About

Welcome to matthewparker.net the official site for award winning director, actor, teacher and theatre maker Matthew Parker.

Matthew is an award winning theatre director, actor and the former Artistic Director of The Hope Theatre. He trained on the Postgraduate Directing Course at Drama Studio London and Bretton Hall College, gaining a First Class Degree in Theatre Arts: Acting. 

He has a passion for bringing his vivid visual imagination and physical approach to his storytelling and relishes a collaborative process, creating highly theatrical, detailed work, rich in emotion and with a tight connection to the audiences heartbeat. 

Matthew has received 8 nominations as Best Director at the Off West End (OFFIE) Awards, 5 of which were for productions at The Hope: The House Of Yes, The Lesson, Her Aching Heart, Sea Life and the European premiere of Lovesong of the Electric Bear, which later transferred to The Arts, West End and won 2 OFFIE awards in 2016. His other nominations were for his revivals of Thark in 2017, Trestle in 2021 and the West End transfer of The Hope show Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story in 2022. His own adaptation of Chekhov’s Ward No.6 gained a Best Ensemble nomination at The Stage Awards 2009 and Time Out Critic’s Choice upon its transfer to London. 

In 2017 Matthew won the Best Artistic Director OFFIE Award for his work at The Hope Theatre in 2016; the same year that The Hope was nominated as UK Fringe Theatre of the Year at The Stage Awards.

Directing credits at The Hope Theatre: The House Of Yes, Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story, The Lesson, Foul Pages, Brimstone and Treacle, Her Aching Heart (Winner Best Off West End Play, Spy In The Stalls Awards 2016), Steel Magnolias (Winner of Best Off West End Production, Break A Leg Critic’s Choice Awards 2016), Sea Life and Lovesong of the Electric Bear. Also Antigone (Tales Retold) and Summer Showers (First Draft Theatre Co.).

Other Directing includes A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Cambridge Shakespeare Festival), Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story (transfer to Jermyn Street Theatre) Vinegar Tom, The Comedy of Errors and Henry V (all OVO), Trestle(OVO & Jack Studio Theatre), Brainville At Night (UK Tour) Thark (Drayton Arms), The Cherry Orchard, A Scent of Flowers, A Woman Alone (all Jack Studio Theatre), Ward No.6 (C Venues, transferred to Camden People’s Theatre), Brainville At Night (Old Red Lion), Mary Rose (Jack Studio; transferred to Riverside Studios), The Possibilities (Tristan Bates), Two (Dispense Theatre) and The Late Edwina Black (Sheringham Summer Rep). Assistant Directing includes Entertaining Mr Sloane (UK/Ireland Tour) and Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre Season 2012. He has worked as a Movement Director for the Jack Studio Theatre and award winning Arrows & Traps. 

Matthew combines his work as a theatre maker with teaching emerging artists in drama schools. As a faculty member of Drama Studio London, Matthew taught acting classes and courses including stagecraft, text analysis, creating character physicality and audition technique and has directed many productions with the graduating students including 20th and 21st century classics, Pantomime tours, new writing, Restoration Comedy and devised work. He has also taught and led courses, seminars and workshops in various acting and theatre-making disciplines at the MTA, Mountview, Trinity Laban and University of East London. Matthew has created and facilitated actor-training workshops for professional actors at various London branches of Equity and on the London fringe. 

For further details on his Directing work please click on his CV or Portfolio pages. 

Matthew also works as an actor and undertakes PR work for Off West End Theatre shows. For more info on these strands of Matthew’s work please click on his Acting and PR pages. 

Matthew is represented by Savages Personal Management

 Best Artistic Director: OFFIE Awards 2017.