Bill Bryden
Encyclopedia
William Campbell Rough Bryden CBE
(born 12 April 1942, Greenock
, Scotland
) is a British
stage- and film director and screenwriter.
(1967–1971), the Royal Lyceum Theatre
(1972–1975), the National Theatre
(1975–1985); and as a visiting director in Glasgow and New York. In 1990, he directed Leoš Janáček
's The Cunning Little Vixen
, at the Royal Opera House
. He has also done work for film and television, as screenwriter, director and executive producer.
, in 1970 and they had two children. The couple divorced in 1988.
In 1988, he met actress Angela Douglas
at a dinner party arranged by mutual friend Marsha Hunt
. They have lived together in west London
since, and were married at City Hall
, New York City
in February 2009.
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 12 April 1942, Greenock
Greenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
) is a British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
stage- and film director and screenwriter.
Biography
He has worked as a director at the Royal Court TheatreRoyal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
(1967–1971), the Royal Lyceum Theatre
Royal Lyceum Theatre
The Royal Lyceum Theatre is a 658 seat theatre in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, named after the Theatre Royal Lyceum and English Opera House, the residence at the time of legendary Shakespearean actor Henry Irving. It was built in 1883 by architect C. J. Phipps at a cost of UK£17,000 on behalf...
(1972–1975), the 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...
(1975–1985); and as a visiting director in Glasgow and New York. In 1990, he directed Leoš Janáček
Leoš Janácek
Leoš Janáček was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research and his early musical output was influenced by...
's The Cunning Little Vixen
The Cunning Little Vixen
The Cunning Little Vixen is an opera by Leoš Janáček, with a libretto adapted by the composer from a serialized novella by Rudolf Těsnohlídek and Stanislav Lolek, which was first published in the newspaper Lidové noviny.-Composition history:When Janáček discovered Těsnohlídek's...
, at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
. He has also done work for film and television, as screenwriter, director and executive producer.
Personal life
He married Deborah Morris, a potterPottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
, in 1970 and they had two children. The couple divorced in 1988.
In 1988, he met actress Angela Douglas
Angela Douglas
Angela Douglas , born Angela McDonagh, is an English actress.-Early life:She was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire...
at a dinner party arranged by mutual friend Marsha Hunt
Marsha Hunt
Marsha Hunt may refer to:* Marsha Hunt * Marsha Hunt...
. They have lived together in west London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
since, and were married at City Hall
City hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in February 2009.
Film director
- 1983: Ill Fares the Land
- 1986: The Holy City
- 1992: Six Characters in Search of an AuthorSix Characters in Search of an AuthorSix Characters in Search of an Author is a play by the Italian writer Luigi Pirandello.The play is a satirical tragicomedy. It was first performed in 1921 at the Teatro Valle in Rome, to a very mixed reception, with shouts from the audience of "Manicomio!" .Subsequently the play enjoyed a much...
- 1987: Aria
Writer
- 1980: The Long Riders (film)
- 1977: Old Movies
- 1975: Willy Rough, BBC Play for TodayPlay for TodayPlay for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
- 1975: Benny Lynch, Scenes from a Short Life : a Play http://books.google.com/books?id=80APAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Benny++Lynch%22&dq=%22Benny++Lynch%22&pgis=1
Theatre director
- 1974: Spring Awakening – Old Vic
- 1974: Romeo and JulietRomeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
– Old Vic - 1975: The Playboy of the Western WorldThe Playboy of the Western WorldThe Playboy of the Western World is a three-act play written by Irish playwright John Millington Synge and first performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, on January 26, 1907. It is set in Michael James Flaherty's public house in County Mayo during the early 1900s...
– Old Vic - 1976: Watch It Come Down – Old Vic
- 1976: Il Campiello – Old Vic
- 1976: Counting The Ways – National Theatre
- 1977 (with Sebastian Graham-Jones): The Passion – National Theatre
- 1977: Old Movies – National Theatre
- 1977: The Plough and the Stars – National Theatre
- 1978 (with Sebastian Graham-Jones): Lark RiseLark Rise to CandlefordLark Rise to Candleford is a trilogy of semi-autobiographical novels about the countryside of north-east Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, England, at the end of the 19th century. They were written by Flora Thompson and first published together in 1945...
– National Theatre - 1978: American Buffalo – National Theatre
- 1978 (with Sebastian Graham-Jones): The World Turned Upside Down – National Theatre
- 1978: The Long Voyage Home – National Theatre
- 1978: Dispatches – National Theatre
- 1979 (with Sebastian Graham-Jones): CandlefordLark Rise to CandlefordLark Rise to Candleford is a trilogy of semi-autobiographical novels about the countryside of north-east Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, England, at the end of the 19th century. They were written by Flora Thompson and first published together in 1945...
– National Theatre - 1980: Hughie – National Theatre
- 1980: The Iceman ComethThe Iceman ComethThe Iceman Cometh is a play written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1939. First published in 1940 the play premiered on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on 9 October 1946, directed by Eddie Dowling where it ran for 136 performances to close on 15 March 1947.-Characters:* Night Hawk-...
– National Theatre - 1980: The Nativity – National Theatre
- 1980: The CrucibleThe CrucibleThe Crucible is a 1952 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatization of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693. Miller wrote the play as an allegory of McCarthyism, when the US government blacklisted accused communists...
– National Theatre - 1982: A Midsummer Night's Dream – National Theatre
- 1983: Glengarry Glen RossGlengarry Glen RossGlengarry Glen Ross is a 1984 play written by David Mamet. The play shows parts of two days in the lives of four desperate Chicago real estate agents who are prepared to engage in any number of unethical, illegal acts—from lies and flattery to bribery, threats, intimidation and burglary—to sell...
– National Theatre (World Premiere) - 1985: Doomsday, presented with The Nativity and The Passion, as the Mysteries from medieval Mystery plays in a version by Tony HarrisonTony HarrisonTony Harrison is an English poet and playwright. He is noted for controversial works such as the poem V and Fram, as well as his versions of ancient Greek tragedies, including the Oresteia and Hecuba...
– National Theatre - 1990: The Ship (writer & director) Harland & Wolff Shed, Govan, Glasgow
- 1994: A Month in the CountryA Month in the Country (play)A Month in the Country is a comedy in five acts by Ivan Turgenev. It was written in France between 1848 and 1850 and was first published in 1855...
by Ivan Turgenev, starring Helen MirrenHelen MirrenDame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.-Early life and family:...
and John HurtJohn HurtJohn Vincent Hurt, CBE is an English actor, known for his leading roles as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mr. Braddock in The Hit, Stephen Ward in Scandal, Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant and An Englishman in New York...
. Yvonne Arnaud TheatreYvonne Arnaud TheatreThe Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford, Surrey presents in-house productions which often tour and transfer to London's West End. Other performances include opera, ballet and pantomime. Named after the actress Yvonne Arnaud, the company has two performance venues, a main theatre and the smaller Mill...
and West End - 1994: The Big Picnic (writer & director) Harland & Wolff, Govan, Glasgow
- 2005: Romeo and JulietRomeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
– Birmingham Repertory Theatre - 2005: The Creeper – Theatre Royal Windsor
Awards and nominations
- 1985: Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Director, The MysteriesThe Mysteries (play)The Mysteries is a version of the medieval English mystery plays presented at London's National Theatre in 1977. The cycle of three plays tells the story of the Bible from the creation to the last judgement....
. - 1985: London Critics' Circle Theatre AwardsLondon Critics' Circle Theatre AwardsThe Critics' Circle Theatre Awards, originally called Drama Theatre Awards prior to 1989, are British theatrical awards presented annually for the closing year's theatrical achievements...
for Best Director for The Mysteries - 1985: London Evening Standard Theatre AwardEvening Standard AwardsThe Evening Standard Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre. Sponsored by the Evening Standard newspaper, they are announced in late November or early December...
for Best Director for The Mysteries