ABOUT

Lydia is an award-winning theatre director and dramaturg, working in London & across the South-West.

 

Committed to the development and staging of new writing, Lydia’s work centres human connection & character at its heart, with hints of the fantastical in her staging. She is drawn to work around the politics and philosophy around identity, searching for the potential to alter existing viewpoints. The central question that underlines her work is always to ask: how does society influence the identity of the characters, and in turn, how does that influence how they affect one another?

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She co-founded Gentlewomen Production House, a company producing both film and theatre around the female experience. 

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Lydia is literary assistant at the Finborough, responsible for organising the theatre's attendance at all new work invitations across the UK. She is script reader for the Park, and runs her own script-reading service. 

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She was Associate Director on the critically acclaimed 10th Anniversary production of Clybourne Park at the Park Theatre, directed by Oliver Kaderbhai, as well as assisting at other venues such as The Arcola, Charring Cross Theatre, Southwark Playhouse, Liverpool Playhouse, & Tobacco Factory Theatre. 

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Her love for working with actors has also led her to freelance as a casting assistant for the last five years, working across film and TV.  She recently spent two months in Mexico & Dubai, working on a new televisions series as assistant to the directors. 

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Lydia is represented by Lou Davidson at Simon & How Associates. 

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Awards: 

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Winner of Best Show for The Effect - The Scribe Arts Magazine (2017)

'McKinley's direction provides a slick and interesting examination of human thoughts and feelings, and should be applauded wholeheartedly' 

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Training:

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MA Drama Directing - Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, 2022-23

First Class Honours in BA English Literature & Theatre Studies - Leeds University, 2015-18

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Creative Facilitation - Clean Break 2024

Director Programme - WoLab, 2020

The Director's Cut - Southwark Playhouse, 2019 - 22

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