Caspar Wrede

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Casper Wrede
Born
Casper Gustaf Kenneth Wrede af Elimä
Viipuri, Finland
Died25 September 1998(1998-09-25) (aged 69)
Helsinki, Finland
Occupation(s)Theatre and Film director
Years active1951–1993
Spouse(s)Dilys Hamlett 1 (1951–1976; one son)
Karin Bang (1982–1998)

Baron Casper Gustaf Kenneth Wrede af Elimä, known as Caspar Wrede (8 February 1929 – 25 September 1998), was a Finnish theatre and film director. He was long active in the English theatre, co-founding the Royal Exchange theatre company in Manchester.[2]

Life

Casper Wrede came from a noble Finnish family of

Viipuri, Finland, and was the nephew of actor Gerda Wrede.[3] He died in Helsinki, Finland
, in 1998.

Career

In 1951, he left Finland and enrolled at the

Old Vic
in 1961.

At the same time as his theatre work in the fifties, he directed plays for television including episodes of

ITV Play of the Week. He also started to direct films which he continued to do through the sixties, including One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1970), a feature film adaptation of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's novel with Tom Courtenay
in the lead.

In 1967, Wrede and Michael Elliott agreed to direct productions for

Manchester University and in1968 the three men set up the 69 Theatre Company also at the university where they produced plays until 1972. The group started to look for a permanent theatre in Manchester. They were joined by Richard Negri, a colleague and friend of Wrede's since the Old Vic School who was to design the new theatre, and the actor James Maxwell and in 1973 a temporary theatre, The Tent, was installed in the former Royal Exchange in Manchester. The success of The Tent led to the decision being taken to build the new theatre inside the Royal Exchange. Wrede directed one of the two opening productions in September 1976, The Prince of Homburg. He directed over 20 productions during the next 15 years, resigning from the company in 1990 and eventually returned to Finland with his second wife, Karen Bang, a friend since childhood.[7]

Theatre productions

His productions include:[8]

The Royal Exchange

Other Theatre

Filmography

Bibliography

  • The Royal Exchange Theatre Company Words & Pictures 1976–1998. The Royal Exchange Theatre Company Limited. 1998.
    ISBN 0-9512017-1-9
    .
  • ISBN 978-0-7136-8490-2
    .

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 951-9417-26-5
  2. ^ Peacock, Trevor: Obituary: Caspar Wrede. The Independent, 30 September 1998.
  3. ISBN 978-0-8108-7899-0
    .
  4. ^ Owen, Alun (1960). The Rough and Ready Lot: A play in Three Acts. Cover design by Elisabeth Frink (First ed.). London: Encore Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 4.
  5. ^ "The Rough and Ready Lot", Radio Times, no. 1871, London, p. 19, 18 September 1959, retrieved 6 April 2016
  6. ^ "The Rough and Ready Lot (1959): Film details". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on April 28, 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  7. ISBN 978-0-7136-8490-2
    .
  8. ^ The Royal Exchange Theatre Company Words & Pictures 1976–1998

External links

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