James_Macdonald_(director)

James Macdonald (director)

James Macdonald (director)

British theatre and film director (born 1958)

James Macdonald is a British theatre and film director who is best known for his work with contemporary writers such as Caryl Churchill.[1] He was associate and deputy director of the Royal Court Theatre from 1992 to 2006. There he staged the premiere of Sarah Kane's Blasted (1995), her highly controversial debut which sparked a Newsnight debate on BBC Television.[2] He also directed the premiere of Kane's Cleansed (1998) and 4.48 Psychosis which opened after her suicide.[3][4]

Born in 1958, Macdonald began working as a director at the Royal Court under Max Stafford-Clark, in his twenties after graduating from Oxford University and L'Ecole Internationale de Theatre Jacques Lecoq. Since leaving the Royal Court in 2007 Macdonald has worked extensively in New York, in most of the major theatres across London and the West End, and directed a 2008 feature film of A Number by Caryl Churchill for HBO/BBC Films.[5]

His productions include Fewer Emergencies by Martin Crimp at the Royal Court (2005),[6] Glengarry Glen Ross in the West End (2007),[7] The world premiere of The Arrest of Ai Weiwei at the Hampstead Theatre (2013) [8][9] and Bakkhai at Almeida Theatre in 2015.[10]

James Macdonald is on the board of Stage Directors UK.[11]

Productions

Awards and nominations

  • Evening Standard Awards, Best Play, The Father, Theatre Royal Bath, 2015
  • Obie Award USA, winner, Best Director for Love and Information, 2014
  • Evening Standard Awards, Longlisted for Best Director, Roots, Donmar Warehouse, 2013
  • Evening Standard Awards, Longlisted for Best Director, Love and Information by Caryl Churchill, (Royal Court Downstairs), 2012

References

  1. [1]
    The Independent Interview
  2. [2]
    The Independent News
  3. [3]
    BBC Article
  4. [4]
    "Sarah Kane's howl of pain is an act of artistic heroism". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2023-04-24.
  5. [5]
    IMDb
  6. [6]
    "Fewer Emergencies, Royal Court, London". The Guardian. 2005-09-14. Archived from the original on 2023-03-29.
  7. [7]
    "Glengarry Glen Ross". Variety. 2007-10-15. Archived from the original on 2023-02-08.
  8. [8]
    BBC News
  9. [9]
    "The Arrest of Ai Weiwei – review". The Guardian. 2013-04-18. Archived from the original on 2022-06-16.
  10. [10]
    Huffington Post Review
  11. [11]
    Stage Directors UK[permanent dead link]
  12. [12]
    "Exiles, National, London". The Guardian. 2006-08-03. Archived from the original on 2021-10-25.
  13. [13]
    "The Walking Wounded Who Never Saw a Battlefield (Published 2007)". The New York Times. 5 March 2007. Archived from the original on 2022-08-19.
  14. [14]
    "Theatre review: Glengarry Glen Ross / Apollo, London". The Guardian. 2007-10-15. Archived from the original on 2020-12-03.
  15. [15]
    "They Don't Call It a Special Relationship for Nothing (Published 2008)". The New York Times. 17 March 2008. Archived from the original on 2022-11-26.
  16. [16]
    "Ladies Who Lunch? No, Here's to the Power Players (Published 2008)". The New York Times. 8 May 2008. Archived from the original on 2018-05-19.
  17. [17]
    "Judgment Day at the Almeida Theatre, review". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2016-05-08.
  18. [18]
    Olivier Awards
  19. [19]
    "Theatre review: Cock, Royal Court, London". The Guardian. 2009-11-18. Archived from the original on 2023-03-31.
  20. [20]
    Broadway World
  21. [21]
    "Love and Information – review". The Guardian. 2012-09-14. Archived from the original on 2023-04-23.
  22. [22]
    "The Wolf From the Door, Royal Court, review: 'exhilarating'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2022-08-16.
  23. [23]
    BBC Entertainment
  24. [24]
    "The Father review – ingenious Alzheimer's drama with echoes of Lear". The Guardian. 2015-10-06. Archived from the original on 2023-04-04.
  25. [25]
    Theatre Royal Bath
  26. [26]
    "Almeida Theatre". Archived from the original on 2015-09-28. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  27. [27]
    Brantley, Ben (6 October 2015). "Review: 'Cloud Nine,' a Comedy of Fluid and Complicated Couplings (Published 2015)". The New York Times.
  28. [28]
    Brantley, Ben (14 February 2016). "For 'Hangmen' and 'Escaped Alone,' Connecting Threads in London (Published 2016)". The New York Times.
  29. [29]
    Telegraph Review[dead link]
  30. [30]
    "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? review – Staunton ignites Albee's marital battle". The Guardian. 2017-03-09. Archived from the original on 2023-06-08.
  31. [31]
    WhatsOnStage Article
  32. [32]
    Production Website
  33. [33]
    WhatsOnStage Article
  34. [34]
    Royal Court Website
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