Julia Samuels

Julia is a freelance director/theatre-maker with 30 years of professional experience.

From 2006-21, she was Co-Artistic Director of award-winning Liverpool-based company 20 Stories High, making work through collaboration between artists and young people. In 2025/6, she was Artistic Director (Maternity Cover) at Theatre by the Lake, where she continues as a freelance Creative Associate.

20SH highlights include Buttercup (20SH/Tigerlily Films/BBC Arts); Touchy (20SH/Unity/Wellcome Collection – winning an Offie/OnComm award); “I told my Mum I was going on an R.E. Trip…”, (20SH/Contact/BBC – the film version was selected for HotDocs Toronto); site-specific piece She’s Leaving Home (20SH/Phelim MacDermott/Culture Liverpool); and Tales from the Mp3 (Everyman Liverpool, Summerhall & national tour)

Freelance work includes: Lucky Tonight! (Home, Traverse, community tour); 4 Dholis and a Divorce (Factory International/Home) Wind in the Willows (Shakespeare North Playhouse); and Martha, Me & My Family (Unity, Liverpool). She is currently developing new projects with Keith Saha and Theatre by the Lake, as well as continuing to work on Blue Boxes, her interdisciplinary project exploring Jewish Identity.

Julia also works as a creative consultant, she is a Board member of Heart of Glass (St Helens/Knowsley). Earlier in her career, she had roles at Theatre Royal Stratford East and the National Theatre