Who is Nadia Fall?

Fri 09 Dec 2016 | Our Plays, The Bigger Picture

Nadia Fall is a director. You might know her from productions at the National Theatre where she trained on the NT Studio’s Directors programme.

For the NT she’s directed The Suicide, Our Country’s Good, Dara, Chewing Gum Dreams, Home, Hymn, The Doctor’s Dilemma.

She also directed Disgraced at the Bush Theatre in 2013, which was “devastatingly effective” (What’s On Stage), “crisply entertaining” (The Telegraph) and “powerful, challenging, deftly crafted” (Sunday Times).

Photo: Helen Murray

Disgraced won the 2013 Pultizer Prize for Drama. The hit play about ambition, culture and faith took US and UK audiences by storm and provoked debate across the nation.

“I want to make work which says something about the world, and, in however small a way, tries to change it. I do have opinions and I want to share them. I don’t want to create inert work which doesn’t have an opinion.” (The Stage)

She says she’s influenced by David Lynch films and Gregory Crewdson’s richly detailed photographs, plus hip hop and spoken word. (The Stage)

Untitled, summer (from Beneath the roses). Photo: Gregory Crewdson, 2004

Nadia was born in Lewisham and trained at Goldsmiths College (MA Directing) but came to directing later on. Her strict Asian family didn’t embrace theatre as a career for her.

“I did drama at school and loved it and I had secret longings about being an actor. My parents were disgusted by the thought of any of that, especially my father, who is the strict Asian father who wanted me to be academic and traditional and get married and have children.” (The Independent)

Other recent production’s Nadia has directed include Way Upstream at Chichester Festival Theatre. Dominic Cavendish: “it’s the emotional ripples left in the show’s wake you remember.” (The Telegraph)

Photo: Alistair Muir

Further directing credits include R AND D (Hampstead Theatre), Hobson’s Choice(Regents Park Open Air Theatre), How Was it for You? (Unicorn Theatre), Sticks & Stones (Polka Theatre) and The Maids (Lyric Hammersmith).

“I didn’t know what a director was or anything like that until really quite shockingly late. It was more a mirage of theatre in the distance that I kept going towards.” (The Independent)

She has directed at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Unicorn Theatre and led participation initiatives with partners such as the Young Vic, Clean Break, Soho Theatre and the Royal Court. She is also an acting coach, supporting professional actors for film and stage.

Nadia Fall’s production of Hir is at the Bush Theatre 15 Jun – 22 Jul 2017. Find out more and book tickets here.