Lily Sykes, born in London in 1984, studied German and Philosophy in Oxford and Paris. Her first production, Bertolt Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle, premiered at the Oxford Playhouse in 2005. In 2007, she founded the international theatre ensemble Aitherios with artists from Japan, Germany, Austria, the UK, the US and Italy. She has worked as a freelance director since 2011 and was nominated for Theater heute’s Young Director of the Year award for her Frankfurt production of Die Bürgschaft. She has since directed at Schauspielhaus Zürich, Theater Oberhausen, Theater Münster, Staatstheater Darmstadt, Berliner Ensemble, Staatstheater Karlsruhe, HOME Manchester, Theater Luzern, Staatstheater Kassel and Schauspiel Köln. Since the 2022|23 season, Lily Sykes has been a resident director at Staatsschauspiel Dresden. From the 2027/28 season, she will become Director of Drama at Theater Magdeburg.