Francesca is a Welsh, working class theatre director and previous Associate Artistic Director of Theatr Clwyd. She has recently been selected on the inaugural Warner Bros. Discovery Access programme in partnership with Waterloo Road and the BBC, mentored by directors Jude Weng and Jesse Quinones focussing on directing for TV.
She trained at The National Theatre Directors Course and The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. She was the first recipient of the Carne Traineeship for Directors in Wales, mentored by Tamara Harvery and was the former Trainee Director of The Other Room Theatre in Cardiff.
In 2025 Francesca will be the revival Co-Director (alongside artistic director Rufus Norris) of Nye by Tim Price, starring Michael Sheen at The National Theatre and Wales Millennium Centre.
Francesca creates multi discipline, non naturalistic theatre that champions unheard voices (predominantly women). She is interested in extraordinary real life stories from everyday people. She enjoys working with new writing, reimagined classics and musical theatre. Her work usually incorporates music and movement.
In a review of her production, Sorter, The Guardian said “Superbly staged, Francesca Goodridge’s incisive, focused direction confirms that she is one of Wales’ most exciting theatre directors.”
She co-founded The Far Away Plays - an online play reading company that champions Welsh and Wales based creatives - with a view to revisit existing Welsh plays and discussing the place for those classics for today.
Francesca has been a visiting lecturer at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, LIPA, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, working with both the acting and design students.
In her production of A Pretty Shitty Love at Theatr Clwyd, The Stage said “Director Francesca Goodridge’s production is stamped with style and boldness, marking her as one to watch.” Her Christmas production of Cinderella at The Barn Theatre, Cirencester, was favoured as one of the ‘best family Christmas shows to see’ by The Observer.
Her work in development; Miss Wales a new all-female musical and recipient of the National Theatre Studio's Generate Programme. It will open at Theatr Clwyd for full production in 2026. Selected for BEAM showcase 2023.