Peter Dews (director)
Encyclopedia
Peter Dews was an English stage director.
Born and educated in Wakefield, Yorkshire he then took an M.A. at University College, Oxford
. After two years teaching history he joined the BBC
, in Birmingham, working first in radio (it is thought that he was the director of the episode of The Archers which featured the death of Grace Archer in a fire, a spoiler for the opening of independent television) and then television, as a director. He won the BAFTA 'Best Director' Award in 1960 for An Age of Kings, a television adaptation of Shakespeare's history plays. He subsequently directed Shakespeare's Roman plays in the series The Spread of the Eagle.
After a period of freelance theatre work he joined the Birmingham Repertory Theatre
as Artistic Director in the autumn of 1965, in its original building - the first purpose built repertory theatre in the UK - and remained in that post until the company moved to the new venue in 1971, leaving in 1972, his last production there being the double-bill of Sophocles
Oedipus the King
and Sheridan's
The Critic
with Derek Jacobi
in both play's leading roles. Previously his productions of Shakespeare's
As You Like It
and Peter Luke
's Hadrian VII had transferred from the old Birmingham Rep to London's West End, the latter going on to New York gaining Dews a Tony Award
for its direction. Other notable productions at the Rep included Hamlet
, with Richard Chamberlain
in 1969, Quick, Quick Slow (1969) a musical by Monty Norman
and Julian More, based on a play by David Turner
, who also scripted the musical, and The Sorrows of Frederick, an epic play about Frederick the Great
by Romulus Linney
, in 1970.
At the Chichester Festival Theatre
he guest-directed, amongst other productions, Antony and Cleopatra
with Sir John Clements
and Margaret Leighton, and the original production of Robert Bolt
's Vivat, Vivat Regina which transferred to London's West End and Broadway. Dews succeeded Keith Michell
as the fourth artistic director of the Chichester Festival Theatre
in 1978 and directed three Festival seasons. One notable production during this period was Julius Caesar
in Puritan costume suggesting the plotting of the Gunpowder Plot
. He also directed he original production of Royce Ryton
's Crown Matrimonial, about the 1936 Abdication crisis
, in the West End, with Wendy Hiller
as Queen Mary
. He also directed productions in the USA, Canada, South Africa, Israel, Malta, Éire and Hong Kong, in the UK he also directed at Nottingham Playhouse
(A Midsummer Night's Dream), Edinburgh Lyceum Theatre
(Bertolt Brecht's Galileo, which he directed again at Birmingham) and Greenwich Theatre
(Inferno by Ian Curteis).
Born and educated in Wakefield, Yorkshire he then took an M.A. at University College, Oxford
University College, Oxford
.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...
. After two years teaching history he joined the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, in Birmingham, working first in radio (it is thought that he was the director of the episode of The Archers which featured the death of Grace Archer in a fire, a spoiler for the opening of independent television) and then television, as a director. He won the BAFTA 'Best Director' Award in 1960 for An Age of Kings, a television adaptation of Shakespeare's history plays. He subsequently directed Shakespeare's Roman plays in the series The Spread of the Eagle.
After a period of freelance theatre work he joined the Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Birmingham Repertory Theatre is a theatre and theatre company based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England...
as Artistic Director in the autumn of 1965, in its original building - the first purpose built repertory theatre in the UK - and remained in that post until the company moved to the new venue in 1971, leaving in 1972, his last production there being the double-bill of Sophocles
Sophocles
Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides...
Oedipus the King
Oedipus the King
Oedipus the King , also known by the Latin title Oedipus Rex, is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed c. 429 BCE. It was the second of Sophocles's three Theban plays to be produced, but it comes first in the internal chronology, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone...
and Sheridan's
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester...
The Critic
The Critic (play)
The Critic: or, a Tragedy Rehearsed is a satire by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first staged at Drury Lane Theatre in 1779. It is a burlesque on stage acting and play production conventions, and Sheridan considered the first act to be his finest piece of writing...
with Derek Jacobi
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
in both play's leading roles. Previously his productions of Shakespeare's
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
As You Like It
As You Like It
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
and Peter Luke
Peter Luke
-Early years:Peter Ambrose Cyprian Luke was born in St Albans. He had wanted to be a painter, and went to art school for 2 years before World War II occurred. He was awarded the Military Cross for his efforts. Some time after, he worked under producer Sydney Newman on the British television drama...
's Hadrian VII had transferred from the old Birmingham Rep to London's West End, the latter going on to New York gaining Dews a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for its direction. Other notable productions at the Rep included 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...
, with Richard Chamberlain
Richard Chamberlain
George Richard Chamberlain is an American actor of stage and screen who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show Dr. Kildare .-Early life:...
in 1969, Quick, Quick Slow (1969) a musical by Monty Norman
Monty Norman
Monty Norman is a singer and film composer best known for being credited with composing the "James Bond Theme".-Biography:...
and Julian More, based on a play by David Turner
David Turner (dramatist)
David Turner was a British playwright.From a working class background, he studied French at Birmingham University and subsequently worked as a school teacher in that city...
, who also scripted the musical, and The Sorrows of Frederick, an epic play about Frederick the Great
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
by Romulus Linney
Romulus Linney (playwright)
Romulus Zachariah Linney IV was an American playwright and professor.-Life and career:Linney was born in Philadelphia, the son of Maitland Clabaugh and Romulus Zachariah Linney III. His great-grandfather was Republican Congressman Romulus Zachariah Linney. Linney was raised in Boone, North...
, in 1970.
At the Chichester Festival Theatre
Chichester Festival Theatre
Chichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, England, was designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, and opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Martin in 1962. Subsequently the smaller and more intimate Minerva Theatre was built nearby in 1989....
he guest-directed, amongst other productions, Antony and Cleopatra
Antony and Cleopatra
Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623. The plot is based on Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Lives and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony...
with Sir John Clements
John Clements
Sir John Selby Clements, CBE was an English actor and producer who worked in theatre, television and film.Clements attended St Paul's School and St John's College, Cambridge University then worked with Nigel Playfair and afterwards spent a few years in Ben Greet's Shakespearean Company. He made...
and Margaret Leighton, and the original production of Robert Bolt
Robert Bolt
Robert Oxton Bolt, CBE was an English playwright and a two-time Oscar winning screenwriter.-Career:He was born in Sale, Cheshire. At Manchester Grammar School his affinity for Sir Thomas More first developed. He attended the University of Manchester, and, after war service, the University of...
's Vivat, Vivat Regina which transferred to London's West End and Broadway. Dews succeeded Keith Michell
Keith Michell
Keith Michell is an Australian actor, particularly noted for his television and film performances as King Henry VIII of England.- Early life :He was born in Adelaide and brought up in Warnertown, near Port Pirie...
as the fourth artistic director of the Chichester Festival Theatre
Chichester Festival Theatre
Chichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, England, was designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, and opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Martin in 1962. Subsequently the smaller and more intimate Minerva Theatre was built nearby in 1989....
in 1978 and directed three Festival seasons. One notable production during this period was Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar (play)
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also known simply as Julius Caesar, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against...
in Puritan costume suggesting the plotting of the Gunpowder Plot
Gunpowder Plot
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.The plan was to blow up the House of...
. He also directed he original production of Royce Ryton
Royce Ryton
Royce Thomas Carlisle Ryton was an English playwright. During the war he served in the Royal Navy; afterward, he went to train as an actor at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. As an actor, he played in many repertory theatres, including Bromley, Minehead, and Worthing. He also toured...
's Crown Matrimonial, about the 1936 Abdication crisis
Edward VIII abdication crisis
In 1936, a constitutional crisis in the British Empire was caused by King-Emperor Edward VIII's proposal to marry Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American socialite....
, in the West End, with Wendy Hiller
Wendy Hiller
Dame Wendy Margaret Hiller DBE was an Academy Award-winning English film and stage actress, who enjoyed a varied acting career that spanned nearly sixty years. The writer Joel Hirschorn, in his 1984 compilation Rating the Movie Stars, described her as "a no-nonsense actress who literally took...
as Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
. He also directed productions in the USA, Canada, South Africa, Israel, Malta, Éire and Hong Kong, in the UK he also directed at Nottingham Playhouse
Nottingham Playhouse
The Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in the 1950s when it operated from a former cinema. Directors during this period included Val May and Frank Dunlop.-The building:...
(A Midsummer Night's Dream), Edinburgh 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...
(Bertolt Brecht's Galileo, which he directed again at Birmingham) and Greenwich Theatre
Greenwich Theatre
The Greenwich Theatre is a local theatre located in Croom's Hill close to the centre of Greenwich in south-east London.-Building history:The building was originally a music hall created in 1855 as part of the neighbouring Rose and Crown public house, but the Rose and Crown Music Hall was...
(Inferno by Ian Curteis).