers’ theatre - the national and international leader in championing and supporting playwrights. The Royal Court Theatre is now recruiting for the 2026-27 Royal Court Trainee Directors (x2) and Assistant Directors' pool (x6). We’re seeking early-career directors with experience in directing and/or facilitation, and a strong interest in new writing.

This is your route into applying for one or both of the opportunities available. There’s just one application form – so don’t worry, you won’t need to apply twice. You’ll be able to indicate your interest in either or both roles as part of the process.

Trainee Directors

We are looking to work with early-career directors with a background in directing and/or facilitating, with particular interest in directing new writing and developing their wider skills and abilities towards future freelance careers and artistic leadership roles. The Royal Court Trainee Director scheme has had an impressive history supporting the next generation of brilliant directors and artistic leaders, with alumni including Rufus Norris, Roy Alexander Weise, Lyndsey Turner and Milli Bhatia. We can’t wait to see who’s next.

What you'll be doing

Responsibilities include:

• Working with internal and freelance directors on productions
• Directing readings and festival performances
• Participating in workshops
• Supporting the wider directors’ programme
• Liaising between other teams on behalf of the artistic team
• Feeding into script-reading and literary processes.

Additional responsibilities may arise during the course of your role, supporting the management and administration of our programmes.

What we're looking for

Knowledge & Experience

• A minimum of two credits as director, associate director or assistant director all within a professional context.
• Experience of working on a show with a run of over one week, including noting a show during the course of a performance run.
• Experience of working with writers and/or in new writing, and an understanding of the challenges and opportunities around presenting and developing new plays.

Skills & Abilities

• A self-motivated, pro-active and committed approach to your work.
• A collaborative, flexible team player with an appetite for taking on a wider range of tasks in the organisation, beyond the specific creative role of director/assistant director.
• A high degree of tact, discretion and confidentiality.
• Commitment to anti-racism and anti-oppression in our work, including an understanding of these objectives in the theatre and wider cultural sectors.

Assistant directors' pool

The Royal Court Theatre has an exciting opportunity for six people to join the Royal Court as part of the Assistant Directors' Pool. The Assistant Directors’ Pool will create an annual cohort of six directors at early career stages with a specific interest in new writing. Over a one-year attachment, the opportunity will introduce them to the Royal Court and provide access to paid roles and free opportunities across the year, alongside a one-off bursary to support engagement with us.

What you will gain

• First access to paid freelance assistant directing opportunities in shows in both theatres at the Royal Court across the year. Please note, while we will make every effort, we cannot guarantee you a paid assistant position.
• Invitations to press nights and Directors’ Nights across the year.
• Credited on our website as part of the Royal Court Assistant Director Pool and access to advice and mentoring from our Resident Director and artistic team across the year.
• Early access to opportunities throughout the year, including directors’ workshops, Q&As, and observing open technical rehearsals.
• A one-off bursary of £1,000 to support your engagement with us – to be put towards anything else you might need developing your career.

What we're looking for

• You should have a minimum of two credits as director, associate or assistant director in a professional context.
• You should have experience of working on a show with a run of over one week, including noting a show during the course of a performance run.
• You should have experience of working with writers and/or in new writing, and an understanding of the challenges and opportunities around presenting and developing new plays.

What the application form will ask for:

• Your personal details
• Your programme preference – trainee director, assistant directors' pool, or both
• Your preferred start date (if applying for the trainee director role)
• Your preferred application format – written or audio
• A response to the question:
• Tell us about your professional experience to date, and why you feel this is the right next step for you. Word Limit - 800 words or time limit - 8 minutes
• Your CV

You don’t have to complete the form all at once! If you start filling it out and need to come back later, your answers will be saved—just make sure you’re using the same browser and device (and not in incognito or private mode). Your progress will be safely stored in your browser for up to 15 days. When you return, you’ll start at the beginning of the form, but your previous answers will still be there. You can review, edit, and continue from where you left off before submitting.

More information and guidance will be provided on each page of the form.

Our Commitment:

In your application, we’ll ask if you identify as black and/or global majority, working class, and/or D/deaf or disabled. As part of our commitment to addressing systemic under-representation on stages across the UK, we prioritise ensuring that at least half of all places across our artistic programmes are held by individuals who identify as black and/or global majority, working class and/or D/deaf or disabled.

The assistant directors pool will be paid in line with Equity-ITC rates (https://www.equity.org.uk/news/2023/equity-announce-new-agreements-for-directors-west-end-commercial-and-subsidised)

Important Application Information:

Everything you need to apply is available via the Apply button, including:

• Links to the job adverts and descriptions
• The application form itself

This application form is only for the recruitment process of the two roles mentioned above. Please do not apply here should you be looking for more information on events as we won't be retaining the email information here for that purpose.

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are under-represented in the creative industries.

Please make sure that you state in your application that you found this role via Creative Access.