Record

CodeDS995
Dates1926-
Person NameWilliam; David (1926-); Actor and director
SurnameWilliam
ForenamesDavid
EpithetActor and director
ActivityEducated at Bryanston School, Dorset, and University College, Oxford. First professional appearance, Old Vic, 1953; directed productions at St Thomas's Church, Regent Street, Open Air Theatre (Regent's Park)and Guildford Repertory, 1955; joined Shakespeare Memorial Company, Stratford-on-Avon, 1956; directed at Lyric, Hammersmith, 1958; played the title part in 'Hamlet' at Pembroke, Croydon, 1960; Tomazo de Piracquo in 'The Changeling' at the Royal Court, 1961; the Cardinal in 'Tis a Pity She's a Whore' at the Mermaid, 1961; Sir Thomas More in 'A Man for All Seasons' at Citizens', Glasgow, 1962; directed at the Open Air Theatre, 1962; joined Old Vic Company for their last season, 1962-3; directed at the Royal Court, 1962; Open Air Theatre, June-July 1962; Theatre Royal Windsor, 1963; Associate Director, Mermaid Theatre, 1964-6; Founder and Artistic Director of the Ludlow Festival, 1958-63; Royal, Brighton,1964, directed 'The Merchant of Venice', which subsequently toured Latin America and Europe; toured Pakistan, India and Ceylon for the New Shakespeare Company with his own production of 'Richard II' and also directed 'The Tempest'; played Procathren in 'Saint's Day' at The Royal, Stratford East, 1965, subsequently transferring to the Saint Martin's; Director of Productions, Citizen's, Glasgow, 1965-6; directed 'Twelfth Night' at Stratford, Ontario, and 'The Magistrate', Arena Stage, Washington, 1966; directed at Hampstead Theatre Club, 1967; returned to Stratford, Ontario to direct 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' and 'Albert Herring'; subsequently directed operas including 'The Fairy Queen'and 'Iphigénie en Tauride' (for the Gulbenkian Festival, Lisbon) and 'Xerxes' at Sadlers Wells; directed 'The Misanthrope' for the American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco, 1968; Artistic Director, National Theatre of Israel, 1968-70; directed at Nottingham Playhouse, 1970; Kreeger Theatre, Washington DC; Stratford, Ontario; Nottingham and The Crucible, Sheffield, 1971; directed at Nottingham, Old Vic, and Stratford, Ontario, 1972; Artistic Director for 'Love's Labour's Lost' and 'What the Butler Saw', at Nottingham, 1973; directed at Stratford, Ontario, and for the Actor's Company, 1973; directed in Lisbon, and for the English Opera Group, 1974; played Mr Fisher in 'Robin Redbreast' at the Arnauld, Guildford, 1974; directed at Camden Festival, and the Belgrade, Coventry, 1975; played de Guiche in 'Cyrano de Bergerac' and Roderigo in 'Othello' at the Chichester Festival, 1975, and subsequently appeared with the company in these roles at the Hong Kong Festival; played Pauncefort Quentin in 'The Vortex', Greenwich, and directed at the Haymarket, Leicester, 1975; played the title role in 'Uncle Vanya' at the Birmingham Rep, 1976; also directed at the Oxford Festival; The Lyceum; Edinburgh; National Theatre School; Montreal; Stratford, Ontario; English Music Theatre; Saddler's Wells; the Bath and Cheltenham Festivals, and the Welsh National Opera, 1976-7; returned to the stage to play L'Abbe Pradeau de la Halle in 'The Fire That Consumes' at the Mermaid, 1977; directed at Chichester, York, 1978; the Camden Festival, Chichester and Royal Opera House, 1979; has appeared frequently on television in productions including 'An Age of Kings', 'The Cruel Necessity', 'Troubleshooters'; author of 'The Tempest on the Stage', and 'Hamlet in the Theatre' (both in Stratford-on-Avon studies).