Laurence Boswell has become the new Artistic Director of the Ustinov Studio.

Under his direction, the Ustinov Studio is about to embark on the most exciting period of its history which will see eighteen brand new in-house productions presented over a three year period. All of these will be completely new to UK audiences, as the Ustinov Studio becomes the venue for their British premieres.

This Autumn an ensemble of nine actors will present the first three productions which are -

The Phoenix of Madrid by Spanish writer Calderon, Iphigenia by Goethe and The Surprise of Love by Marivaux.

Despite the eminence of these major European playwrights, none of these plays has ever been seen before in the UK and will now be presented for the first time, in brand new translations commissioned by the Ustinov Studio. The plays will be performed in repertory between September and December, with booking opening at the beginning of July.

Laurence Boswell is one of the UK’s leading directors. He has been an Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, for whom he directed The Spanish Golden Age Season, and Artistic Director of The Gate for whom he directed Agamemnon’s Children, Winner of the International Theatre Society Award 1995. He led the Gate's Spanish Golden Age project, which won the 1992 Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement.

His West End directing credits include Ben Elton’s Popcorn (Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy 1998); he directed Madonna in her 2002 London stage debut Up For Grabs (which was co-produced by Theatre Royal Bath Productions) the same year he directed Matt Damon and Jake Gylenhall in This Is Our Youth, for which he won the Elle Style Director of the Year award 2002; Billie Piper in Christopher Hampton’s Treats and Eddie Izzard in a revival of A Day In The Death of Joe Egg for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Director, and which received the Critics’ Circle Award for Best Revival of a Play.

In addition to his directing credits, Laurence Boswell is the author of an adaptation of Beauty and the Beast which won The Barclay Theatre Award Best Play for Children and Young People, 1997.

In between the seasons of in house productions, the Ustinov Studio will continue to present short seasons of the best music, stand-up comedy and new drama.