Declan Donnellan

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Declan Donnellan (born 1953) is a British theatre director and writer. He is joint founder of Cheek by Jowl theatre company.

In 1992 he was awarded an Honorary Degree by the University of Warwick and in 2004 he was made a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his work in France.

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[edit] Biography

Donnellan was born in England to Irish parents[citation needed] and grew up in London. He was educated at St Benedict's School in Ealing and Queens' College, Cambridge, where he read English and Law. After leaving Cambridge, he was called to the Bar at Middle Temple in 1978.

He founded Cheek by Jowl with Nick Ormerod in 1981. The company has performed across the world and gave the first performance of Shakespeare in the Swan: Twelfth Night in 1986.

For the Royal Shakespeare Company he has directed School for Scandal, King Lear (Academy 2002) and Great Expectations. He has also directed Le Cid for the Avignon Festival, Falstaff for the Salzburg Festival and the ballet of Romeo and Juliet for the Bolshoi in Moscow. Other work in Russia includes The Winter's Tale for the Maly Drama Theatre of St. Petersburg.

In 2000 he formed a company of actors in Moscow, under the auspices of The Chekhov Festival, whose productions include Boris Godunov, Twelfth Night and The Three Sisters.

He wrote a play, Lady Betty, which was performed by Cheek by Jowl in 1989. He has also adapted Don't Fool with Love by de Musset, Antigone by Sophocles, The Mandate by Erdman and Masquerade by Lermontov.

First published in Russian in 2001, Donnellan's book, The Actor and the Target, has subsequently been published in English (2002, reprinted 2005), French and Spanish.

Donnellan has won awards in London, Paris, New York and Moscow, including Laurence Olivier Awards for :

[edit] Selected credits

[edit] Cheek by Jowl's Productions

[edit] Other productions

[edit] Bibliography

  • Donnellan, D. The Actor and the Target (English edition) Nick Hern Books, London, 2002 (ISBN 1-85459-127-4)
  • Reade, Simon. Cheek by Jowl: Ten Years of Celebration, Oberon Books (hardback) 1991 (ISBN 0-948230-47-9) -- currently out of print
  • National Theatre Platform Papers No. 2 on Angels in America, National Theatre Publications Department
  • National Theatre Platform Papers, Declan Donnellan Talks About his Book, The Actor and the Target, National Theatre Publications Department, London, 24 January 2003
  • On Directing, eds. Mary Luckhurst and Gabriella Giannachi, Faber, London 1999 (ISBN 0-571-19149-5)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links