Laurence read drama at Manchester University. At the beginning of 2011, he was appointed as Artistic Director of the Ustinov Studio. Laurence has directed the following plays for the Ustinov Studio: Trouble in Mind by Alice Childress, Forever Yours, Mary-Lou by Michel Tremblay, The One That Got Away by Georges Feydeau, The Mother by Florian Zeller, Exit The King by Eugene Ionesco, Intimate Apparelby Lynn NOttage, Punishment Without Revenge by Lope de Vega, A Lady of Little Sense by Lope de Vega, Fifty Words by Michael Weller, The Double by Dostoevsky (which he also adapted), In The Next Room or The Vibrator Play by Sarah Ruhl, The Surprise of Love by Marivaux, Iphigenia by Goethe and The Phoenix of Mardid by Calderon de la Barca (which he also translated). West End directing credits include: Popcorn by Ben Elton (Apollo Tehatre), A Day in the Death of Joe Egg by Peter Nichols (Comedy Theatre) which won Olivier Award for Best Comedy and was Tony nominated for Best Director after transferring to Broadway, This Is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan (Garrick Theatre), Treats by Christopher Hampton (Garrick Tehatre) and Up For Grabs by David Williamson (Wyndham’s Theatre) winning Elle Style Awards for Best Director. RSC: Laurence was Assistant Director and Associate Director of the RSC. Directing credits include: Women Beware Women, his own version of Beauty And The Beast, The Dog In The Manger, Bartholomew Fair and The Painter Of Dishonour. He curated and directed the RSC’s Golden Age season in 2004, which transferred to the West End and to Teatro Espanol, Madrid. He is an Associate Artist of the RSC. Gate Theatre: Laurence was Associate Director from 1991-1993 and Artistic Director from 1993-1996 where his productions included The Spanish Golden Age Season which won the 1992 Oliver Award for Outstanding Achievement. Freelance: Laurence has worked at a number of regional theatres including Sheffield Crucible, Leicester Haymarket, Theatre Royal Plymouth and the Young Vic in London, where he directed Hamlet, Long Day’s Journey Into Night and his own version of Beauty and the Beast. Internationally he has direted in America, Canada, Spain and Portugal. Writing credits include: Beauty and the Beast which one TMA Award for Best Play for Children and Young People, English language version of Fuente Ovejuna for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, The Painter of Dishonour (RSC) and Damned for Despair and Don Gil Of The Green Breeches (the Gate).
