Knud Adams

Knud Adams is an American theatre director, known for his work directing Sanaz Toossi's play English both Off-Broadway and on Broadway, as well as Off-Broadway productions of Eboni Booth's Primary Trust in 2023 and Ro Reddick's Cold War Choir Practice in 2026. For his work, he has been nominated for a Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award and won an Obie Award.

Early life

Adams and his family, including five siblings, moved frequently during his youth, including to France, England and Scotland, before settling in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was during this time that he became interested in art, museums and music. Adamds described this time as "I wasn’t drinking. I wasn’t doing drugs. I was bicycling around the streets, no cellphone, bored out of my mind, looking for trouble. I found some trouble, but also this imagination."

Adams then attended Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, graduating in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in drama.

Career

Adams' career began with both writing and directing, serving in both roles for a staged reading of The Highwayman at Bleecker Street Theatre in 2012, and a lab production of Children Of The Future Age at Calliope Theatre Company the same year. His first directing credit beyond his own work was Off-Off-Broadway with LovePlay/PlayMoney in 2015 at La MaMa Off-Broadway, followed by Tom & Eliza at JACK and Every Angel Is Brutal at Clubbed Thumb, the latter two both in 2016.

Adams' first Off-Broadway credits were in 2020, directing both Eboni Booth's Paris at the Atlantic Theatre Company and Christopher Chen's The Headlands at Lincoln Center Theatre. Following the COVID-19 pandemic closing theatres, he returned to the stage as director of 2022's I'm Revolting Off-Broadway at Atlantic Theatre Company. He is an alumnus of the Drama League Next Stage Residency and Directing Fellowship, a member of the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab and a Playwrights Horizons Directing Resident.

He is set to direct a stage adaptation of Nick Payne's The Unbelievers Off-Broadway at Manhattan Theatre Club in fall of 2026, beginning performances on October 13, 2026, with a cast to be announced.

English

In 2022, he directed Sanaz Toossi's play, English, which followed English students in Karaj, Iran in its Off-Broadway premiere at Atlantic Theatre Company. The production received critical acclaim, with The New York Times praising Adams' direction for "gently underlining the calm, almost classical rhythms of Toossi’s writing." The play won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, with Adams receiving nominations for a Drama Desk Award, Drama League Award and winning an Obie Award.

In 2025, English transferred to Broadway at the Todd Haimes Theatre, opening on January 23, 2025, with Adams returning as director. The production starred Tala Ashe and Marjan Neshat and ran through March 2, 2025. The production was a critical success, receiving five 2025 Tony Award nominations, including Best Direction of a Play for Adams, and four 2025 Drama League Awards, including Outstanding Direction of a Play for Adams.

Primary Trust

He received recognition for his work as director of the 2023 Off-Broadway premiere of Eboni Booth's play, Primary Trust at Roundabout Theatre Company, starring William Jackson Harper and reuniting with Booth following 2020's Paris. The play followed a middle-aged bookstore owner confronting a world he's worked to avoid. The play was positively received, and won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Daily Beast named it "one of NYC's best new plays" and Knud's direction was praised as " engagingly and imaginatively rendered," and nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award.

Cold War Choir Practice

Adams directed the 2026 Off-Broadway world premiere of Ro Reddick's comedic play Cold War Choir Practice at MCC Theatre. The play followed a young girl in 1986 practicing for a holiday choir concert when her strange uncle arrives, piquing her interest amid the Cold War. The production was acclaimed by critics, with TheaterMania praising Adams' direction for "marvelously balancing comedy with seriousness." In 2026, it was nominated for three Drama Desk Awards, two Outer Critics Circle Awards, four Lucille Lortel Awards and three Drama League Awards, with Adams receiving nominations at the latter two ceremonies.

Notable stage credits

Awards and nominations