Jeremy Herrin (born 19 January 1970) is an English theatre director. He is a Founding Director of Second Half Productions with Alan Stacey and Rob O’Rahilly.[1] He was previously Artistic Director of the British touring theatre company; Headlong.[2]
Jeremy Herrin | |
|---|---|
 Herrin at the British Library in 2023 | |
| Born | 19 January 1970 New York City USA |
| Alma mater | Royal Conservatoire of Scotland |
| Occupation | Theatre director |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Partner | Deborah Bruce |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | https://www.secondhalfproductions.co.uk/ |
For his work on the London stage, Herrin has received three Lawrence Olivier Awards for Labour of Love, The Heretic and The Priory. He won the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Director and was nominated for the Lawrence Olivier Award for Best Director for Wolf Hall Parts One & Two. His hit production of James Graham's This House[3] at the Royal National Theatre received a nomination for the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Play.[4]
Working as a theatre director since 1999, Herrin has directed a string of award winning productions that have transferred to the West End and Broadway. Notable productions include the adaptation of Hilary Mantel's eponymous novels Wolf Hall & Bringing Up the Bodies for the RSC, which transferred to West End (2014) and Broadway (2015). People Places and Things by Duncan Macmillan at the National Theatre (2015) starring Denise Gough who won a Lawrence Olivier Award for Best Actress[5] and which was recently revived at the Trafalgar Theatre (2024). Ulster American by David Ireland at the Riverside Studios (2023) starring Woody Harrelson. The revival of Eugene O'Neill's Long Days Journey into Night at the Wyndham's Theatre (2024) starring Patricia Clarkson and Brian Cox.
In 2022 his acclaimed[6] production of Graham's Best of Enemies was announced winner of the South Bank Sky Arts Award.[7]
His most recent production, the John le Carré novel, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold adapted for the stage by David Eldridge, was performed at Chichester Festival Theatre in Autumn 2024.
Career
editHaving trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, Herrin was appointed as an assistant director at the Royal Court Theatre, London, under Stephen Daldry from 1993 to 1995. Following this role he became a staff director at the National Theatre from 1995 to 1999. In 2000 he became associate director at Live Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne, where his directing credits include plays by Richard Bean and Joe Harbot. He remained at Live Theatre until 2007.
His breakthrough show was the critically successful That Face by Polly Stenham at the Royal Court Upstairs in 2007,[8] which subsequently transferred to the West End in 2008.[9] In 2009 he was nominated for the Evening Standard Award for Best Director for Stenham's Tusk Tusk.[10] He became the deputy artistic director at the Royal Court Theatre to Dominic Cooke in 2009. Whilst at the Royal Court Theatre, he directed a number of new plays including Spur of the Moment [11] by Anya Reiss, Richard Bean's The Heretic,[12] No Quarter, by Polly Stenham, in 2013[13] and in 2008 the UK premiere of David Hare's The Vertical Hour starring Indira Varma and Anton Lesser receiving critical acclaim.[14][15]
Herrin made his Shakespearean debut at the Globe Theatre in 2011, directing Eve Best in Much Ado About Nothing.[16] 2011 also saw Herrin direct several West End productions, including the world premiere and West End transfer of Hare's South Downs, a drama set at Lancing College an English public school. The production starred Anna Chancellor with a company of young actors and was the theatrical debut of Alex Lawther.[17] South Downs was performed in the Minerva Theatre at Chichester Festival Theatre in September 2011[18] and transferred to the Harold Pinter Theatre in the West End in April 2012, produced by Neal Street Productions.[19]
Herrin opened a well-received[20][21][22] revival of Alan Ayckbourn's dark comedy Absent Friends at the Harold Pinter Theatre in 2012, produced by Sonia Friedman Productions.[23] Variety described the production; "It's not just the number of laughs that impresses in Jeremy Herrin's knockout production of Alan Ayckbourn's "Absent Friends," it's the length of them."[24] The production opened in February 2012 with a star cast[25] including, Kara Tointon, Reece Shearsmith, Katherine Parkinson, David Armand, Elizabeth Berrington and Steffan Rhodri.[26]
In 2013 he directed Roger Allam in Uncle Vanya at Shakespeare's Globe.[27] This same year he directed the This House by James Graham at the National Theatre and was nominated for Lawrence Olivier Award for Best Director. The play received a nomination for the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Play.[4]
His esteemed[28][29][30] world premiere production of two plays adapted from Hilary Mantel's Man Booker Prize winning[31] novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies: Wolf Hall Parts One & Two. These were produced as two three-hour dramatised instalments[32] and opened at the Royal Shakespeare Company in December 2013 before transferring to the Aldwych Theatre in 2014 for a limited run and subsequently transferring to the Winter Garden Theatre, Broadway in 2015.[33] This production won numerous awards and saw Herrin win Best Director at the Evening Standard Awards 2014 and earned him nominations for the Best Director at the Laurence Olivier Awards 2015; Best Direction of Play at the Tony Awards 2015; Outstanding Direction of a Play at the Drama Desk Awards 2015 and Outstanding Director of a Play at the Outer Critics Circle Awards 2015.
In 2021 he directed the stage adaptation of Mantel's third novel in the trilogy The Mirror and the Light, which he co-adapted with Mantel. It played at the Gielgud Theatre[34] and received positive reviews.[35] Nick Curtis of the Evening Standard calling it a "magnificent theatrical hat-trick".[36]
In 2013, Herrin succeeded Rupert Goold as the artistic director of Headlong[37][38] which he ran until 2020.[39] Whilst at the helm of Headlong he directed a number of hit productions including; the sold out and multi award winning production[40] of Jennifer Haley's The Nether, set in a digital future of virtual realms and imagined spaces[41], at The Royal Court Theatre with a transfer to the Duke of York's[42][43] in 2015. The multi-award winning People, Places and Things by Duncan Macmillan at the National Theatre and Labour of Love by James Graham, at the Noël Coward theatre[44] featuring Martin Freeman and Tamsin Greig which won the Lawrence Olivier Award for Best Comedy in 2018.[45]
In 2020, in partnership with producers Alan Stacey and Rob O’Rahilly, he founded the production company Second Half Productions.
In 2022 he directed Amy Adams, who made her West End debut,[46] in a production of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, his inaugural production for Second Half Productions.
His production of Best of Enemies based on the acclaimed documentary by Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville transferred from the Young Vic theatre to the West End, winning the South Bank Show’s best Production award. The show was broadcast on National Theatre Live and is available as part of the NT at Home subscription.[47]
2024 has been a very active year for Herrin seeing him take on multiple large projects. in Autumn 2024 he staged the John le Carré novel, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold adapted for the stage by David Eldridge. This was the first time a le Carré novel had been granted rights for the stage.[48] It played a sold-out run to great acclaim,[49][50] with The Stage describing it as having a, "stylish, cinematic treatment".[51] The production starred Rory Keenan as Alec Leamas, Agnes O'Casey as Elizabeth Gold and John Ramm as George Smiley. It was performed at Chichester Festival Theatre in the Minerva Theatre. The set design was by long term collaborator, Max Jones. It was a co-production between Chichester Festival Theatre, Second Half Productions and the Ink Factory.
Philosophy
editHerrin describes himself as the archetypal Royal Court Theatre director, putting the writer before the director:
You never want anything onstage that the writer doesn’t like. You need them to be entirely proud. What you want is to give them the deluxe version of their play... I try to disappear into the work. I’d hate for someone to say, in the way they do about other directors, ‘That’s a very Jeremy Herrin production.’ Ego’s a really dangerous thing in theatre. It’s a collegiate enterprise.[52]
Herrin has described his approach to his craft as;
“Directing is finding a language of performance – finding a bridge between an audience and a dramatic work. Allowing that synthesis to create something completely new. Sometimes the most invisible bit of directing is the most important.”[53]
“Dramatic currency isn’t always best served by viscera or shock or loudness; the tiniest transaction in context can be massively important.”[54]
Known to be a director that actors enjoy working with, Martin Freeman, who has worked with Herrin on multiple projects,[55][56] described working with Herrin; “He’s very good at picking up little details that I miss, gently suggesting a different colour here and there.”[57]
He is known for his positive attitude towards his audiences: "People aren't interested in coming to a place of entertainment to be told what to think. They like to chew over contradictions and difficult questions but they want to be entertained.”[58] In an article in The Guardian about his production of Wolf Hall he described, ‘“I don’t like to keep audiences waiting.” Discussing the adaptations, Herrin repeatedly mentions the importance of "moving forwards", stressing the dynamism of his approach.’[59]
Herrin has expressed his belief that theatre has a role as a mirror to society. He believes theatre should engage with the political and social issues of the time. “There’s a responsibility on theatre-makers to reflect the world we live in.”[60] Whilst he was the Artistic Director of Headlong, Britain voted to leave the European Union. He was vocal about the impact of Brexit on British theatre, emphasizing the need for the arts to address the divided nature of the UK. In an article by Tara Doolabh in 2016, Herrin expressed that, “Theatre is all about looking out and making connections”. “Brexit”, he continues, “is a reaction against that sort of energy, a desire to stop certain conversations”.[61]
Shortly after Brexit, in Autumn 2016, This House was remounted at Chichester Festival Theatre and the West End. In conversation with James Graham about the return of the play for London Theatre, Herrin chose to seat audience members on stage, “We wanted to show the feverish nature of what the chamber was like and that isn't 600 people on a busy vote night, so we're recruiting the audience on the benches onstage, they're very welcome to vote with us."[62]
Herrin has been instrumental in the founding of Stage Directors UK, an organisation and trade union that aims to create better working conditions, terms and interests of stage directors, choreographers and movement directors working in the UK.
Theatre
editTelevision
edit| Year | Title | Author | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Unprecedented | James Graham, Charlene James, John Donnelly | BBC1 | Series written and filmed in lockdown that responds to the radical way we have seen our world change during the coronavirus pandemic |
| Talking Heads | Alan Bennett | BBC1 | New versions of Alan Bennett's much-loved monologues, with performers including Sarah Lancashire, Martin Freeman, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Jodie Comer and Maxine Peake |
Film
edit| Year | Title | Author | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Linked | Joe Harbot | Bonafide Films | Starring Darren Howie, Paul Trussell |
| 2003 | Cold Calling | Julia Darling | Tyne Tees Television | 24” short, shot on digital |
| 2003 | Warmth | Julia Darling | 6” short, shot on digital | |
| 2010 | Dead Terry | Bridget O’Connor | 12” short, shot on digital | |
| In development | The Inventor | Peter Straughan | Film 4 | Feature Film currently in development |
Radio
edit| Year | Title | Author | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | South Downs | David Hare | Catherine Bailey Limited for BBC Radio 4 | Radio adaptation of the Chichester Festival Theatre production of South Downs.
Starring: Nicholas Farrell, Alex Lawther, Jonathan Bailey, Andrew Woodall, Bradley Hall |
| 2011 | Flare Path | Terence Rattigan | Catherine Bailey Limited for BBC Radio 3 | Radio adaptation of the Terence Rattigan play.
Starring: Rory Kinnear, Rupert Penry Jones, Ruth Wilson |
References
edit- ^ Writer, Staff (14 September 2021). "Jeremy Herrin, Alan Stacey and Rob O'Rahilly Launch Second Half Productions". Theatre Weekly. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ Thompson, Jessie (11 September 2019). "Jeremy Herrin set to stand down as artistic director of Headlong". Evening Standard. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ "Olivier Winners 2013". Olivier Awards. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ a b "Evening Standard Theatre Awards: Adrian Lester and his writer wife". Evening Standard. 25 November 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "Olivier Winners 2016". Olivier Awards. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "Best of Enemies review – James Graham is back, doing what he does best". 10 December 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "Best of Enemies among South Bank Sky Arts Award winners". 11 July 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "One of the most thrilling debuts for decades". The Telegraph. 26 April 2007. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ Fox, Killian (18 May 2008). "This Face fits in the West End". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ Staff (9 November 2009). "Evening Standard theatre awards dominated by Royal Court". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ "Spur of the Moment". Royal Court. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ "The Heretic". Royal Court. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ "No Quarter at The Royal Court Theatre", Royal Court Theatre. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
- ^ Billington, Michael (23 January 2008). "The Vertical Hour". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "Review of The Vertical Hour at he Royal Court London 2008". London Theatre. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ Billington, Michael (27 May 2011). "Much Ado About Nothing – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ Billington, Michael (15 September 2011). "South Downs/The Browning Version – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "Cast list, South Downs & The Browning Version (2011) – Pass It On". Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "South Downs/The Browning Version - Neal Street Productions". www.nealstreetproductions.com. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ Kellaway, Kate (19 February 2012). "Absent Friends – review". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "Absent Friends". Exeunt Magazine. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ Billington, Michael (10 February 2012). "Absent Friends - review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "ABSENT FRIENDS". Sonia Friedman. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ Benedict, David (14 February 2012). "Absent Friends". Variety. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "Jeremy Herrin to direct Absent Friends at Harold Pinter Theatre". London Theatre Direct. London England. 9 December 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "Review Round-up: Absent Friends is a hit at the Pinter". 10 February 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ Holdsworth, Rachel (4 June 2013). "If The Audience Don't Have A Good Time They'll Walk Out". The Londonist. London,England. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ Soloski, Alexis (10 April 2015). "Wolf Hall review - action comes thick and fast in this thrilling marathon". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ Lawson, Mark (18 May 2014). "Wolf Hall/Bring Up the Bodies review – a familiar tale infused with thrilling originality of storytelling". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "Wolf Hall theatrical production delights critics". BBC News. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ Brown, Mark (6 October 2009). "Booker prize goes to Hilary Mantel for Wolf Hall". The Guardian. London, England. ISSN 1756-3224. OCLC 60623878. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "Wolf Hall & Bring Up the Bodies | Royal Shakespeare Company". www.rsc.org.uk. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ Rile, Karen (17 October 2014). "Wolf Hall Coming to Broadway in April". JSTOR Daily. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ Armitstead, Claire (6 October 2021). "The Mirror and the Light review – Cromwell's spell is finally broken". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ Cavendish, Dominic (6 October 2021). "The Mirror and the Light, review: whittled-down Mantel makes a powerful case for traditional theatre". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ Curtis, Nick (7 October 2021). "The Mirror and the Light review: a magnificent theatrical hat-trick". Evening Standard. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ Trueman, Matt (11 June 2013). "Jeremy Herrin takes helm at Headlong". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ "Herrin to helm Headlong". Official London Theatre. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ "Jeremy Herrin to step down as artistic director of Headlong". The Stage. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ "The Nether (West End)". Royal Court. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ Stowell-Kaplan, Isabel (2015). "In the Domain of "The Nether": Theatre and Virtuality in a World without Consequence". TDR (1988-). 59 (2): 157–163. doi:10.1162/DRAM_a_00456. ISSN 1054-2043. JSTOR 24585015.
- ^ "IndieLondon: The Nether transfers to West End - Your London Reviews". www.indielondon.co.uk. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ O'Hanlon, Dom (8 June 2016). "The Nether Transfers to Duke of York's in the West End". London Theatre. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ Billington, Michael (3 October 2017). "Labour of Love review – James Graham's witty take on party's thorny past". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "2018 Winners". Olivier Awards. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "Amy Adams to make West End debut in The Glass Menagerie". 14 September 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ "Best of Enemies | National Theatre". www.nationaltheatre.org.uk. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "David Eldridge interview: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (Financial Times) | West End Theatre". www.westendtheatre.com. 27 August 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ Lawson, Mark (30 August 2024). "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold review – first staging of le Carré classic is a hot ticket". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ Mountford, Fiona (30 August 2024). "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is stylish - and slightly bewildering". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold review, directed by Jeremy Herrin, written by John le Carré, adapted by David Eldridge and starring Rory Keenan". The Stage. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "The vanishing man | Interviews | The Stage". The Stage. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
- ^ M, Theatre (15 November 2017). "Headlong's Jeremy Herrin: "Men in positions of power certainly have to be conscious of the privilege their gender gives them."". Carl Woodward. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
- ^ Williams, Holly (28 August 2015). "Jeremy Herrin on conveying the highs and lows of addiction on stage". Independent. p. 1. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "An interview with Martin Freeman". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
- ^ Wiegand, Chris (19 May 2017). "Martin Freeman and Sarah Lancashire to star in James Graham's Labour party comedy". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
- ^ "Interview: Martin Freeman On Appearing In Alan Bennett's Talking Heads". Beyond The Joke. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
- ^ O'Hanlon, Dom (20 October 2016). "This House writer and director James Graham and Jeremy Herrin Interview | LondonTheatre.co.uk". London Theatre. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
- ^ Love, Catherine (25 April 2014). "Keep it moving: Jeremy Herrin on staging Hilary Mantel's Tudor epics". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
- ^ "Post-Brexit Theatre: An Interview with Jeremy Herrin – The Isis". Retrieved 9 October 2024.
- ^ "Post-Brexit Theatre: An Interview with Jeremy Herrin – The Isis". Retrieved 9 October 2024.
- ^ O'Hanlon, Dom (20 October 2016). "This House writer and director James Graham and Jeremy Herrin Interview | LondonTheatre.co.uk". London Theatre. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
- ^ “[1] Best of Enemies wins South Bank Sky Arts Award for Best New Theatre Production”
- ^ "Olivier Awards 2018".
- ^ "Olivier Winners 2013".
- ^ "Galas: Court Laws, Cardboard Seats & Grateful - - News - Whatsonstage.com". Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
- ^ "The Royal Court presents The Priory". Archived from the original on 12 October 2011. [dead link]
- ^ "Olivier Awards Winners 2010 -Official London Theatre".
- ^ "Jeremy Herrin On ... TS Eliot, The Playwright - - Interviews - Whatsonstage.com". Archived from the original on 16 June 2011.
- ^ http://www.royalcourttheatre.com/files/downloads/THATFACErelease.doc.pdf [dead link]