Giles Croft
Theatre Director and Writer
Giles first established himself as a writer and director in Bath and Bristol, before one of his productions transferred to the Lyric, Hammersmith. In 1985 he was appointed Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre, London and in 1989 he joined the National Theatre as Literary Manager. In 1995 he returned to the role of artistic director when he moved to the Palace Theatre, Watford. Giles was the Artistic Director of Nottingham Playhouse from 1999 to 2017.
Giles has directed more than 60 productions and his work has played in London’s West End and on Broadway. During the lockdown of 2020 he directed an audio version of The Understudy by David Nicholls starring Stephen Fry and Russell Tovey; in 2022 his production of The Kite Runner played at The Hayes Theatre, New York; in 2024 The Kite Runner toured in the UK & US and most recently he’s made a short documentary about the composer, John Woolrich.
He is also a playwright and his work has been produced widely in the UK and Europe.
The Kite Runner
The production premiered at Nottingham Playhouse in 2013 and since then has completed more than 60 weeks touring in the UK, Ireland and Dubai.
In December 2016 TKR opened at the Wyndham’s Theatre, London for a 12 week run before transferring to the Playhouse Theatre, London for a further 12 weeks.
In 2022 the production enjoyed a successful 17 week season at the Hayes Theatre, New York and in 2024 completed a 13 date tour of the US with a sold out week at the Kennedy Centre, Washington DC.
Channeling Jabez
Commissioned and produced by A Play, A Pie & A Pint, Glasgow and the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh in 2017, Giles wrote and performed this one man play about the hapless Channel swimmer Jabez Wolfe. The play has since been presented in Exeter and Nottingham. Please contact Giles if you’re interested in booking performances.
Tony's Last Tape
Originally scheduled for four performances in the Neville Studio in 2015, the production went on to play for three weeks at the Bridge House, SE20, the Edinburgh Fringe for 4 weeks and toured the UK for a further 6 weeks finishing with a performance at The Palace of Westminster. It was revived in 2019 at the Omnibus Theatre, Clapham for a 3 week run.