Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre CBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 28 March 1943) is an
EnglishEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
director of
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
,
theatreTheatre is a branch of the performing arts. While any performance may be considered theatre, as a performing art, it focuses almost exclusively on live performers creating a self contained drama. A performance qualifies as dramatic by creating a representational illusion...
and
televisionTelevision is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
.
He was Associate Director at the
Royal Lyceum TheatreThe 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...
,
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
from 1967 to 1972. He won STV Awards for the Best Production in Scotland in 1969, 1970 and 1971.
He was artistic director of
Nottingham PlayhouseThe 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:...
from 1973-78 where he commissioned and directed many new plays, including Trevor Griffith's
Comedians.
Eyre was director of the National Theatre (which became the
Royal National TheatreThe Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company....
during his time there) between 1987 and 1997, having previously directed a noted revival of
Guys and DollsGuys and Dolls is a musical, with the music and lyrics written by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure", two short stories by Damon Runyon. It also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, most...
for the venue in 1982.
Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre CBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 28 March 1943) is an
EnglishEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
director of
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
,
theatreTheatre is a branch of the performing arts. While any performance may be considered theatre, as a performing art, it focuses almost exclusively on live performers creating a self contained drama. A performance qualifies as dramatic by creating a representational illusion...
and
televisionTelevision is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
.
Biography
He was Associate Director at the
Royal Lyceum TheatreThe 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...
,
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
from 1967 to 1972. He won STV Awards for the Best Production in Scotland in 1969, 1970 and 1971.
He was artistic director of
Nottingham PlayhouseThe 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:...
from 1973-78 where he commissioned and directed many new plays, including Trevor Griffith's
Comedians.
Eyre was director of the National Theatre (which became the
Royal National TheatreThe Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company....
during his time there) between 1987 and 1997, having previously directed a noted revival of
Guys and DollsGuys and Dolls is a musical, with the music and lyrics written by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure", two short stories by Damon Runyon. It also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, most...
for the venue in 1982. His diaries during this time have been published as
National ServiceNational service is a common name for mandatory or voluntary government service programs . National service was common in the 20th century, and many young people spent one or more years in such programs...
and won the 2003
Theatre Book PrizeThe Theatre Book Prize was established to celebrate the Jubilee of the Society for Theatre Research and to encourage the writing and publication of books on theatre history and practice, both those which present the theatre of the past and those which record contemporary theatre for the future...
.
Other than
Guys and Dolls, his most noted theatre productions are of
HamletThe Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601. The play, set in Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father, the King, and then...
(twice), with
Jonathan PryceJonathan Pryce, CBE is a Welsh stage and film actor/singer. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and marrying English actress Kate Fahy in 1974, he began his career as a stage actor in the 1970s...
at the
Royal CourtRoyal court, as distinguished from a court of law, may refer to:*Court , the household and entourage of a monarch or other ruler, the princely court*Royal Court Theatre, in London, England...
in 1980 and
Daniel Day-LewisDaniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is an English actor with British and Irish citizenship. He is known as one of the most selective actors in the film industry, having starred in only four films since 1997, with as many as five years between roles. He is a method actor, known for his constant...
in 1989;
Richard III with Ian McKellen;
King LearKing Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1603 and 1606, and is considered one of his greatest works. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological pre-Roman Celtic king...
with
Ian HolmSir Ian Holm, CBE is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles, including the hobbit Bilbo Baggins in the first and third films of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, the athletics trainer Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire, Father Vito Cornelius in The Fifth Element and the...
;
Tennessee WilliamsTennessee Williams , né Thomas Lanier Williams, was an American playwright who received many of the top theatrical awards for his works of drama...
'
Night of the Iguana and
Sweet Bird of Youth; Eduardo Di Filippo's
Napoli Milionaria and
Le Grande Magia;
John Gabriel Borkman with
Paul ScofieldDavid Paul Scofield, CH, CBE was an English actor of stage and screen. Noted for his distinctive voice and delivery, Scofield received an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for his performance as Sir Thomas More in the 1966 film A Man for All Seasons, a reprise of the role he played in the stage...
,
Vanessa RedgraveVanessa Redgrave CBE is an Oscar winning English actress of stage, film and television. She is a member of the Redgrave family, the world-renowned theatrical dynasty. A former Trotskyist and leading member of the Workers' Revolutionary Party, She is also a social activist for human rights and has...
and
Eileen AtkinsDame Eileen June Atkins, DBE is an English actress and occasional screenwriter.- Early life :Atkins was born in a Salvation Army women's hostel in East London , the cockney daughter of Annie Ellen , a barmaid who was 46 when Eileen was born, and Arthur Thomas Atkins, a gas-meter reader who was...
;
Hedda GablerHedda 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...
with
Eve BestEve Best , is a British actress best known for her stage work.-Early life and education:Best grew up in Ladbroke Grove and attended Wycombe Abbey Girls’ School before going on to Lincoln College, Oxford where she read English. Among her earliest public performances were with the W11 Opera...
, and numerous new plays by
David HareSir David Hare is an English playwright and theatre and film director.-Biography :Hare was born David Rippon in St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings, East Sussex, the son of Agnes and Clifford Theodore Rippon, a sailor. He was educated at Lancing College and at Jesus College, Cambridge...
,
Tom StoppardSir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright. He has written plays such as The Coast of Utopia, Arcadia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, and Rock 'n' Roll...
,
Trevor GriffithsTrevor Griffiths is an English dramatist.Raised as a Catholic, he attended the local Catholic school before being accepted into Manchester University in 1952 to read English. After a brief involvement with professional football and a year in National Service, he became a teacher...
,
Howard BrentonHoward John Brenton is an English playwright. He was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, on 13 December, 1942, son of Donald Henry Brenton and his wife Rose Lilian . He married Jane Margaret Brenton.-Early years:...
,
Alan BennettAlan Bennett is an English author, actor, humorist and playwright.-Early years:Bennett was born in Armley in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The son of a co-op butcher, Bennett attended Leeds Modern School , learned Russian at the Joint Services School for Linguists during his National Service, and gained...
,
Christopher HamptonChristopher James Hampton CBE, FRSL is an Academy Award-winning British playwright, screen writer and film director. He is best known for his play based on the novel Les Liaisons dangereuses and the film version Dangerous Liaisons and also more recently for writing the nominated screenplay for...
and
Nicholas WrightNicholas or Nick Wright may refer to:* Nick Wright , English footballer* Nick Wright , English footballer* Nicholas Wright , British dramatist* Nicolas Wright, Canadian actor...
.
Eyre has also directed operas. His debut was the 1994 production of
La TraviataLa traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on the novel La dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils, published in 1848. The title "La traviata" means literally The Woman Who Strayed, or perhaps more figuratively, The...
at the
Royal Opera HouseThe Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in the London district of Covent Garden. 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...
which starred
Angela GheorghiuAngela Gheorghiu is a Romanian soprano opera singer. Since her professional debut in 1990, she has sung as soprano leading roles at New York's Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden's Royal Opera House, the Vienna State Opera, Milan's La Scala, and many other opera houses in Europe and the United States...
and was conducted by Sir Georg Solti. This production was televised and has subsequently been released on video and DVD.
He has written adaptations of
Hedda Gabler and of Sartre's
Les Mains Sales as
The Novice for the
Almeida TheatreThe Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325 seat studio theatre with an international reputation which takes its name from the street in which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diverse range of drama and holds an annual summer festival...
.
He directed the musical
Mary Poppins in London and on Broadway. On 14 February 2007, Eyre's production of
Nicholas WrightNicholas or Nick Wright may refer to:* Nick Wright , English footballer* Nick Wright , English footballer* Nicholas Wright , British dramatist* Nicolas Wright, Canadian actor...
's
The Reporter premiered at the
Royal National TheatreThe 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
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
. The play explores the social climate in the years before
James MossmanDavid James Mossman was a British journalist, broadcaster, a TV reporter, film-maker, interviewer and former MI6 agent with a famously acerbic interviewing style. He once verbally attacked then-Prime Minister Harold Wilson live on air, over his support of US President Lyndon Johnson over the...
's death as well as the reasons for the death itself.
He will direct a new production of Bizet's opera "
CarmenCarmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
" for the
Metropolitan OperaThe Metropolitan Opera Association of New York City, founded in April 1880, is a major presenter of all types of opera including Grand Opera. Peter Gelb is the company's general manager. The music director is James Levine....
's 2009-2010 season starring
Angela GheorghiuAngela Gheorghiu is a Romanian soprano opera singer. Since her professional debut in 1990, she has sung as soprano leading roles at New York's Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden's Royal Opera House, the Vienna State Opera, Milan's La Scala, and many other opera houses in Europe and the United States...
and her husband Roberto Algana.
Television
Eyre worked as both a director and one of the
producersThe primary role of a television producer is to control all aspects of production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
of
BBC'sThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
Play for TodayPlay for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. Over three hundred original plays, most between an hour and ninety minutes in length, were transmitted during the fourteen-year period the series aired, and it is by far the...
between 1978 and 1980. He returned to the BBC in 1988 to direct the
Falklands WarThe Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict/Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
story
TumbledownTumbledown is a 1988 BBC Television Drama set during the Falklands War.-Synopsis:The film centres on the experiences of Robert Lawrence MC, an officer of the Scots Guards during the Falklands Campaign of 1982. While fighting at the Battle of Mount Tumbledown, Lawrence is hit in the head by an...
(starring
Colin FirthColin Andrew Firth is an English film, television, and stage actor. Firth first gained wide public attention, especially in England, for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the highly acclaimed 1995 television adaption of Pride and Prejudice...
), which won him the
BAFTA Award for Best DirectorThe British Academy Television Awards, also known as the BAFTAs — or, to differentiate them from the BAFTA Film Awards, the BAFTA Television Awards — are the most prestigious awards given in the British television industry, analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States...
. Eyre served on the board of Governors of the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
between 1995 and 2003.
Film
For film he directed
The Ploughman's Lunch (written by Ian McEwan) in 1982, which won the Evening Standard Award for Best Film,
Iris, a biopic of writer and philosopher
Iris MurdochDame Iris Murdoch DBE was an English author and philosopher, best known for her novels about sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious. Her first published novel, Under the Net, was selected in 2001 by the editorial board of the American Modern Library as one of the 100...
(starring
Judi DenchDame Judith Olivia Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English actress.Originally trained as a set designer, Dench began her acting career in the mid 1950s in amateur productions, and made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company...
,
Kate WinsletKate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. Winslet made her film debut starring in Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures...
and
Jim BroadbentJames "Jim" Broadbent is an English theatre, film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in Iris, Moulin Rouge!, Topsy-Turvy, and Bridget Jones' Diary...
),
Stage BeautyStage Beauty is a 2004 British/American romantic drama film, directed by Richard Eyre. The screenplay by Jeffrey Hatcher is based on his play Compleat Female Stage Beauty, which was inspired by references to 17th century actor Edward Kynaston made in the detailed private diary kept by Samuel...
, and, most recently,
Notes on a ScandalNotes on a Scandal is a 2006 drama film, adapted from the 2003 novel of the same name by Zoë Heller. The screenplay was written by Patrick Marber and the film was directed by Richard Eyre. Many parts of the film were shot in Islington Arts and Media School...
, the film adaptation of the
Booker PrizeThe Man Booker Prize for Fiction, also known in short as the Booker Prize, is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of either the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe...
-nominated novel by
Zoe HellerZoë Kate Hinde Heller is an English journalist.-Early life:Heller was born in North London as the youngest of four children of German-Jewish immigrant Lukas Heller, who was a successful screenwriter. Her mother was instrumental in keeping up the Labour Party's "Save London Transport Campaign"...
.
Awards
He has been the recipient of numerous directing awards including five Olivier Awards. In 1982 he won the Evening Standard Award for Best Director, for
Guys and DollsGuys and Dolls is a musical, with the music and lyrics written by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure", two short stories by Damon Runyon. It also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, most...
, and in 1997 for
King Lear and Tom Stoppard's
Invention of Love. In 1997 he won an Olivier Lifetime Achievement Award, and awards from The Directors' Guild of Great Britain, The South Bank Show, The Evening Standard and The Critics' Circle. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1992 New Year Honours, and
knightedThe rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in the 1997 New Year Honours, receiving the honour on 4 March 1997. He became a Patron of the
Alzheimer's Research TrustThe Alzheimer's Research Trust is the United Kingdom's leading dementia research charity, founded in 1992. It is dedicated to funding scientific studies to find ways to treat, cure or prevent Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, Lewy Body disease and fronto-temporal dementia.It currently funds...
in 2001.
http://www.alzheimers-research.org.uk/aboutus/whoweare/people.php?type=Patrons He was made an Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1998, and was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters (honoris causa) by the
University of NottinghamThe University of Nottingham is a public research university in the city of Nottingham, England, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
on 10 July 2008.
External links