Howard Davies (director)

Stephen Howard Davies CBE (born 26 April 1945) is a British theatre and television director.

Davies, the son of a miner, was born in Durham, England[1] and studied at Durham University and Bristol University, where he developed an appreciation for the works of Bertolt Brecht.[2]

In the early 1970s, Davies worked extensively with the Bristol Old Vic and the Birmingham Repertory Theatre,[1] and he has served as an associate director for both the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he directed Les liaisons dangereuses, Macbeth, and Troilus and Cressida. He also did much work for the Royal National Theatre, where his projects included Hedda Gabler, The House of Bernarda Alba, Pygmalion, The Crucible, The Shaughraun, and Paul.[3][4], and where he is currently directing Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard which opens in May 2011.

On 30 June 2011 (and varying dates internationally) National Theatre Live will broadcast The Cherry Orchard live to cinemas around the world. This spirited new version of Chekhov’s last play starring Zoe Wanamaker follows Andrew Upton’s acclaimed adaptations of Philistines and The White Guard.

At the Almeida Theatre he has directed Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Play About the Baby. His opera credits include Idomeneo, The Italian Girl in Algiers, Eugene Onegin, and I due Foscari,[3][5] and he directed the opera-related play After Aida 1985–86 in Wales and at the Old Vic Theatre.

Davies' work in West End theatre has won him the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director for The Iceman Cometh, All My Sons and The White Guard; the London Critics Circle Award for Best Director for Mourning Becomes Electra and The Iceman Cometh; and the Evening Standard Award for Best Director for All My Sons and Flight.[6]

Davies made his Broadway debut with Piaf in 1981. Additional Broadway credits include Les liaisons dangereuses, the 1990 revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, the 1993 revival of My Fair Lady, Translations, the 1999 revival of The Iceman Cometh, the 2002 revival of Private Lives, and the 2007 revival of A Moon for the Misbegotten. He has been nominated for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play three times but has not won, and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play three times, winning for Les liaisons dangereuses.

Davies' screen credits include the television movies Copenhagen and Blue/Orange and the feature film The Secret Rapture.

He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to drama.[7]

Davies is married to actress Clare Holman.

References

  1. ^ a b FilmReference.com
  2. ^ Eddershaw, Margaret, Performing Brecht. Taylor & Francis 1996. ISBN 0-415-08011-8, pp. 93-97
  3. ^ a b Howard Davies biography at PBS.com
  4. ^ Howard Davies at the London Theatre Database
  5. ^ Howard Davies biography at Chichester Festival Theatre website
  6. ^ Howard Davies at BritFilms.com
  7. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59647. p. 7. 31 December 2010.

External links

John Dexter (1975) · Ellis Rabb (1976) · Mike Nichols / Alan Schneider (1977) · Melvin Bernhardt (1978) · Jack Hofsiss (1979) · Vivian Matalon (1980) · Peter Hall (1981) · Tommy Tune (1982) · Trevor Nunn (1983) · Michael Blakemore (1984) · John Malkovich (1985) · Jerry Zaks (1986) · Howard Davies (1987) · John Dexter (1988) · Jerry Zaks (1989) · Frank Galati (1990) · Jerry Zaks (1991) · Patrick Mason (1992) · George C. Wolfe (1993) · Stephen Daldry (1994) · Gerald Gutierrez (1995) · Gerald Gutierrez (1996) · Trevor Nunn (1999) · Michael Blakemore (2000)
Complete list · (1975–2000) · (2001–2025)

Jonathan Miller (1976) · Clifford Williams (1977) · Terry Hands (1978) · Michael Bogdanov (1979) · Trevor Nunn / John Caird (1980) · Peter Wood (1981) · Richard Eyre (1982) · Terry Hands (1983) · Christopher Morahan (1984) · Bill Bryden (1985) · Bill Alexander (1986) · Declan Donnellan (1987) · Deborah Warner (1988) · Michael Bogdanov (1989) · Michael Bogdanov (1990) · Richard Jones (m)/David Thacker (p) (1991) · Simon Callow (m)/Deborah Warner (p) (1992) · Nicholas Hytner (m)/Stephen Daldry (p) (1993) · Declan Donnellan (m)/Stephen Daldry (p) (1994) · Scott Ellis (m)/Declan Donnellan (p) (1995) · Trevor Nunn (1995) · Sam Mendes (1996) · Des McAnuff (1997) · Richard Eyre (1998) · Howard Davies (1999) · Trevor Nunn (2000)
Complete list · (1976–2000) · (2001–2025)
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Howard Davies (2001) · Michael Boyd (2002) · Sam Mendes (2003) · Michael Grandage (2004) · Nicholas Hytner (2005) · Richard Eyre (2006) · Dominic Cooke (2007) · Rupert Goold (2008) · John Tiffany (2009) · Rupert Goold (2010) · Howard Davies (2011)
Complete list · (1976–2000) · (2001–2025)
Separate awards for play and musical between 1991 and 1995 depicted by (p) and (m)