Thea Sharrock is an English theatre and film director. In 2001, at age 24, she became the artistic director of London's Southwark Playhouse and the youngest artistic director in British theatre.

Early life and education

Sharrock was born to journalist parents in London, but spent part of her childhood living in Kenya. She attended the Anna Scher Theatre School from the age of nine. After her secondary education, Sharrock spent a gap year working in theatre. She first worked in administration at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg, where she was also allowed to assistant direct on one production, before returning to the UK, where she worked as a personal assistant at the NT studio. She then read Philosophy and French at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. While a student there, she was president of the Oxford University Dramatic Society.

Career

Theatre

After leaving Oxford early, before completing her degree, Sharrock took the directors course at the National Theatre, and worked as an assistant director on a number of productions at London theatres and on tour. In the summer of 2000, she won the James Menzies Kitchin Trust Award (JMK Trust Award), which allowed her to mount a production of Top Girls at the Battersea Arts Centre (BAC). The show was a success and toured the UK twice, before a brief run at a West End theatre. She began her three-year tenure at the Southwark Playhouse in January 2001. In addition to work at the Playhouse, she served as an associate director on the long-running West End production of Art, directed works for the National Theatre and English Touring Theatre, and began her association with the Peter Hall Company. Sharrock left the Southwark Playhouse in late 2003, and became artistic director at the Gate Theatre in August 2004. She left this post in 2006, and had been widely tipped to take over at the Royal Court Theatre, although the post eventually went to Dominic Cooke. She served on the selection panel for the 2005 biennial Linbury Prize for Stage Design, and is now a JMK Award trustee. Her production of Cloud Nine played at the Almeida Theatre from 31 October to 8 December 2007. In 2008, she directed Happy Now? at the National Theatre, before taking her 2007 West End revival of Equus to New York in 2008 with Daniel Radcliffe making his Broadway debut. In 2009, she directed a production of As You Like It at Shakespeare's Globe. In 2010, Sharrock directed a revival of Martin Crimp's version of The Misanthrope originally by Moliere, at the Comedy Theatre starring Keira Knightley and Damian Lewis. Also in 2010, she directed Benedict Cumberbatch in the Olivier-winning revival of After the Dance by Terence Rattigan.

TV

In 2012, she directed Tom Hiddleston in Henry V as part of the BBC's miniseries The Hollow Crown.

Film

Sharrock's feature film debut, an adaptation of the novel Me Before You, was announced in 2014. The film was released in 2016 and grossed $207 million worldwide. She directed the 2020 Disney adventure The One and Only Ivan, based on the book of the same name. She directed Wicked Little Letters, which premiered in 2023, about a series of poison pen letters sent in 1920s Littlehampton in Britain.

Personal life

Sharrock is married to National Theatre production manager Paul Handley, with whom she has two sons. Daniel Radcliffe is godfather to their son Misha.

Filmography

Television Film

Credits

Theatre

Radio