| John Sichel | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Peter Sichel 21 September 1937 France |
| Died | 5 April 2005 (aged 67) Bubwith, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Film director, producer, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1968 - 1980 |
| Spouse | Elfie Corbett (m. 1962–2005) |
John Peter Sichel (21 September 1937 - 5 April 2005) was a British director of film, stage and television, and, later in life, a film, television, and theatre trainer.
Early in his career, he was asked by Laurence Olivier to direct the National Theatre Company in the award-winning film of Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters (1970) with Olivier, Joan Plowright and Alan Bates. He then went on to direct Olivier in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (1976) as well as a remount of the production for CBC in Canada with a Canadian cast which included Barney O'Sullivan, Micki Maunsell, Allan Grey, Jack Rigg, and A. E. Holland as Shylock. He also directed Alec Guinness and Ralph Richardson in Twelfth Night (1969, which was not released until 1972.) He also produced the first three series of the UK TV show Thriller.
His experience as a commissioner and director of drama and drama-documentaries enabled him to work with some of the world's finest actors including Derek Jacobi, Helen Mirren, Laurence Olivier, Anthony Hopkins, Alec Guinness, Sean Connery, Ralph Richardson and Michael Caine. He has also worked as a director and trainer at several of the UK's leading theatres and institutions including the Young Vic, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, RADA, the Shaw Theatre, the Italia Conti Academy, the London Film School and the Edinburgh Festival.
During the latter years of his life, he established ARTTS International in Bubwith, East Riding of Yorkshire, a training facility supporting artists in employment with the stage, film and television industry. Along with wife Elfie, they helped 500 young people gain employment from afar as Indonesia and Iran.
After his death, aged 67, in East Riding of Yorkshire in 2005,[1] hundreds of these trainees came from all over the world to pay their respects in a tribute arranged by his family.
He was the father of British psychologist and TV presenter Tanya Byron and TV producer Katrina Sichel.