Rate My Professor Orla O'Loughlin

Professor Orla O'Loughlin is Vice-Principal and Director of Drama at Guildhall School of Music & Drama in the Drama department, a position she has held since 2018, when she was conferred the title of Professor in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the advancement of her discipline. She earned a Master’s with Distinction in Advanced Theatre Practice from the Central School of Speech and Drama, a PGCE in Drama from the University of Reading, and a BA (Hons) in Theatre & Performance from the University of Warwick. Her distinguished career includes serving as Artistic Director of the Traverse Theatre from 2011 to 2018 and of Pentabus Theatre, as International Associate Director of the Royal Court Theatre, and as Resident Assistant Director at the Donmar Warehouse, where she was awarded the Carlton Bursary. Trained as a staff director at the National Theatre and participant in its Studio Directors Programme, O'Loughlin has directed a wide array of acclaimed productions across the UK and internationally. Notable credits encompass Mouthpiece at the Traverse Theatre, Soho Theatre, Melbourne and Auckland International Arts Festivals; What Girls are Made Of for Raw Material in association with Traverse Theatre at venues including Assembly, Tramway, Tron, Soho, Adelaide, Sao Paulo, and Spoleto International Theatre Festivals; Enough of Him for the National Theatre of Scotland; Lear for Raw Material in association with Singapore International Festival and National Theatre of Scotland; James V: Katherine for Raw Material and Capital Theatres Edinburgh; How Much is your Iron? at the Young Vic; The Hound of the Baskervilles at West Yorkshire Playhouse, UK tour, and West End; and Kebab at Dublin Theatre Festival and Royal Court.

O'Loughlin's contributions have earned her recognition as one of the Observer’s top fifty Cultural Leaders in the UK and inclusion in The List’s Hot 100 of Women in the Arts. Her productions have received numerous accolades, including the James Menzies Kitchin Directors Award, Herald Angels, UK Theatre Awards, Fringe Firsts, Critics Award for Theatre in Scotland, Lustrum, Stage Awards, and Writers Guild of Great Britain Awards. Specifically, Enough of Him won best director, best production, and best new play at the Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland, as well as best play at the UK Theatre Awards, while her 2024 production of The Time Machine: A Comedy at the Park Theatre was nominated for an Olivier Award in the outstanding achievement in an affiliate theatre category. She has delivered masterclasses and directed at institutions such as RADA, Central School of Speech and Drama, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, University of Edinburgh, Queen Margaret’s University, and Birmingham Conservatoire. Additionally, she is a regular director for National Theatre Connections, has mentored for the Clore Fellowship and Federation of Scottish Theatre, and serves on award panels including the Windham Campbell Award, James Tait Black Award for Drama, Linbury Prize, James Menzies Kitchin Award, and Stage Awards.