I’m delighted to introduce the director of I’m Sorry I’m Not Lucy Liu, the amazingly multi-skilled Francesca Hsieh! She came onboard after exploring the show’s past and future with me during an R&D week at New Diorama Broadgate in July. (More on process in the next post, once I’ve reflected on the copious collection of notes!)

I had invited three trusted talents into the room to find collaborators, and it was fantastic to find a like-hearted and playful collaborator in Francesca – or Chessie, as she’s also known (ask her about that story). As we take the next steps to making the show hilarious and hard-hitting, I’m very thankful for her enthusiasm and kind yet keen understanding of what I would love to create for audiences with diverse experiences.

Meet Francesca

A headshot of a young mixed race East Asian woman with long hair down her pink top, smiling a little to camera.

Francesca Hsieh (she/her) is an Asian-American director and theatre maker based in London. She has her MA in Theatre Directing from Royal Holloway, University of London where she studied with director Katie Mitchell and worked with theatre company Complicité. Prior to this, she completed her BFA in Musical Theatre Performance at the University of Utah. Recent work includes Tosca (Director Observer – English National Opera), Shakespearean Support Group (Director, Standby for Places – podcast production), Cocaine Triptych (Director-Adaptor, Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival – winner of Outstanding Live Production) and Mary Stuart (Assistant Director – Pioneer Theatre Company). An advocate for equity and anti-racism in the arts, her work has been featured in Classical Singer Magazine, American Theatre Magazine, and The Salt Lake Tribune.

A young mixed race East Asian woman’s profile on the left-hand-side, holding a script and laughing in a brown-brick-walled rehearsal space.

Follow Francesca: @chessie_hsieh