Nancy Meckler

Nancy Meckler is an American-born director, known for her approach to theatre, specifically her work in the United Kingdom with Shared Experience, where she was a joint artistic director alongside Polly Teale. Educated in the US and England, she has directed for a number of prominent theatres, including the Globe Theatre, the Royal National Theatre, and the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has also directed feature films such as Sister My Sister, and Alive and Kicking/Indian Summer.

Early life and education Meckler is native to Long Island, New York. It was there that she began to take interest in the arts, though directing was not her original passion; at first she wanted to be an actor. She was initially attracted to theatre because of its ability to expose audiences to new and different worldviews. Meckler attended several academic institutions in the US, beginning with Antioch College for her undergraduate degree, then moving on to study acting at HB Studios. with Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 1981.

She was the artistic director of Shared Experience Theatre, a fringe theatre company in London, from 1988 to 2011. The company is known for its non-traditional approaches to theatre, namely their tendency to stage well known plays in a way that has not been done before.

Directing credits

As a Freelance Director 1972–2000 Eight Sam Shepard plays (including world premieres of Killers Head, Action, Curse of the Starving Class, and A Particle of Dread: Oedipus Variations) Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekov – Hampstead Theatre, 1979. Dusa, Fish, Stas and Vi by Pam Gems – Hampstead Theatre and West End, 1976. Sufficient Carbohydrate by Dennis Potter – Hampstead Theatre and West End, 1984. Low Level Panic by Clare McIntyre – Royal Court Theatre Upstairs and Lyric Hammersmith, 1988. St Joan by George Bernard Shaw – Cambridge Theatre Company tour. Rose by Martin Sherman – National Theatre and Broadway (Lincoln Centre, 2000 ).

Artistic Director of Shared Experience Theatre 1988-2011 The Bacchae – Edinburgh Festival, UK tour, 1988. Abingdon Square by Maria Irene Fornes – Soho Poly (1989), National Theatre (1990). The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter – UK tour, 1990. Anna Karenina adapted by Helen Edmundson – UK tour and World tour, 1992. Mill on the Floss adapted by Helen Edmundson (co-director Polly Teale) – UK tour and World Tour, 2001. War and Peace adapted by Helen Edmundson (co-director Polly Teale) – UK tour, National Theatre, 2008. A Passage to India adapted by Martin Sherman - UK tour, BAM Next Wave Festival, New York, 2004. Bronte by Polly Teale – Watermill, UK tour, Tricycle Theatre.

Freelance director 2011 – present

With the Royal Shakespeare Company House of Desires Romeo and Juliet The Comedy of Errors All's Well that Ends Well The Heresy of Love by Helen Edmundson A Midsummer Night's Dream

Other King Lear – Shakespeare's Globe 2017.

Filmography Meckler has directed two films, Sister My Sister (1994) and Indian Summer (aka Alive & Kicking) (1996). Both films contain LGBTQ+ subject matter, Reviewers described Meckler's direction as theatrical; her experience as a stage director clearly present in her on screen work. Various reviewers interpreted this style of directing in different ways, with some saying it adds to the films, and others saying it detracts from them. The film portrays a controversial relationship, an incestuous lesbian romance between two sisters.

Awards The Mill on the Floss Helen Hayes Award, Outstanding Visiting Production, 2001 (Kennedy Centre) Anna Karenina Best Touring Show TMA/Martini, 1993 Outstanding Theatrical Event, Time Out awards, 1992 Best Foreign Theatre Company, Diario Clarín, Buenos Aires, 1992 Sister My Sister Best Feature, Turin Film Festival, 1995 Public Prize; Best New Director; Youth Prize : Valladolid Film Festival, 1994 Alive and Kicking Opening Film, Locarno Film Festival, 1996 Most Popular Film, Hamptons Film Festival, 1996 Audience Award Best Film, London Film Festival, 1997 Grand Prix, Luchon Film Festival, 1999 A Streetcar Named Desire Best Dance Production, Southbank Awards, 2012 Best Dance Production Nominee, Olivier Awards, 2012