Paulette Randall,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(born 1961) is a British theatre director of Jamaican descent."Paulette Randall sets the Jamaican Olympic stage"
''Jamaica Observer'', 2 September 2012. She was chair of the board of Clean Break Theatre Company in 2006–07, and is former artistic director of

Talawa Theatre Company Talawa Theatre Company is a Black British theatre company founded in 1986.

. She was the associate director for the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics.

Biography

Paulette Randall was born in south London to Jamaican parents. She attended Saint Jude's Primary and Dick Shepherd Secondary School in Brixton. When she was 11, she started helping out in a shop on Saturdays and she has said: "It was working in Brixton market that was my real first understanding of theatre, just the characters you met and stories you heard." She subsequently went to drama school at the age of 18, training to be an actress at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama. After graduating in 1982, she and two fellow students –

Bernardine Evaristo Bernardine Anne Mobolaji Evaristo, (born 28 May 1959) is a British author and academic. Her novel '' Girl, Woman, Other'', jointly won the Booker Prize in 2019 alongside Margaret Atwood's '' The Testaments'', making her the first woman with Bla ...

and Patricia Hilaire – set up their own company, called Theatre of Black Women, in response to the lack of roles for black actors at the time. She was Associate Director of the

2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on the evening of Friday 27 July 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London, during which the Games were formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proce ...

, working alongside

Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including '' Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel '' T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', ''28 Days Later'', '' S ...

.Nosheen Iqbal
"Paulette Randall interview: 'You never know what's around the corner, do you?'"
''The Guardian'', 9 July 2013. According to London's ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'': "Knowing her theatrical pedigree – Randall, 49, has directed

August Wilson August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...

's plays, which celebrate the African American experience and is a former artistic director of black theatre company, Talawa; her TV credits include ''

Desmond's ''Desmond's'' is a British television situation comedy broadcast by Channel 4 from 1989 to 1994. Conceived and co-written by Trix Worrell, and produced by Charlie Hanson and Humphrey Barclay, ''Desmond's'' stars Norman Beaton as barber Des ...

'' (

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

) and ''

The Real McCoy "The real McCoy" is an idiom and metaphor used in much of the English-speaking world to mean "the real thing" or "the genuine article", e.g. "he's the real McCoy". The phrase has been the subject of numerous false etymologies. History The phr ...

'' (BBC2) – makes you wonder whether she can claim credit for the multicultural flavour of the show." In 2013 Randall became the first female black director to bring a production to the West End with Wilson's ''

Fences A fence is a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary. Fence or fences may also refer to: Entertainment Music * Fences (band), an Amer ...

'', starring

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer. Henry gained success as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in '' The Le ...

, at the

Duchess Theatre The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street near Aldwych. The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest West End theatres with a proscenium arch. It has 494 sea ...

.Pamela Jikiemi
"Interview with Paulette Randall"
''Female Arts'', 17 May 2013.

Awards and recognition

Randall was appointed an

in 2015 for services to drama, and was awarded an honorary degree from

Brunel University Brunel University London is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In June ...

in the same year. In 2016, she was given a lifetime achievement award for her work as a director and playwright in film and TV at the inaugural WOW Creative Industries Awards, presented by the

Women of the World Festival Women of the World Festival (WOW, WOW Festival) is an annual arts and science festival based in London, that celebrates the achievements of women and girls, as well as looking at the obstacles they face across the world. As a global feminist mov ...

at the Southbank Centre.

Selected projects

;

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

* Directed ''Blest Be the Tie'' by Doña Daley (2004). "Daley's concerns emerge naturally through her characters rather than hammering an agenda, and director Paulette Randall (whose Talawa company here co-produces with the

Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...

) gets her cast –

Marion Bailey Marion Bailey (born 5 May 1951) is an English actress. She is best known for her work with her partner, filmmaker Mike Leigh, including the films '' Meantime'' (1983), ''All or Nothing'' (2002), ''Vera Drake'' (2004), ''Mr. Turner'' (2014), fo ...

Lorna Gayle Lorna Gayle is a British actress and singer, known for appearing in the films ''Run Fatboy Run'' (2007), ''The Dark Knight'' (2008) and '' One Day'' (2011). In 2015, she played Shontal in the BBC Three sitcom '' Fried''. As Lorna Gee, she won a ...

and

Ellen Thomas Ellen Thomas (born January 24, 1947) is an American peace activist. She first became involved with the White House Peace Vigil on April 13, 1984. The daughter of a US Marine, Thomas was born in Brooklyn and grew up in California. She became opp ...

– to turn in performances which all engage in different ways." * Directed ''What's in the Cat'' by Linda Brogan (2005). "''What's in the Cat'' is painfully slow for its first 45 minutes but once the knives are drawn, picks up to become a fascinating

kitchen sink drama Kitchen sink realism (or kitchen sink drama) is a British cultural movement that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in theatre, art, novels, film and television plays, whose protagonists usually could be described as "angry young men" w ...

about the life of a highly volatile, mixed-race family in Manchester in the 1970s." ;Other theatres * Directed ''Urban Afro Saxons'' (2003). "Talawa's latest production is subtitled 'What Makes You British?' and is a timely contribution to the controversial debate spawned not only by Blunkett's proposed citizenship tests but the burning questions raised by racism in the police force." * Directed ''

Blues for Mister Charlie ''Blues for Mister Charlie'' is James Baldwin's second play, a social commentary drama in three acts. It was first produced and published in 1964. The play is dedicated to the memory of Medgar Evers, his widow and children, and to the memory of th ...

'', by James Baldwin, 2004, a co-production between Talawa and the

New Wolsey Theatre The New Wolsey Theatre is an award-winning producing theatre with a café & bar in Ipswich, Suffolk. It is a midsized regional theatre, having a seating capacity of 400. History It replaced The Arts Theatre, the town's much loved and respecte ...

, at the

Tricycle Theatre The Kiln Theatre (formerly the Tricycle Theatre) is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as ...

. "''Blues For Mr Charlie'' may last for around three hours but the tension never drops. It would make a tremendous contribution to any debate on racism and its most terrifying facet is that it is set merely a generation ago." * Directed ''

Gem of the Ocean ''Gem of the Ocean'' (2003) is a play by American playwright August Wilson. Although the ninth play produced, chronologically it is the first installment of his decade-by-decade, ten-play chronicle, ''The Pittsburgh Cycle'', dramatizing the Afri ...

'', by August Wilson (2003,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

; 2004, New York; 2006, London). "...the scene is brilliantly staged, complete with chanting and gospel singing, as it re-enacts a slave-ship journey back to the African ancestral home." * Directed ''

'', by August Wilson, starring

, at the

(19 June–14 September 2013). ;Television * Produced ''

'' (1989). * Produced '' Porkpie'' (1995). * Produced the second series of ''

The Crouches ''The Crouches'' is a sitcom that aired on BBC One between 2003 and 2005. It starred Rudolph Walker, Robbie Gee, Jo Martin and Mona Hammond. Plot Childhood sweethearts Roly Crouch (Robbie Gee) and Natalie (Jo Martin) have been married for 18 year ...

'' (2004–05). "The first series of this sitcom wasn't seen by many and was critically mauled by the press, the BBC gave it a second chance and used new writers for series 2.""The Crouches"
''The British Comedy Guide''.

References

External links

* Emma John

''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', Monday, 2 January 2006.
"Paulette Randall: my life in five shows"
Interview by Catherine Love, ''The Guardian'', 17 March 2015.

''WhatsOnStage'', 11 March 2015. * Dominic Cavendish

''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', 4 April 2004. *
An interview with Angel House director, Paulette Randall
YouTube.
"Interview with Paulette Randall (Coco Gal)"
YouTube.
Six videos
at V & A (Victoria and Albert Museum) website. * Siobhan Murphy
"Paulette Randall hopes for a stage set for change"
''Metro'', 29 September 2008.
"Knowing who you are: Paulette Randall at TEDxBrixton"
YouTube video. {{DEFAULTSORT:Randall, Paulette 1961 births Alumni of Rose Bruford College Black British actresses British theatre directors English people of Jamaican descent Living people Members of the Order of the British Empire Women theatre directors