Paulette Randall

Paulette Randall, MBE (born 1961) is a British theatre director of Jamaican descent.

After graduating in 1982, she and two fellow students – Bernardine Evaristo 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 chair of the board of Clean Break Theatre Company in 2006–07, and is former artistic director of Talawa Theatre Company.

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

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.

She was Associate Director of the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, working alongside Danny Boyle.

According to London's Evening Standard: "Knowing her theatrical pedigree – Randall, 49, has directed August Wilson'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 (Channel 4) and The Real McCoy (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, starring Lenny Henry, at the Duchess Theatre.

Randall was appointed an MBE in 2015 for services to drama, and was awarded an honorary degree from Brunel University 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 at the Southbank Centre.