Natalie Abrahami
Natalie Abrahami | |
|---|---|
| Occupation(s) | Theatre, film, and opera director |
| Years active | 2000s–present |
| Known for | Co-Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre (2007–2012); Associate Director at Young Vic (2013–2016) |
Natalie Abrahami is a director from Britain specializing in theatre, film, and opera.
Between 2007 and 2012, she co-led the Gate Theatre as joint Artistic Director alongside Carrie Cracknell. From 2013 until 2016, she held the position of Associate Director and was a Genesis Fellow at London's Young Vic. Additionally, Abrahami is an Associate Artist affiliated with both Hull Truck Theatre and the Nuffield Theatre in Southampton.
Career
Abrahami received her early education at Ibstock Place School and completed her sixth form studies at Latymer Upper School in west London. She pursued English Literature at Christ's College, Cambridge before embarking on her professional training, starting as a Graduate Trainee at the Royal Court Theatre, followed by further development at the National Theatre Studio and the Young Vic. Her productions of Samuel Beckett's Play and Not I earned her the James Menzies-Kitchin Trust Award.
In 2009, together with Cracknell, she secured funding from the Paul Hamlyn Breakthrough Fund for Creative Entrepreneurs to establish Gate Elsewhere—a project dedicated to co-productions, touring initiatives, and off-site performances.
Abrahami directed the premiere staging of Helen Edmundson's play Queen Anne for the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Swan Theatre in 2015. She later directed its revival in 2017 at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.
Credits
Notable directing engagements include:
Theatre
- Abigail's Party by Mike Leigh, Royal Exchange Theatre, 2025; featuring Tupele Dorgu, Graeme Hawley, and Kym Marsh.
- The Trials by Dawn King, Donmar Warehouse, 2022; cast includes William Gao, Honor Kneafsey, and Joe Locke.
- ANNA, devised by Ella Hickson with Ben and Max Ringham, National Theatre Dorfman Theatre, 2019; starring Phoebe Fox, Max Bennett, and Diana Quick.
- The Meeting by Charlotte Jones, Minerva Theatre at Chichester Festival Theatre, 2018; performers included Lydia Leonard, Gerald Kyd, and Jean St Clair.
- Machinal by Sophie Treadwell, Almeida Theatre 2018; featuring Emily Berrington, Jonathan Livingstone, and Kirsty Rider.
- Wings by Arthur Kopit, Young Vic 2017; starring Juliet Stevenson alongside Lorna Brown.
- Queen Anne by Helen Edmundson for Royal Shakespeare Company in 2015 and revived at Theatre Royal Haymarket in 2017; cast members were Emma Cunniffe, Romola Garai, and Beth Park.
- Ah, Wilderness! by Eugene O'Neill at Young Vic in 2015; starring Janie Dee, George MacKay, and Martin Marquez.
- Happy Days by Samuel Beckett staged at Young Vic in 2014 with a revival in 2015; featuring Juliet Stevenson and David Beames.
- After Miss Julie by Patrick Marber as part of Classics for a New Climate at Young Vic in 2012; cast included Natalie Dormer, Kieran Bew, and Polly Frame.
- The Kreutzer Sonata, adapted by Nancy Harris from Leo Tolstoy’s work; world premiere at Gate Theatre in 2009 and later performed at La MaMa E.T.C., New York in 2012; starring Hilton McRae, Tobias Beer, and Sophie Scott.
- Yerma, newly adapted by Anthony Weigh from Federico García Lorca’s original; world premiere presented jointly by Hull Truck Theatre and Gate Theatre in 2011.
- Pericles by William Shakespeare performed at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in 2011.
- A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare produced by Headlong Theatre with Nuffield Theatre Southampton and Hull Truck on regional tour in 2011.
- How To Be An Other Woman, adapted from Lorrie Moore’s work; world premiere at Gate Theatre in 2010.
- Vanya, inspired by Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya and written by Sam Holcroft; world premiere staged at Gate Theatre in 2009.
- Guardians by Lucy Caldwell presented as a world premiere at HighTide Festival in 2009.
- Unbroken, adapted from Arthur Schnitzler’s La Ronde by Alexandra Wood; premiered at Gate Theatre in 2009.
- Site-specific production of Women in Love by Mark Ravenhill set in Pembridge Square London in 2008.
- UK premiere of Anne Washburn’s The Internationalist at Gate Theatre in 2008.
- World premiere of Alexandra Wood’s The Eleventh Capital upstairs at Royal Court Theatre; recipient of the George Devine Award in 2007.
- Productions of Samuel Beckett’s Play and Not I staged at Battersea Arts Centre in 2005.
- UK premiere of Amélie Nothomb’s Human Rites performed at Southwark Playhouse in 2005.
Short films
- The Roof, directed by Nigel Williams and produced as a Young Vic Film in 2016, includes performances by David Lan, Peter Brook, Natalie Dormer, Noma Dumezweni, Jude Law, Sinead Matthews, Ian McKellen, and Hugh Skinner.
- MAYDAY, a 2014 Young Vic Film written by Nancy Harris, features Juliet Stevenson, David Beames, and Tanya Moodie in leading roles.
- Life's a Pitch, created by Olivia Poulet for Young Vic Films in 2013, showcases David Lan, Jane Horrocks, Rory Kinnear, and Eddie Redmayne.
Opera
- The production of Rusalka (opera) by Antonín Dvořák, developed in collaboration with Ann Yee for the Royal Opera House in 2023, was conducted by Semyon Bychkov (conductor) and featured artists such as David Butt Philip, Asmik Grigorian, and Hongni Wu.
- How The Whale Became, originally by Ted Hughes with music composed by Julian Philips and libretto by Ed Kemp, was presented at the Linbury Studio Theatre within the Royal Opera House in 2013.