Matthew Warchus

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Matthew Warchus
Bristol University
Occupations
  • Theatre director
  • filmmaker
  • dramaturg
Notable workSimpatico
The Lord of the Rings
Pride
Matilda the Musical
TitleArtistic Director of The Old Vic (2015–present)
SpouseLauren Ward
Children3
Awards

Matthew Warchus (born 24 October 1966) is an English theatre director, filmmaker and dramaturg.[1][2] He has been the Artistic Director of London's The Old Vic since September 2015.[3]

Early life and education

Warchus grew up in

Bristol University and studied in the school's department of drama.[5][6]

Career

Warchus has directed for the

]

Productions include

The Devil is an Ass, Hamlet (RSC), Volpone (RNT), Troilus and Cressida (Opera North), Rake's Progress (Welsh National Opera), Falstaff (Opera North & ENO), and Art (West End and Broadway
).

His 1997 productions of

]

Warchus directed

Olivier Award for Best New Musical
.

In 2007 he directed

.

During the 2009 Broadway season, Warchus directed two productions. One was the critically lauded, 2009 Tony Award winner for Best Revival of a Play transfer of his Old Vic production of The Norman Conquests, for which he won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play. The other was the 2009 Tony Award winner for Best Play, Yasmina Reza's God of Carnage, for which Warchus won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play.[7]

In 2010, Warchus directed the acclaimed

Olivier Awards including Best New Musical and Best Director for Warchus.[8]

Warchus's production of

Lunt Fontanne Theater
on 15 March 2012 and closed on 18 August 2012. Ghost The Musical was on tour in UK and USA in 2013 while also playing in Budapest. It opened in Korea in November 2013.

His film Pride was selected to be screened as part of the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival,[9] where it won the Queer Palm award on 23 May 2014.

A film adaptation of

Matilda the Musical based on the stage musical, also directed by Warchus with screenplay by Dennis Kelly and songs by Tim Minchin was released by Netflix
on 23 November 2022 in the United Kingdom and 9 December 2022 in the United States.

Artistic director of The Old Vic (2015 to present)

In May 2014 Warchus was appointed Artistic Director of The Old Vic in London,[10] succeeding Kevin Spacey.

His first season began in September 2015 directing a new play, Future Conditional by Tamsin Oglesby, starring Rob Brydon. In 2016 he also directed The Master Builder by Henrik Ibsen starring Ralph Fiennes, The Caretaker by Harold Pinter starring Timothy Spall, Daniel Mays and George Mackay, and the world premiere of the new musical Groundhog Day with book by Danny Rubin and music and lyrics by Tim Minchin.[11] The musical ran for 8 weeks from July to September 2016 before transferring to the August Wilson Theatre on Broadway from April to September 2017. The musical later returned to the Old Vic from May to August 2023 before playing at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne from January to April 2024.

His second season saw him direct the 20th anniversary revival of

Paul Ritter
from December 2016 to February 2017 (followed by UK tours in 2018 and 2019).

For the 2017 Christmas season, Warchus directed a new adaptation of A Christmas Carol by Jack Thorne starring Rhys Ifans as Scrooge which has since returned to the Old Vic every year due to its popular demand starring Stephen Tompkinson, Paterson Joseph, Stephen Mangan, Owen Teale and Christopher Eccleston as Scrooge. It has also played the Lyceum Theatre, Broadway for the 2019 season a US tour in 2021 and the Comedy Theatre, Melbourne in 2022 and 2023.

In 2019 he directed a revival of

Matt Smith
.

In 2020, Warchus was planned to direct

Matt Smith reprising their roles to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York
in March to April 2020 was also cancelled due to the pandemic.

During the

Matt Smith returning. This was followed by Three Kings by Stephen Beresford starring Andrew Scott, Faith Healer by Brian Friel starring Michael Sheen, David Threlfall and Indira Varma and A Christmas Carol (which was due to return for a fourth consecutive season) starring Andrew Lincoln
as Scrooge.

In summer 2024, Warchus will direct The Constituent, a new political drama by Joe Penhall starring James Corden and Anna Maxwell Martin.

In January 2025, Warchus will co-direct with Hofesh Shechter a new adaptation of Oedipus by Ella Hickson starring Rami Malek and Indira Varma.

Personal life

Warchus is married to American actress Lauren Ward, who played the role of Miss Honey in the Stratford-upon-Avon, London, and Broadway productions of Matilda the Musical.[12] Ward and Warchus met when he directed her in the 2001 revival of Follies on Broadway.[13] They have three children.[14]

Filmography

Theatre credits

Year Title Playwright Theatre
1992 Much Ado About Nothing William Shakespeare
Queen's Theatre
1992 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Edward Albee
West Yorkshire Playhouse
1992 Fiddler on the Roof Jerry Bock
Sheldon Harnick
Joseph Stein
West Yorkshire Playhouse
1993 The Plough and the Stars Seán O'Casey
West Yorkshire Playhouse
1994 Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller
West Yorkshire Playhouse
1994 Betrayal Harold Pinter
West Yorkshire Playhouse
1994,

2000

True West Sam Shepard
1995 Henry V William Shakespeare
Barbican Theatre
1995 Volpone Ben Jonson Royal National Theatre, Olivier
1995
Peter Pan
J. M. Barrie
West Yorkshire Playhouse
1997 Hamlet William Shakespeare Royal Shakespeare Company
US tour
1996-2003
1998
2016
Art Yasmina Reza
Royale Theatre
The Old Vic
2000 The Unexpected Man Yasmina Reza Royal Shakespeare Company
Duchess Theatre
Promenade Theatre
2000,
2002,
2003
Life x 3 Yasmina Reza Royal National Theatre, Lyttleton
The Old Vic
UK tour
Savoy Theatre
Circle in the Square Theatre
2001 Follies Stephen Sondheim
James Goldman
Belasco Theatre
2002 The Winter's Tale William Shakespeare Royal Shakespeare Company
2002,
2008
Our House Madness
Tim Firth
Cambridge Theatre
UK tour
2003 Tell Me on a Sunday Andrew Lloyd Webber
Don Black
Gielgud Theatre
UK tour
2004 Endgame Samuel Beckett
Albery Theatre
2004 Buried Child Sam Shepard Royal National Theatre, Lyttleton
2006,
2007
The Lord of the Rings A. R. Rahman
Värttinä
Christopher Nightingale

Shaun McKenna
Matthew Warchus

Princess of Wales Theatre
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
2007,
2008
Boeing-Boeing Marc Camoletti Comedy Theatre
Longacre Theatre
2008 Speed-the-Plow David Mamet The Old Vic
2008,
2009
God of Carnage Yasmina Reza Gielgud Theatre
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
2008,
2009
The Norman Conquests Alan Ayckbourn The Old Vic
Circle in the Square Theatre
2010 La Bête David Hirson
Comedy Theatre
Music Box Theatre
2010 Deathtrap Ira Levin Noël Coward Theatre
2010 to present Matilda the Musical Dennis Kelly
Tim Minchin
Royal Shakespeare Company, Courtyard Theatre
Cambridge Theatre
Shubert Theatre
2011,
2012
Ghost Manchester Opera House
Piccadilly Theatre
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
2015 Future Conditional Tamsin Ogleby The Old Vic
2016 The Master Builder Henrik Ibsen The Old Vic
2016 The Caretaker Harold Pinter The Old Vic
2016,
2017,
2023,

2024

Groundhog Day Danny Rubin
Tim Minchin
The Old Vic
August Wilson Theatre

Princess Theatre

2017 to present A Christmas Carol Jack Thorne The Old Vic
Lyceum Theatre
Comedy Theatre
2019 Present Laughter Noël Coward The Old Vic
2019 Lungs Duncan Macmillan The Old Vic
2024 The Constituent Joe Penhall The Old Vic
2025 Oedipus Ella Hickson The Old Vic

Awards and nominations

Olivier Awards

Year Category Nominated work Result
1996 Best Director Volpone and Henry V Nominated
1997 Art Nominated
1998 Hamlet Nominated
2012 Matilda Won
2017 Groundhog Day Nominated

Tony Awards

Year Category Nominated work Result
1998
Best Direction of a Play Art Nominated
2000
True West Nominated
2008
Boeing-Boeing Nominated
2009
The Norman Conquests Nominated
God of Carnage Won
2013
Best Direction of a Musical Matilda Nominated
2017
Groundhog Day Nominated

Drama Desk Awards

Year Category Nominated work Result
2001 Outstanding Director of a Play The Unexpected Man Nominated
2008 Boeing-Boeing Nominated
2009 The Norman Conquests Won
2013 Outstanding Director of a Musical Matilda Nominated

Outer Critics Circle Awards

Year Category Nominated work Result
1998 Outstanding Director of a Play Art Nominated
2009 The Norman Conquests Won
2017 Outstanding Director of a Play Groundhog Day Nominated

British Independent Film Awards

Year Category Nominated work Result
2014 Best Director Pride Nominated

References

  1. ^ Profile of Matthew Warchus in The New York Times
  2. ^ "Matthew Warchus Biography (1966-)". filmreference.com.
  3. ^ The Old Vic's new artistic director Matthew Warchus on succeeding Kevin Spacey, Fiona Mountford, Evening Standard, London, 1 September 2015. Retrieved: 6 October 2016.
  4. ^ Maxwell, Dominic (26 January 2024). "Matthew Warchus: meet the young man in charge of the Old Vic". Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  5. ^ Wolf, Matt. "THEATER; A Miniaturist Fitting a Gem Into a Smaller New Setting". NY Times. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  6. ^ Koltès, Bernard-Marie. "University of Bristol Drama Department puts on Roberto Zucco". www.bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  7. ^ IBDb profile Archived 9 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "Olivier Winner Bertie Carvel to Reprise Role as Evil Headmistress Miss Trunchbull in Matilda on Broadway". Broadway.com.
  9. .
  10. ^ "Matthew Warchus to replace Kevin Spacey at the Old Vic". The Stage. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  11. ^ "Groundhog Day musical: Tim Minchin to write lyrics with Matilda collaborators also attached". independent.co.uk. The Independent. 6 April 2015. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  12. ^ Billington, Michael (10 December 2010). "Matilda – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  13. ^ Wolf, Matt. "THEATER; Wanted: American Actors With a Taste for Fish and Chips". NY Times. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  14. ^ Healy, Patrick (22 July 2009). "After the Tony, Two Musical Encores". NY Times. Retrieved 26 January 2024.

External links