Richard Hurst trained as a director at The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and the RNT Studio after leaving Oxford. In 1994 he won the Sunday Times’ Harold Hobson Student Drama Critic Award, and subsequently wrote for The Independent and The Scotsman. In 1995 co-wrote and directed Violent Night for which he won the RSC Buzz Goodbody Director Award, and was shortlisted for The Guardian Award. Associate director of the Grace Theatre and London Writers Forum 1996-9. He currently reads for the BBC writersroom, and administrates the National Workshop Programme for the National Student Drama Festival, for which he has worked as selector and workshop leader since 1997. He has also run workshops in writing, acting, directing and comedy for the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Wycombe Swan, and Milton Keynes Theatre.

Theatre work as a director includes: Potted Potter (Pleasance, Edinburgh and national tour); Moon The Loon (Pleasance, Edinburgh); The Edinburgh Love Tour (Pleasance, Edinburgh); Bill Hicks: Slight Return (Pleasance, Edinburgh, and extensive national tour including Glasgow Citizens, Manchester Royal Exchange, Dublin Olympia, Soho Theatre, The Venue, Leicester Square, Bloomsbury Theatre and the Arts Theatre); The Art Of Success; Hamlet; Women Beware Women; Phaedra’s Love (all BSA); Berkoff’s Agamemnon (Theatre Museum, London); Madame Butterfly’s Child (Sherman Theatre, Cardiff; Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff; Star Alliance Theatre, Hong Kong); Play Wisty For Me: The Life of Peter Cook (Riverside Studios and Pleasance, Edinburgh); Twelfth Night (BAC); As You Like It (LIPA); Ripley Bogle (Time Out Critics’ Choice); and The Tempest (both Grace Theatre). As writer: The Edinburgh Love Tour and Bill Hicks: Slight Return (with Chas Early); Hard Times (national tour) and Ripley Bogle (both adapted); Violent Night (with Griffin Price); Strong Family Values (with Oliver Ryan). He script edited Catriona Craig's short film, Sleep Tight. Richard has also appeared in Ken Campbell’s production of The Warp.

He also co-writes and directs comedy; credits include Pegabovine: Coat of Arms (Pleasance, Edinburgh) Silly Billy Bum Breath and Silly Billy Bum Breath Strikes Back (Pleasance, Edinburgh); work for Comedy Rep (Soho Theatre); Miranda Hart – Throbs! and Miranda Hart's House Party (Pleasance, Edinburgh / London); Space Boy (Pleasance, Edinburgh); Orange Girls (Edinburgh / London); Newsrevue (Canal Cafe Theatre, London). In 1997 he co-founded sketch group The Four Horsemen, all of whose stage shows, in various venues in London and Edinburgh, he wrote for and directed. He was also writer and 2^nd AD on The Four Horsemen's This Is Pop! (BBC Choice). He read for the BBC Talent Sitcom scheme in 2000 and 2002, and script edited one of the finalists. He is currently script editing a sitcom for BBC Radio2 and a sketch show for Radio4, both by Miranda Hart.