John Wright (theatre director)
Encyclopedia
John Wright is an English
theatre director.
and is a co-founder and an artistic director of Told by an Idiot where he has directed most of their repertoire including: Aladdin at the Lyric Theatre
, I Can’t wake up, On the verge of exploding, (nominated for the independent award) and Don’t laugh it’s my life, I’m so big, and Happy Birthday Mr Deka D. He was also, in 1980, co-founder of Trestle Theatre Company, where he co-directed most of their repertoire until 1992 including Top Storey, Ties that bind and The edge. John Wright was the director of trestle mask making. He was inspired by the idea when he saw a film called "chain". The characters had different expressions and he decided to base some masks on expressions so people could make a play with them. Primary and Secondary schools both use Trestle Masks. (EB"P"TNTSG)
, The Changeling
, Richard the Third and The Tragicall Tale of Dr FAUSTUS - A Damned Fine Play. He has also directed The Wife of Bath and The man who woke up in the dark for Trading Faces and Don Juan
for Commotion Theatre.
His opera
work includes. Master Peters Puppet Show and Aesop for the NYMT and The Royal Opera House. He has just completed a European Union
project called Common Nonsense. John is currently working on a new Opera for Opera Circus called Arcane.
New writing projects include ‘'Meeting myself Coming Back'’ by Kerri Hood for Soho Theatre, ‘'Old New Borrowed Blue'’ by Six of One, ‘'She’ll be coming round the mountain'’ for Back Stairs influence. ‘'Achilles Heel'’ for Rejects Revenge and ‘'Mohamed Malloy'’ (in development).
credits include, ‘'Only Fools no Horses'’ by Sarah Wood (with Angela DeCastro), ‘'A Little Job for an Old Clown'’ for Royal National Theatre Studio, ‘'Soul in a Suitcase'’ with Jayne Sutcliff (aerial artist) and ‘'Circus Moon, a large scale circus spectacular with Half Moon Theatre.
John has worked on several large scale events including ‘'Shooting sons'’, A play in Cantonese, commissioned by The Hong Kong Theatre Ensemble to open the Hong Kong Arts Festival
, ‘'Beauty and the Beast'’ set in the ruins of Coventry Cathedral in collaboration with the Belgrade Theatre (in development) and ‘'Evocation of Papa Mas'’ (with Told By an Idiot) Co Production with Generating Company and the Mahogany, A large-scale carnival community event. (In development)
The Wright school is composed of small self-contained units designed to support and provoke the activities of the working theatre practitioner. The Wright school can go anywhere in the world, courses can be designed for the needs of a particular company or to those of a small group of artists.
You can duck in and out of The Wright School whenever you like and you don't have to mortgage your mother to go there! John has a unique system of assessment, where those who mess up get the best marks and those who are too good get lousy marks because they are only showing off! The idea is not to achieve perfection but to be in the moment as yourself second by second.
John Wright’s work is about making theatre and inspiring other people to do the same. The aim of The Wright School is to facilitate and inspire theatre making in all its forms. If you have your own company you are much more in control of your personal development as an artist. If you are toying with the idea of writing a play then the Wright School is an excellent place to find a group to help you develop these ideas.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
theatre director.
Told By an Idiot
John Wright is an international director of theatreTheatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and is a co-founder and an artistic director of Told by an Idiot where he has directed most of their repertoire including: Aladdin at the Lyric Theatre
Lyric Hammersmith
The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on King Street, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, which takes pride in its original, "groundbreaking" productions....
, I Can’t wake up, On the verge of exploding, (nominated for the independent award) and Don’t laugh it’s my life, I’m so big, and Happy Birthday Mr Deka D. He was also, in 1980, co-founder of Trestle Theatre Company, where he co-directed most of their repertoire until 1992 including Top Storey, Ties that bind and The edge. John Wright was the director of trestle mask making. He was inspired by the idea when he saw a film called "chain". The characters had different expressions and he decided to base some masks on expressions so people could make a play with them. Primary and Secondary schools both use Trestle Masks. (EB"P"TNTSG)
Third Party productions
For Third Party productions Ltd John has directed HamletHamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, The Changeling
The Changeling (play)
The Changeling is a Jacobean tragedy written by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley. Widely regarded as "among the best" tragedies of the English Renaissance, the play has accumulated a significant body of critical commentary....
, Richard the Third and The Tragicall Tale of Dr FAUSTUS - A Damned Fine Play. He has also directed The Wife of Bath and The man who woke up in the dark for Trading Faces and Don Juan
Don Juan
Don Juan is a legendary, fictional libertine whose story has been told many times by many authors. El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra by Tirso de Molina is a play set in the fourteenth century that was published in Spain around 1630...
for Commotion Theatre.
His opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
work includes. Master Peters Puppet Show and Aesop for the NYMT and The Royal Opera House. He has just completed a European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
project called Common Nonsense. John is currently working on a new Opera for Opera Circus called Arcane.
New writing projects include ‘'Meeting myself Coming Back'’ by Kerri Hood for Soho Theatre, ‘'Old New Borrowed Blue'’ by Six of One, ‘'She’ll be coming round the mountain'’ for Back Stairs influence. ‘'Achilles Heel'’ for Rejects Revenge and ‘'Mohamed Malloy'’ (in development).
Circus
His circusCircus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
credits include, ‘'Only Fools no Horses'’ by Sarah Wood (with Angela DeCastro), ‘'A Little Job for an Old Clown'’ for Royal National Theatre Studio, ‘'Soul in a Suitcase'’ with Jayne Sutcliff (aerial artist) and ‘'Circus Moon, a large scale circus spectacular with Half Moon Theatre.
John has worked on several large scale events including ‘'Shooting sons'’, A play in Cantonese, commissioned by The Hong Kong Theatre Ensemble to open the Hong Kong Arts Festival
Hong Kong Arts Festival
Hong Kong Arts Festival , founded in 1973, is a focus programmes for the Culture of Hong Kong, in order to provides a wide range of art programmes from all over the world....
, ‘'Beauty and the Beast'’ set in the ruins of Coventry Cathedral in collaboration with the Belgrade Theatre (in development) and ‘'Evocation of Papa Mas'’ (with Told By an Idiot) Co Production with Generating Company and the Mahogany, A large-scale carnival community event. (In development)
Awards
John has received the Greater London Award for his contribution to Physical theatre The Fringe First Award at the Edinburgh festival for ‘Aesop,’ The Time Out Theatre Award for 'The edge' and The Guardian Award and the Sunday Times Award for 'She'll be coming round the mountain'.The Wright School
John Wright has never been of the opinion that you always do your best work in an atmosphere of seriousness and intensity, so his sessions tend to be fast moving and entertaining, people tend to be up and doing most of the time and there is a lot of laughter.
“When were having a good time we forget that we are working hard, flops become more bearable and can be seen in the context of the workshop rather than signalling the end of your career, as a result we can take more risk”.
The Wright school is composed of small self-contained units designed to support and provoke the activities of the working theatre practitioner. The Wright school can go anywhere in the world, courses can be designed for the needs of a particular company or to those of a small group of artists.
You can duck in and out of The Wright School whenever you like and you don't have to mortgage your mother to go there! John has a unique system of assessment, where those who mess up get the best marks and those who are too good get lousy marks because they are only showing off! The idea is not to achieve perfection but to be in the moment as yourself second by second.
John Wright’s work is about making theatre and inspiring other people to do the same. The aim of The Wright School is to facilitate and inspire theatre making in all its forms. If you have your own company you are much more in control of your personal development as an artist. If you are toying with the idea of writing a play then the Wright School is an excellent place to find a group to help you develop these ideas.