Sam Walters

Sam Walters (born 11 October 1939) is a British theatre director who retired in 2014 as artistic director of the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond, London. He has also directed in the West End and at Ipswich, Canterbury and Greenwich, as well as at LAMDA, RADA and Webber Douglas. After 42 years Walters, the United Kingdom's longest-serving artistic director, and his wife and associate director, Auriol Smith, stepped down from their posts at the Orange Tree Theatre in June 2014.

Career

Early years Sam Walters was educated at Felsted School and while there, in 1957, he won the Public Schools Debating Association public speaking competition. He also captained the Essex Young Amateurs cricket team. He then took a degree at Merton College, Oxford (1959–62), where he was president of the Experimental Theatre Club. He trained as an actor at LAMDA (1962–64) turning to directing with the formation of the Worcester Repertory Company in 1967.

The Orange Tree Theatre He was invited to establish Jamaica's first full-time theatre company and drama school,

Honours

Walters was bestowed the honour of Order of the British Empire, with the rank of Member, by Elizabeth II in her 1999 New Year Honours. He and his wife Auriol Smith received the Freedom of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in December 2014.

Productions Sam Walters' productions at the Orange Tree Theatre include:

Old Orange Tree Theatre Go Tell It on Table Mountain (Evan Jones), the Orange Tree's opening production on 31 December 1971 The Lady or the Tiger (Michael Richmond and Jeremy Paul, score by Nola York), January 2010 Once Bitten (farce by Alfred Hennequin and Alfred Dellacourt, translated and adapted by Reggie Oliver), January 2011 Reading Hebron (Jason Sherman), February 2011 The Conspirators (Václav Havel), August 2011 They have two daughters: Dorcas Walters, who was principal dancer with Birmingham Royal Ballet and now works in arts administration, and Octavia Walters, formerly an actress, now a sports injury masseur.