# Sam Yates

Sam Yates (born August 1983) is a British director. Yates grew up in Stockport and attended Poynton High School. He was selected as a Screen International Star of Tomorrow, named a rising star in The Observer, and featured in GQ Magazine's "Men of the next 25 years". Yates has been described as "a major talent" in The Guardian, and "a director of unusual flair" in The Observer. He studied Education with English at Homerton College, Cambridge.
Yates directed and co-created VANYA adapted by Simon Stephens and featuring Andrew Scott. The production won multiple awards including the Olivier Award for Best Revival, Best Revival at the What'sOnStage Awards, and Best Actor for Andrew Scott at the Critics' Circle and Evening Standard Awards. The filmed National Theatre Live production, directed by Yates, played in cinemas internationally and took over $2.5million at the box office.
His productions have been nominated for Olivier Awards: Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical for Murder Ballad (2017), and Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre for The Phlebotomist by Ella Road (2019).
He directed feature debut Magpie featuring Daisy Ridley and Shazad Latif. The film premiered at South by Southwest in 2024.
Yates is known for his "eclectic body of work" and his "superb sense for casting", having directed leading talent Andrew Scott, Daisy Ridley, Ruth Wilson, Hayley Atwell, Gemma Arterton, Christian Slater, Matthew Broderick, Ciaran Hinds, Jane Horrocks, Elizabeth McGovern and Jonah Hauer-King. He is in a relationship with Irish actress Charlie Murphy.

## Selected work
### Theatre

| Year | Title | Playwright | Theatre | Cast |
| 2025 | Vanya | Simon Stephens (after Anton Chekhov) | Lucille Lortel Theatre | Andrew Scott |
| 2023 | Vanya | Simon Stephens (after Anton Chekhov) | Duke of York's Theatre | Andrew Scott |
| 2021 | The Two Character Play | Tennessee Williams | Hampstead Theatre | Kate O'Flynn, Zubin Varla |
| 2020 | A Separate Peace | Tom Stoppard | Zoom | David Morrissey, Jenna Coleman, Denise Gough, Ed Stoppard |
| 2018-20 | Incantata | Paul Muldoon | Irish Repertory Theatre, Gate Theatre, Dublin, Galway Arts Festival | Stanley Townsend |
| 2019 | The Starry Messenger | Kenneth Lonergan | Wyndham's Theatre | Matthew Broderick, Elizabeth McGovern, Rosalind Eleazar, Jim Norton |
| 2018/19 | The Phlebotomist | Ella Road | Hampstead Theatre Downstairs and Main House | Jade Anouka, Rory Fleck Byrne, Cherrelle Skeete |
| 2017-19 | Glengarry Glen Ross | David Mamet | Playhouse Theatre and UK Tour | Christian Slater, Robert Glenister, Don Warrington, Kris Marshall, Stanley Townsend |
| 2017 | Desire Under the Elms | Eugene O'Neill | Crucible Theatre | Matthew Kelly, Aoife Duffin, Michael Shea |
| 2016 | Murder Ballad | Julia Jordan and Juliana Nash | Arts Theatre | Ramin Karimloo, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, Kerry Ellis, Norman Bowman |
| 2015 | Cymbeline | William Shakespeare | Sam Wanamaker Playhouse | Joseph Marcell, Pauline McLynn, Jonjo O'Neill, Emily Barber |
| 2014/15 | East is East | Ayub Khan Din | Trafalgar Theatre and UK Tours | Jane Horrocks, Ayub Khan Din, Amit Shah, Taj Atwal |
| 2015 | Outside Mullingar | John Patrick Stanley | Ustinov Studio | Deirdre O'Kane, Owen McDonnell |
| 2014 | Billy Liar | Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall | Royal Exchange Theatre | Harry McEntire, Rebeka Hinds, Emily Barber |
| 2013 | The El. Train | Eugene O'Neill | Hoxton Hall | Ruth Wilson, Nicola Hughes, Sharon Duncan-Brewster |
| 2012/13 | Cornelius | J.B. Priestley | Finborough Theatre and 59E59 | Alan Cox, Emily Barber, Pandora Colin, Col Farell |
| 2011 | Mixed Marriage | St. John Greer Ervine | Finborough Theatre | Daragh O'Malley, Nora-Jane Noone, Fiona Victory |
| 2006 | Purgatory | W.B. Yeats | C Venues, Edinburgh Fringe | Brooke Morriswood, Monique Cornwell |
| 2005 | Macbeth: The Hour | William Shakespeare | C Venues, Edinburgh Fringe | Ben Deery, Sophie Middlemiss |

### Film and Television

| Year | Title | Production | Cast |
| 2025 | Towards Zero | Screenplay by Rachel Bennette, Mammoth Screen and BBC | Anjelica Huston, Matthew Rhys, Clarke Peters, Oliver Jackson-Coen, Mimi Keene |
| 2024 | Magpie | Screenplay by Tom Bateman, Werewolf, Agile, 55 Films | Daisy Ridley, Shazad Latif, Matilda Lutz |
| 2020 | Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar | Channel 5, Endemol Shine | Lyndsey Marshal, Jonah Hauer-King |
| 2016 | Auld Wives Lift | Bear's Den | Joseph Marcell, Lisa Dwyer Hogg |
| 2016 | All's Well That Ends Well | Shakespeare's Globe | Ruth Wilson, Lindsay Duncan |
| 2016 | Love's Labours Lost | Shakespeare's Globe | Gemma Arterton, David Dawson |
| 2016 | Cymbeline | Shakespeare's Globe | Hayley Atwell, Kevin Harvey |
| 2015 | The Hope Rooms | Rather Good Films | Andrew Scott, Ciarán Hinds |