Elayce Ismail

Director

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Film, TV & Theatre

Agent: Rose Cobbe
Assistant: Anna Campbell

Film, TV & Theatre

Elayce Ismail is a director and dramaturg, working in the UK and internationally across theatre, opera and film. She is the Artistic Associate at Music Theatre Wales and has previously been the Head of New Work at the Donmar Warehouse; the inaugural RTYDS Associate Director at Northern Stage; and a Resident Director at the National Theatre as the recipient of the JP Morgan Award for Emerging Directors.

Theatre direction includes: Love and Other Acts of Violence (Donmar Warehouse), Shedding a Skin (Soho Theatre) Nanjing (Shakespeare’s Globe); If Not Now, When? (National Theatre); Under Milk Wood, The War of the Worlds (Northern Stage); Girls (Soho Theatre/HighTide Festival/British Council Edinburgh Showcase); The Rise and Shine of Comrade Fiasco, Chorus, Spooky Action at a Distance (Gate); The Lost Ring (Deutsches Theater Berlin); Stay Another Song (Young Vic).

Opera includes: Our Dark Side and The Moon (creator/librettist; Royal Opera House); They Whisper Don’t Gaze at the Stars… (director; ENO); 4:48 Psychosis (revival director; Opéra national du Rhin/Royal Opera House); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (associate director; Opéra Orchestre national Montpellier); The Virtues of Things (assistant director; Royal Opera House).

Film includes: Nanjing (director; Theatertreffen Stückemarkt); AMAZON (creator/writer; MTW/London Sinfonietta); Simone (director; Young Vic).

Short Films

ProductionCompanyNotes
2018

Young Vic

Written by Lynette Linton

Theatre

ProductionCompanyNotes

GHOST STORIES BY CANDLELIGHT

2023

Hightide UK tour

Dir: Elayce Ismail

CALVINO NIGHTS

2023

Minack Theatre

Co-directed by Mike Shepherd and Elayce Ismail

2021 - 2022

Soho Theatre

By Amanda Wilkin

LOVE AND OTHER ACTS OF VIOLENCE

2021

Donmar Warehouse

By Cordelia Lynn

2019

LAMDA

Writer: Nina Raine
Directed by Elayce Ismail

2018

Northern Stage

A Play for Voices written by Dylan Thomas;
Directed by Elayce Ismail

2018

Shakespeare's Globe

Written and Performed by Jude Christian;
Directed by Elayce Ismail

2018

Northern Stage

By H.G. Wells;
Adapted by Laura Lindow;
Directed by Elayce Ismail

2017

Edinburgh Fringe Festival / UK Tour / High Tide

Written by Theresa Ikoko;
Directed by Elayce Ismail

Part of the British Council Edinburgh Showcase 2017
Nominated for the Alfred Fagon Audience Award

SPOOKY ACTION AT A DISTANCE

2017

Royal Court / Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama / Gate Theatre

Written by Eve Leigh

WHEN I AM A QUEEN

2017

Almeida Theatre

GIRLS

2016

HighTide / Talawa / Soho Theatre

Writer: Theresa Ikoko

2016

Young Vic / St Martin-in-the-Fields High School for Girls / London Nautical School for Boys

Musical Direction: Matthew Floyd Jones
Dramaturgy: Katharine Markwick

2016

Gate Theatre

Writer: Chris Thorpe

NANJING

2016

Yard Theatre / NOW '16 Festival

Writer: Jude Christian

THE TRIAL OF HAMLET

2016

Wyndham’s Theatre (Shakespeare Schools Festival Gala)

2015

National Theatre / Deutsches Theater Berlin / Mitos21

Devised production Elayce created with actors George Siena and Janna Horstmann in response to Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's 1779 play, NATHAN THE WISE

2015

Gate Theatre

Writer: Andrew Whaley

SIMPATICO

Young Vic

Part of the 5 Directors, 5 Plays, 5 Days project

BED & BREAKFAST

2011

Hot Ice Theatre / Brighton Festival Fringe / UK Tour

As Associate/Assistant Director

2014

Young Vic

As Associate Director
Director: Matthew Xi

2013

Young Vic

Jerwood Assistant Directors Programme;
Written by Aimé Césaire
From a translation by Ralph Manheim
Direction by Joe Wright

COMING HOME

2010

Arcola Theatre

As Assistant Director; Director - Cordelia Monsey; Author - Athol Fugard

As Dramaturg

2018

Lyric Hammersmith / HOME

Directed by Jude Christian

Opera

ProductionCompanyNotes

AMAZON

2020

Music Theatre Wales & London Sinfonietta

Commission from Music Theatre Wales & London Sinfonietta, for HOME Manchester’s HOMEMAKERS project

2021

Royal Opera House

Creator and Librettist
new piece of digital opera for online audiences as part of 8 BIT, a series of eight operatic experiences made by contemporary artists.

2019

Opera Montpellier

(As assistant director)
Composer: Benjamin Britten
Libretto: Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears
Director: Ted Huffman

2018

Royal Opera House

(As assistant director)
Director: Ted Huffman
Music: Philip Venables
Text: Sarah Kane

2015

Royal Opera House / Opera North / Aldeburgh Music

(As Assistant Director)
Music: Matt Rogers
Libretto: Sally O'Reilly
Director: Bijan Sheibani