‘Who needed sets, when Rayner effectively had six pieces of human scenery to play with? [...] It was fantastically detailed stuff, intrinsic to the storytelling.’
- Erica Jeal, The Guardian, SERSE (Director)
Sam is a director, movement director and dramaturg. He creates accessible and diverse work that uses physicality to inspire the imagination.
His recent directing credits include an acrobatic staging of SERSE for Opera Holland Park (‘fantastically detailed’, The Guardian); MAN OF ONE HUNDRED FACES - exploring espionage in Revolutionary Russia - listed in The Guardian’s ‘Readers’ Favourite Stage Shows of 2022’; and THE MAN WHO THOUGHT HE KNEW TOO MUCH (UK and international tour) - described as ‘physical theatre at its most immaculate’ (The Scotsman).
Sam’s work in comedy includes collaborations with Jack Whitehall, Charlotte Ritchie, Leo Reich, Liam Williams and Jordan Brookes. His movement direction credits include: JACK WHITEHALL: AT LARGE (Hammersmith Apollo/UK Tour/NETFLIX); LEO REICH: LITERALLY WHO CARES?! - listed as The Guardian’s ‘Best Comedy Show of 2022’ and The New York Times’ ‘Critic’s Pick 2023’; SHEEPS: LIVE & LOUD (Soho Theatre/Pleasance Courtyard) - where The Guardian described the show’s ‘razzle-dazzle song-and-dance opener’ as ‘intensely funny’; and JORDAN BROOKES: BLEED (Soho Theatre/Pleasance Courtyard), described as ‘a fearless display of physicality that shape shifts from ludicrous tomfoolery to raw menace.’ (The List)
Sam regularly associate directs for Helen Eastman and Olivier-nominee Bronagh Lagan. His credits as Associate Director include Broken Wings (Theatre Royal Haymarket/Dubai Opera/Katara Opera); Umm Kulthum and the Golden Era (London Palladium/Dubai Opera) and The Adventures of Pinocchio (Ambassador’s Theatre).
He has delivered workshops for the Royal Northern College of Music and Associated Studios. He teaches movement at Actors Door Studio.
Sam trained at Cambridge University and l’École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq.
- Erica Jeal, The Guardian, SERSE (Director)
Sam is a director, movement director and dramaturg. He creates accessible and diverse work that uses physicality to inspire the imagination.
His recent directing credits include an acrobatic staging of SERSE for Opera Holland Park (‘fantastically detailed’, The Guardian); MAN OF ONE HUNDRED FACES - exploring espionage in Revolutionary Russia - listed in The Guardian’s ‘Readers’ Favourite Stage Shows of 2022’; and THE MAN WHO THOUGHT HE KNEW TOO MUCH (UK and international tour) - described as ‘physical theatre at its most immaculate’ (The Scotsman).
Sam’s work in comedy includes collaborations with Jack Whitehall, Charlotte Ritchie, Leo Reich, Liam Williams and Jordan Brookes. His movement direction credits include: JACK WHITEHALL: AT LARGE (Hammersmith Apollo/UK Tour/NETFLIX); LEO REICH: LITERALLY WHO CARES?! - listed as The Guardian’s ‘Best Comedy Show of 2022’ and The New York Times’ ‘Critic’s Pick 2023’; SHEEPS: LIVE & LOUD (Soho Theatre/Pleasance Courtyard) - where The Guardian described the show’s ‘razzle-dazzle song-and-dance opener’ as ‘intensely funny’; and JORDAN BROOKES: BLEED (Soho Theatre/Pleasance Courtyard), described as ‘a fearless display of physicality that shape shifts from ludicrous tomfoolery to raw menace.’ (The List)
Sam is a co-Artistic Director of the multi-award-winning international physical theatre company Voloz Collective and new-writing comedy company Unleash the Llama. He directs for Figure Ensemble, staging highly-physical opera apatations.
Sam regularly associate directs for Helen Eastman and Olivier-nominee Bronagh Lagan. His credits as Associate Director include Broken Wings (Theatre Royal Haymarket/Dubai Opera/Katara Opera); Umm Kulthum and the Golden Era (London Palladium/Dubai Opera) and The Adventures of Pinocchio (Ambassador’s Theatre).
He has delivered workshops for the Royal Northern College of Music and Associated Studios. He teaches movement at Actors Door Studio.
Sam trained at Cambridge University and l’École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq.