Trevor Nunn
Encyclopedia
Sir Trevor Robert Nunn, CBE
(born 14 January 1940) is an English
theatre, film and television director. Nunn has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company
, the Royal National Theatre
, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed musicals and dramas for the stage, as well as opera. His well-known musicals are Cats
(1981) and Les Misérables
(1985). His dramas include Nicholas Nickleby
and Macbeth
. He has been nominated for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical
, the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play
, the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director, and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical
, winning the Tony Award (Musical) for Les Misérables and the Olivier Award for Summerfolk / The Merchant of Venice / Troilus and Cressida; and The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.
, England
, to Robert Alexander Nunn, a cabinetmaker, and Dorothy May Piper. He was educated at Northgate Grammar School, Ipswich
and Downing College, Cambridge
, where he began his stage career. He won a Director's Scholarship, becoming a trainee director at the Belgrade Theatre
in Coventry
in 1962.
, a position he held until 1986. He became Artistic Director of the Royal National Theatre
in September 1997.
His first wife, Janet Suzman
, appeared in many of his productions, such as the 1974 televised version of his Antony and Cleopatra.. Nunn became a leading figure in theatrical circles, and was responsible for many ground-breaking productions, such as the RSC's version of Dickens
's Nicholas Nickleby
, co-directed with John Caird
, and a 1976 musical adaptation of the Shakespeare play The Comedy of Errors
.
A very successful director of musicals, in the non-subsidised sector, Nunn directed the musical Cats
(1981), formerly the longest running musical in Broadway's
history, and the first English production of Les Misérables
in 1985, also with John Caird
, which has been running continuously in London since opening. Nunn also directed the little-known 1986 Webber–Rice musical Cricket
, at Windsor Castle
. Besides Cats and Les Misérables Nunn's other musical credits include Starlight Express
and Sunset Boulevard
. Later London credits include My Fair Lady
, South Pacific
(at the Royal National Theatre
), The Woman In White
, Othello
and Acorn Antiques The Musical, The Royal Hunt of the Sun
, Rock 'n' Roll
and Porgy and Bess
(an abridged version with dialogue instead of recitatives, unlike Nunn's first production of the opera).
Nunn directed the RSC production of Macbeth
starring Ian McKellen
in the title role and Dame Judi Dench
as Lady Macbeth in 1976. Nunn staged the action of the drama with not only the paying audience, but also the audience of all of the actors in the production not in the ongoing scene—they sat on wooden crates just beyond the main playing space.
He directed his wife's (Imogen Stubbs
), play We Happy Few in 2004. Stubbs often appears in his productions, including the 1996 Twelfth Night film. Nunn directed a modern production of Shakespeare's Hamlet
in 2004, which starred Ben Whishaw
in the title role, and Imogen Stubbs as Gertrude, and was staged at the Old Vic
Theatre in London.
In 2007 he directed the RSC productions of King Lear
and The Seagull
, which played at Stratford before embarking on a world tour (including the Brooklyn Academy of Music
) and then playing at the New London Theatre
from November 2007. The two plays both starred Ian McKellen
, Romola Garai
, Frances Barber
, Sylvester McCoy
, and William Gaunt
. Nunn's television production of King Lear
was screened on Boxing Day
, 2008 with McKellen in the title role.
In 2008 he returned to The Belgrade Theatre in Coventry (the theatre where he started his career) to direct Joanna Murray-Smith
's adaptation of Ingmar Bergman
's film Scenes from a Marriage
starring Imogen Stubbs
and Iain Glen
. His musical adaptation of Gone With The Wind
opened at the New London Theatre
in April 2008 and, after poor reviews, closed on 14 June 2008 after 79 performances. In December 2008, he directed a revival of A Little Night Music
at the Menier Chocolate Factory
, which transferred to the West End at the Garrick Theatre
in 2009. The production transferred to Broadway, opening in November 2009, with Catherine Zeta-Jones
as Desiree Armfeldt and Angela Lansbury
as Madame Armfeldt. Other members of the original London cast also transferred with the production. The production closed in January 2011 after 425 performances.
In 2010, Nunn directed a revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber
musical Aspects of Love
from July to September 2010 at the Menier Chocolate Factory
and the play Birdsong, which opened in September 2010 at the Comedy Theatre, based on the Sebastian Faulks
novel of the same title.
Nunn marked his debut as Artistic Director of the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, with a revival of Flare Path
(as part of the playwright, Terrence Rattigan's, centenary year celebrations). The production, starring Sienna Miller
, James Purefoy
and Sheridan Smith
, opened in March 2011 and closed in June 2011, and was followed by productions of Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead, (June - August 2011) and The Tempest
, starring Ralph Fiennes
(September - October 2011). His final production at the Haymarket, The Lion in Winter (November 2011 - January 2012), stars Joanna Lumley
and Robert Lindsay
.
at Glyndebourne
. He re-staged his highly successful Gyndebourne production of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess
for television in 1993, and was highly praised.
He has directed for film, including Lady Jane
(1986), Hedda
, an adaptation of Hedda Gabler
, and a 1996 film version
of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.
, he has one child, Joshua, and another two children, Laurie and Amy, with his second wife, Sharon Lee-Hill. In 1996, Nunn married actress Imogen Stubbs
with whom he has two children, Ellie and Jesse. In April 2011 Stubbs announced that she and Sir Trevor were to separate. He was knighted in 2002.
In 1998 Nunn was named in a list of the biggest private financial donors to the Labour Party (UK)
.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 14 January 1940) is an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
theatre, film and television director. Nunn has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
, the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed musicals and dramas for the stage, as well as opera. His well-known musicals are Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
(1981) and Les Misérables
Les Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
(1985). His dramas include Nicholas Nickleby
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (play)
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is an eight-hour stage play, presented over two performances, adapted from the Charles Dickens novel of the same name by David Edgar. Directed by John Caird and Trevor Nunn, it opened on 5 June 1980 at the Aldwych Theatre in London. The music and lyrics...
and Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
. He has been nominated for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical
Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical
This is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical. Prior to 1960, category for direction included plays and musicals.-1950s:Note: this category was for both dramatic and musical productions...
, the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play
Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play
The Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play has been given since 1960. Before 1960 there was only one award for both play direction and musical direction, then in 1960 the award was split into two categories: Dramatic and Musical. In 1976 the Dramatic category was renamed to Play...
, the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director, and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical was first awarded at the 1974–1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since...
, winning the Tony Award (Musical) for Les Misérables and the Olivier Award for Summerfolk / The Merchant of Venice / Troilus and Cressida; and The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.
Early years
Nunn was born in IpswichIpswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, to Robert Alexander Nunn, a cabinetmaker, and Dorothy May Piper. He was educated at Northgate Grammar School, Ipswich
Northgate High School (Ipswich)
Northgate High School is a high school situated in Ipswich, Suffolk. It is a co-educational comprehensive school, for ages 11–16, and 16-18 in the Sixth Form Department...
and Downing College, Cambridge
Downing College, Cambridge
Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1800 and currently has around 650 students.- History :...
, where he began his stage career. He won a Director's Scholarship, becoming a trainee director at the Belgrade Theatre
Belgrade Theatre
The Belgrade Theatre is a live performance venue seating 858 and situated in Coventry, England. It was the first civic theatre to be built after the Second World War in Britain and as such was more than a place of entertainment...
in Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
in 1962.
Career
In 1964 Nunn joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and in 1968 he was appointed Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare CompanyRoyal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
, a position he held until 1986. He became Artistic Director of the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in September 1997.
His first wife, Janet Suzman
Janet Suzman
Dame Janet Suzman, DBE is a South African-born-British actress and director.-Early life:Janet Suzman was born in Johannesburg to a Jewish family, the daughter of Betty and Saul Suzman, a wealthy importer of tobacco....
, appeared in many of his productions, such as the 1974 televised version of his Antony and Cleopatra.. Nunn became a leading figure in theatrical circles, and was responsible for many ground-breaking productions, such as the RSC's version of Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
's Nicholas Nickleby
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (play)
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is an eight-hour stage play, presented over two performances, adapted from the Charles Dickens novel of the same name by David Edgar. Directed by John Caird and Trevor Nunn, it opened on 5 June 1980 at the Aldwych Theatre in London. The music and lyrics...
, co-directed with John Caird
John Caird (director)
John Newport Caird is a British stage director and writer of plays, musicals and operas. He is an Honorary Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, a regular director with the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain and the Principal Guest Director of the Royal Dramatic Theatre,...
, and a 1976 musical adaptation of the Shakespeare play The Comedy of Errors
The Comedy of Errors (1976 musical)
The Comedy of Errors is a musical with a book and lyrics by Trevor Nunn and music by Guy Woolfenden. It is based on the William Shakespeare play of the same title, which previously was adapted for the musical stage as The Boys from Syracuse by Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, and George Abbott in 1938...
.
A very successful director of musicals, in the non-subsidised sector, Nunn directed the musical Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
(1981), formerly the longest running musical in Broadway's
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
history, and the first English production of Les Misérables
Les Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
in 1985, also with John Caird
John Caird (director)
John Newport Caird is a British stage director and writer of plays, musicals and operas. He is an Honorary Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, a regular director with the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain and the Principal Guest Director of the Royal Dramatic Theatre,...
, which has been running continuously in London since opening. Nunn also directed the little-known 1986 Webber–Rice musical Cricket
Cricket (musical)
Cricket, also called Cricket , is a short musical written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. It was commissioned for Queen Elizabeth's 60th birthday celebration, and was first performed at Windsor Castle on 18 June 1986....
, at Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
. Besides Cats and Les Misérables Nunn's other musical credits include Starlight Express
Starlight Express
Starlight Express is a rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber , Richard Stilgoe and Arlene Phillips , with later revisions by Don Black and David Yazbek . The story follows a child's dream in which his toy train set comes to life; famously the actors perform wearing roller skates...
and Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard (musical)
Sunset Boulevard is a musical with book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Based on the 1950 film of the same title, the plot revolves around Norma Desmond, a faded star of the silent screen era, living in the past in her decaying mansion on the...
. Later London credits include My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
, South Pacific
South Pacific (musical)
South Pacific is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The story draws from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific, weaving together characters and elements from several of its...
(at the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
), The Woman In White
The Woman in White (musical)
The Woman in White is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Zippel with a book by Charlotte Jones, based on the novel The Woman in White written by Wilkie Collins...
, Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
and Acorn Antiques The Musical, The Royal Hunt of the Sun
The Royal Hunt of the Sun
The Royal Hunt of the Sun is a 1964 play by Peter Shaffer that portrays the destruction of the Inca empire by conquistador Francisco Pizarro.-Premiere:...
, Rock 'n' Roll
Rock 'n' Roll (play)
Rock 'n' Roll is a play by British playwright Tom Stoppard that premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2006.-Plot summary:The play is concerned with the significance of rock and roll in the emergence of the socialist movement in Eastern Bloc Czechoslovakia between the Prague Spring of...
and Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...
(an abridged version with dialogue instead of recitatives, unlike Nunn's first production of the opera).
Nunn directed the RSC production of Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
starring Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction...
in the title role and Dame Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
as Lady Macbeth in 1976. Nunn staged the action of the drama with not only the paying audience, but also the audience of all of the actors in the production not in the ongoing scene—they sat on wooden crates just beyond the main playing space.
He directed his wife's (Imogen Stubbs
Imogen Stubbs
Imogen Stubbs, Lady Nunn is an English actress and playwright.-Early life:Imogen Stubbs was born in Northumberland, lived briefly in Portsmouth, where her father was a naval officer, and then moved with her parents to London, where they lived on an elderly river barge on the Thames...
), play We Happy Few in 2004. Stubbs often appears in his productions, including the 1996 Twelfth Night film. Nunn directed a modern production of Shakespeare's Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
in 2004, which starred Ben Whishaw
Ben Whishaw
Benjamin John "Ben" Whishaw is an English actor who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Whishaw is perhaps best known for his breakthrough role as Hamlet, and his role as the lead character in Tom Tykwer's film Perfume: The Story of a Murderer.-Early life:Whishaw was born and raised in...
in the title role, and Imogen Stubbs as Gertrude, and was staged at the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
Theatre in London.
In 2007 he directed the RSC productions of King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
and The Seagull
The Seagull
The Seagull is the first of what are generally considered to be the four major plays by the Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The Seagull was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896...
, which played at Stratford before embarking on a world tour (including the Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music is a major performing arts venue in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, United States, known as a center for progressive and avant garde performance....
) and then playing at the New London Theatre
New London Theatre
The New London Theatre is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden, in the London Borough of Camden...
from November 2007. The two plays both starred Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction...
, Romola Garai
Romola Garai
Romola Sadie Garai is an English actress. She is known for appearing in the movies Amazing Grace, Atonement, and Glorious 39, and for appearing in the BBC adaptation of Emma.-Early life:...
, Frances Barber
Frances Barber
Frances Barber is an Olivier Award-nominated English actress with a long and distinguished stage career. She has also appeared in numerous television productions...
, Sylvester McCoy
Sylvester McCoy
Sylvester McCoy is a Scottish actor. As a comic act and busker he appeared regularly on stage and on BBC Children's television in the 1970s and 80s, but is best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1987 to...
, and William Gaunt
William Gaunt
William Charles Anthony Gaunt is an English actor, sometimes credited as Bill Gaunt.-Early life:...
. Nunn's television production of King Lear
King Lear (2008 TV film)
King Lear is a 2008 television film based on the William Shakespeare play of the same name, directed by Trevor Nunn. It was broadcast on More4 in the UK on Christmas Day, and shown on PBS in America in March 2009...
was screened on Boxing Day
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...
, 2008 with McKellen in the title role.
In 2008 he returned to The Belgrade Theatre in Coventry (the theatre where he started his career) to direct Joanna Murray-Smith
Joanna Murray-Smith
Joanna Murray-Smith is a Melbourne based playwright, screenwriter, novelist, librettist and newspaper columnist.-Biography:...
's adaptation of Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...
's film Scenes from a Marriage
Scenes from a Marriage
Scenes from a Marriage is a 1973 Swedish TV series written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. The story explores the disintegration of a marriage between Marianne, a lawyer, and Johan, a professor over a long period, using a restricted cast, a naturalist, hyper-realistic cinematic...
starring Imogen Stubbs
Imogen Stubbs
Imogen Stubbs, Lady Nunn is an English actress and playwright.-Early life:Imogen Stubbs was born in Northumberland, lived briefly in Portsmouth, where her father was a naval officer, and then moved with her parents to London, where they lived on an elderly river barge on the Thames...
and Iain Glen
Iain Glen
Iain Glen is a Scottish film and stage actor.Iain Glen was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and trained at RADA where he won the Bancroft Gold Medal. He was married to Susannah Harker from 1993 to 2004; they have one son, Finlay...
. His musical adaptation of Gone With The Wind
Gone With The Wind (musical)
Gone with the Wind is a musical based on the Margaret Mitchell's novel of the same name and its 1939 film adaptation, with music and lyrics by Margaret Martin, and a book by Martin, adapted by Sir Trevor Nunn....
opened at the New London Theatre
New London Theatre
The New London Theatre is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden, in the London Borough of Camden...
in April 2008 and, after poor reviews, closed on 14 June 2008 after 79 performances. In December 2008, he directed a revival of A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade...
at the Menier Chocolate Factory
Menier Chocolate Factory
The Menier Chocolate Factory is an award-winning 180 seat fringe studio theatre, restaurant and gallery. It is located in a former 1870s Menier Chocolate Company factory in Southwark Street, a major street in the London Borough of Southwark, central south London, England. The theatre stages plays...
, which transferred to the West End at the Garrick Theatre
Garrick Theatre
The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster. It opened on 24 April 1889 with The Profligate, a play by Arthur Wing Pinero. In its early years, it appears to have specialised in the performance of melodrama, and today the theatre is a...
in 2009. The production transferred to Broadway, opening in November 2009, with Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones, CBE, is a British actress. She began her career on stage at an early age. After starring in a number of United Kingdom and United States television films and small roles in films, she came to prominence with roles in Hollywood movies such as the 1998 action film The Mask of...
as Desiree Armfeldt and Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
as Madame Armfeldt. Other members of the original London cast also transferred with the production. The production closed in January 2011 after 425 performances.
In 2010, Nunn directed a revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
musical Aspects of Love
Aspects of Love
Aspects of Love is a musical/chamber opera with a book and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Don Black and Charles Hart. It is famous for the song "Love Changes Everything."...
from July to September 2010 at the Menier Chocolate Factory
Menier Chocolate Factory
The Menier Chocolate Factory is an award-winning 180 seat fringe studio theatre, restaurant and gallery. It is located in a former 1870s Menier Chocolate Company factory in Southwark Street, a major street in the London Borough of Southwark, central south London, England. The theatre stages plays...
and the play Birdsong, which opened in September 2010 at the Comedy Theatre, based on the Sebastian Faulks
Sebastian Faulks
-Early life:Faulks was born on 20 April 1953 in Donnington, Berkshire to Peter Faulks and Pamela . Edward Faulks, Baron Faulks, is his older brother. He was educated at Elstree School, Reading and went on to Wellington College, Berkshire...
novel of the same title.
Nunn marked his debut as Artistic Director of the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, with a revival of Flare Path
Flare Path (play)
-1942–43 Broadway production:Flare Path had a short run on Broadway at Henry Miller's Theatre from December 1942 to January 1943. Alec Guinness played Teddy and Nancy Kelly played Patricia. The play was Guinness's Broadway debut, and he was granted leave from the Royal Navy in order to take the role...
(as part of the playwright, Terrence Rattigan's, centenary year celebrations). The production, starring Sienna Miller
Sienna Miller
Sienna Rose Diana Miller is a British-American actress, model, and fashion designer, best known for her roles in Layer Cake, Alfie, Factory Girl, The Edge of Love and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. In 2007, the London Film Criticsnamed her British Actress of the Year for Interview...
, James Purefoy
James Purefoy
James Brian Mark Purefoy is an English actor best known for portraying Mark Antony in the HBO series Rome.-Early life and work:...
and Sheridan Smith
Sheridan Smith
Sheridan Smith is an English actress and singer who is best known for her contributions to the British sitcoms Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Gavin & Stacey and Benidorm. She has also become a recognised face in West End theatre, where she has appeared in Little Shop of Horrors,...
, opened in March 2011 and closed in June 2011, and was followed by productions of Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead, (June - August 2011) and The Tempest
The Tempest
The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
, starring Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....
(September - October 2011). His final production at the Haymarket, The Lion in Winter (November 2011 - January 2012), stars Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is a British actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive...
and Robert Lindsay
Robert Lindsay (actor)
Robert Lindsay is an English actor who is best known for his television work, especially his roles of Wolfie Smith in Citizen Smith, Michael Murray in G.B.H., Captain Sir Edward Pellew in Hornblower and Ben Harper in My Family which has been on television screens since 2000.-Early life:Lindsay was...
.
Film and opera
Nunn has directed operaOpera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
at Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an English opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.-History:...
. He re-staged his highly successful Gyndebourne production of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...
for television in 1993, and was highly praised.
He has directed for film, including Lady Jane
Lady Jane (film)
Lady Jane is a 1986 British costume drama romance film directed by Trevor Nunn, written by David Edgar, and starring Helena Bonham Carter as the title character in her first major film role. It tells the story of Lady Jane Grey, the Nine Days' Queen, on her reign and romance with husband Lord...
(1986), Hedda
Hedda (film)
Hedda is a 1975 film adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler. It stars Peter Eyre, Glenda Jackson and Patrick Stewart and was directed by Trevor Nunn.This was the first major theatrical film version of the play in English...
, an adaptation of Hedda Gabler
Hedda Gabler
Hedda Gabler is a play first published in 1890 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The play premiered in 1891 in Germany to negative reviews, but has subsequently gained recognition as a classic of realism, nineteenth century theatre, and world drama...
, and a 1996 film version
Twelfth Night: Or What You Will (1996 film)
Twelfth Night or What You Will is a 1996 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play, directed by Trevor Nunn and featuring an all-star cast. The adaptation is given a northern Central European feel, set in the late 19th century, with Orsino and his followers shown wearing Czapka...
of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.
Personal life
Nunn has been married three times. With his first wife, actress Janet SuzmanJanet Suzman
Dame Janet Suzman, DBE is a South African-born-British actress and director.-Early life:Janet Suzman was born in Johannesburg to a Jewish family, the daughter of Betty and Saul Suzman, a wealthy importer of tobacco....
, he has one child, Joshua, and another two children, Laurie and Amy, with his second wife, Sharon Lee-Hill. In 1996, Nunn married actress Imogen Stubbs
Imogen Stubbs
Imogen Stubbs, Lady Nunn is an English actress and playwright.-Early life:Imogen Stubbs was born in Northumberland, lived briefly in Portsmouth, where her father was a naval officer, and then moved with her parents to London, where they lived on an elderly river barge on the Thames...
with whom he has two children, Ellie and Jesse. In April 2011 Stubbs announced that she and Sir Trevor were to separate. He was knighted in 2002.
In 1998 Nunn was named in a list of the biggest private financial donors to the Labour Party (UK)
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
.
Broadway
Source: Internet Broadway Database Listing- A Little Night MusicA Little Night MusicA Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade...
- 13 December 2009 - 20 June 2010, re-opened 13 July 2010 - Rock 'n' RollRock 'n' Roll (play)Rock 'n' Roll is a play by British playwright Tom Stoppard that premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2006.-Plot summary:The play is concerned with the significance of rock and roll in the emergence of the socialist movement in Eastern Bloc Czechoslovakia between the Prague Spring of...
- 4 November 2007 – 9 March 2008 - Les Misérables (revival) - 9 November 2006 – 6 January 2008
- The Woman in WhiteThe Woman in White (musical)The Woman in White is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Zippel with a book by Charlotte Jones, based on the novel The Woman in White written by Wilkie Collins...
- 17 November 2005 – 19 February 2006 - ChessChess (musical)Chess is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other;...
- 22 September 2003 (Benefit Concert) - Vincent in BrixtonVincent in BrixtonVincent in Brixton is a 2003 play by Nicholas Wright. The play premiered at London's National Theatre. It transferred to the Playhouse Theatre and later to Broadway....
(as original producer) - 6 March 2003 – 4 May 2003 - Oklahoma!Oklahoma!Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
- 21 March 2002 – 23 February 2003 - Noises OffNoises OffNoises Off is a 1982 play by English playwright Michael Frayn. The idea for it was born in 1970, when Frayn was standing in the wings watching a performance of Chinamen, a farce that he had written for Lynn Redgrave...
(as original producer) - 1 November 2001 – 1 September 2002 - Rose Written by Martin Sherman (as original producer) - 12 April 2000 – 20 May 2000
- CopenhagenCopenhagen (play)Copenhagen is a play by Michael Frayn, based around an event that occurred in Copenhagen in 1941, a meeting between the physicists Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg. It debuted in London in 1998...
(as original producer) - 11 April 2000 – 21 January 2001 - Amy's ViewAmy's ViewAmy's View was written by British playwright David Hare, and originally premiered in London at the Royal National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre on June 13, 1997. It was directed by Richard Eyre and starred Judi Dench, Ronald Pickup and Samantha Bond in the title role. It was then performed on...
(as original producer) - 15 April 1999 – 18 July 1999 - CloserCloser (play)Closer is the third play written by English playwright Patrick Marber. The play was premiered at the Royal National Theatre's Cottesloe Theatre in London in 1997, and made its North American debut at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway on 25 January 1999....
(as original producer) - 25 March 1999 – 22 August 1999 - Not About NightingalesNot About NightingalesNot About Nightingales is a three act play written by Tennessee Williams in 1938. The play itself focuses on a group of inmates who go on a hunger strike in attempt to better their situation. There is also a soft love story, with the characters Eva, the new secretary at the prison, and Jim, a...
- 25 February 1999 – 13 June 1999 - ArcadiaArcadia (play)Arcadia is a 1993 play by Tom Stoppard concerning the relationship between past and present and between order and disorder and the certainty of knowledge...
- 30 March 1995 – 27 August 1995 - Sunset Boulevard - 17 November 1994 – 22 March 1997
- Aspects of LoveAspects of LoveAspects of Love is a musical/chamber opera with a book and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Don Black and Charles Hart. It is famous for the song "Love Changes Everything."...
- 8 April 1990 – 2 March 1991 - Chess - 28 April 1988 – 25 June 1988
- Starlight ExpressStarlight ExpressStarlight Express is a rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber , Richard Stilgoe and Arlene Phillips , with later revisions by Don Black and David Yazbek . The story follows a child's dream in which his toy train set comes to life; famously the actors perform wearing roller skates...
- 15 March 1987 – 8 January 1989 - Les Misérables - 12 March 1987 – 18 May 2003
- The Life and Adventures of Nicholas NicklebyThe Life and Adventures of Nicholas NicklebyNicholas Nickleby; or, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is a novel by Charles Dickens. Originally published as a serial from 1838 to 1839, it was Dickens' third novel....
- 24 August 1986 – 12 October 1986 - André DeShield's Harlem NocturneHarlem Nocturne"Harlem Nocturne" is a jazz standard written by Earle Hagen and Dick Rogers in 1939. The song was adopted by bandleader Randy Brooks the next year as his theme song."Harlem Nocturne" has been frequently recorded...
(Featuring songs with lyrics by Trevor Nunn) - 18 November 1984 – 30 December 1984 - Cyrano de BergeracCyrano de BergeracHercule-Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac was a French dramatist and duelist. He is now best remembered for the works of fiction which have been woven, often very loosely, around his life story, most notably the 1897 play by Edmond Rostand...
(as original producer) - 16 October 1984 – 19 January 1985 - Much Ado About NothingMuch Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
(as original producer) - 14 October 1984 – 16 January 1985 - All's Well that Ends WellAll's Well That Ends WellAll's Well That Ends Well is a play by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1604 and 1605, and was originally published in the First Folio in 1623....
- 13 April 1983 – 15 May 1983 - Good (as original producer) - 13 October 1982 – 30 January 1983
- Cats - 7 October 1982 – 10 September 2000
- The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby - 4 October 1981 – 3 January 1982
- PiafPiafPiaf is a French word:* Édith Piaf* Musée Édith Piaf* Sans Fusils, Ni Souliers, à Paris: Martha Wainwright's Piaf Record* Piaf * 3772 Piaf , a main-belt asteroid discovered on 1982 by L. G. Karachkina...
- 5 February 1981 – 28 June 1981 - London AssuranceLondon AssuranceLondon Assurance is a five-act comedy by Dion Boucicault. It was the second play that he wrote, but his first to be produced. Its first production, from March 4, 1841 at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden was Boucicault's first major success...
(as original producer) - 5 December 1974 – 12 January 1975 - Sherlock HolmesSherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
(as original producer) -12 November 1974 – 4 January 1976 - Old TimesOld TimesOld Times is a play by the Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter. It was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Aldwych Theatre in London on June 1, 1971. It starred Colin Blakely, Dorothy Tutin, and Vivien Merchant, and was directed by Peter Hall...
(as original producer) - 16 November 1971 – 26 February 1972 - A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
(as original producer) - 20 January 1971 – 13 March 1971
West End
Source: Shakespeare Birthplace Trust- The Lion In Winter - 2011
- Flare Path - 2011
- Birdsong - 2010
- Aspects of Love - 2010
- A Little Night Music - 2009
- Inherit The Wind - 2009
- Gone with the Wind - 2008
- King Lear - 2007
- The Seagull - 2007
- Porgy and Bess - 2006
- Acorn Antiques: The Musical! - 2005
- The Woman in White - 2004
- Anything Goes - 2002
- South Pacific - 2001
- My Fair Lady - 2001
- Oklahoma! - 1998
- Sunset Boulevard -1993
- The Baker's Wife - 1989
- Aspects of Love - 1989
- Chess - 1986
- Les Misérables - 1985
- Starlight Express - 1984
- Cats - 1981
Film
Source: Contemporary British and Irish film Directors- Twelfth Night: Or What You WillTwelfth Night: Or What You Will (1996 film)Twelfth Night or What You Will is a 1996 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play, directed by Trevor Nunn and featuring an all-star cast. The adaptation is given a northern Central European feel, set in the late 19th century, with Orsino and his followers shown wearing Czapka...
(director and adaptation) (1996) - Lady JaneLady Jane (film)Lady Jane is a 1986 British costume drama romance film directed by Trevor Nunn, written by David Edgar, and starring Helena Bonham Carter as the title character in her first major film role. It tells the story of Lady Jane Grey, the Nine Days' Queen, on her reign and romance with husband Lord...
(director) (1986) - HeddaHedda (film)Hedda is a 1975 film adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler. It stars Peter Eyre, Glenda Jackson and Patrick Stewart and was directed by Trevor Nunn.This was the first major theatrical film version of the play in English...
(director and adaptation) (1976)
Television
- King Lear (2008 TV Movie)
- The Merchant of Venice (2001 TV movie)
- Oklahoma! (1999 TV movie)
- Porgy and Bess (1993 TV movie)
- Othello (1990 TV movie)
- The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1982 TV mini-series)
- The Three Sisters (1981 TV movie)
- BBC2 Playhouse (TV series) - (1 episode, 1979)
- Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1979)
Awards and nominations
Sources: Internet Broadway Database ListingTony Awards Database (broadwayworld.com)Drama Desk History Olivier Awards, Past Nominees and Winners- 2002 Tony Award for Best Direction of a MusicalTony Award for Best Direction of a MusicalThis is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical. Prior to 1960, category for direction included plays and musicals.-1950s:Note: this category was for both dramatic and musical productions...
– Oklahoma! [nominee] - 2002 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a MusicalDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a MusicalThe Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical was first awarded at the 1974–1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since...
– Oklahoma! [nominee] - 2002 Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement
- 2001 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director - The Cherry OrchardThe Cherry OrchardThe Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on...
[nominee] - 2000 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director- Summerfolk / The Merchant of Venice / Troilus and Cressida [winner]
- 1999 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director - Oklahoma!Oklahoma!Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
[nominee] - 1999 Tony Award for Best Direction of a PlayTony Award for Best Direction of a PlayThe Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play has been given since 1960. Before 1960 there was only one award for both play direction and musical direction, then in 1960 the award was split into two categories: Dramatic and Musical. In 1976 the Dramatic category was renamed to Play...
– Not About Nightingales [nominee] - 1999 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a PlayDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a PlayThe Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play was first awarded at the 1974–1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since...
– Not About Nightingales [winner] - 1995 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical– Sunset Boulevard [nominee]
- 1995 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director- The Merchant of Venice / Summerfolk [winner]
- 1995 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical– Sunset Boulevard [nominee]
- 1994 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director - ArcadiaArcadiaArcadia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the central and eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. In Greek mythology, it was the home of the god Pan...
[nominee] - 1990 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical– Aspects of Love [nominee]
- 1987 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical– Les Misérables [winner]
- 1989 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director - OthelloOthelloThe Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
[nominee] - 1987 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical– Starlight Express [nominee]
- 1983 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical– Cats [winner]
- 1983 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play– All's Well that Ends Well [nominee]
- 1983 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play– All's Well that Ends Well [winner]
- 1982 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play– The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby [winner]
- 1981 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director - CatsCats (musical)Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
[nominee] - 1980 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director- The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby [winner]
- 1979 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director - Once in a LifetimeOnce in a Lifetime (play)Once in a Lifetime is a play by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, the first of eight on which they collaborated in the 1930s.-Plot:The satirical comedy focuses on the effect talking pictures have on the entertainment industry...
[nominee] - 1977 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director - MacbethMacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
[nominee] - 1975 Drama Desk Award Unique Theatrical Experience – London Assurance [winner]
Further reading
- Trowbridge, Simon: The Company: A Biographical Dictionary of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Editions Albert Creed (2010) ISBN 9780955983023