Richard Digby Day
Encyclopedia
Richard Digby Day is a British
stage director and international professor and lecturer. He is particularly well-known for his work in the classical theater, and is considered to have a special penchant for the plays of William Shakespeare
and George Bernard Shaw
. He is Vice President of the Shaw Society, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
, and has staged more productions of Shaw's work than any other living director. His productions of Stephen Sondheim
musicals have also been notable.
(from 1968 to 1985); the Welsh National Theatre Company (from 1969 to 1971); the York Theatre Royal
(from 1971 to 1976); the Nottingham Playhouse
(from 1980 to 1984); and the Northcott Theatre
, (from 1977 to 1980).
Additionally, his work has been seen in the West End
and on tour extensively throughout the UK, Canada, Denmark, and Ireland. Particularly successful were his touring productions of Sondheim's A Little Night Music
and Company
, Shaw's The Devil's Disciple
, Somerset Maugham's Our Betters
, and J M Barrie's Peter Pan
. He directed Geraldine McEwan
at the National Theatre
in Two Inches of Ivory, a production about Jane Austen
that has been seen all over the world under the auspices of the British Council
, the UK's official international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations.
. He previously served on the faculty at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
, as well as the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
, the National Theatre School of Canada
, and the graduate program of Columbia University
where he directed the Shakespeare Project for two years.
From 1998–2002, he was Principal of the London Academy of Theatre, a classical theater program for American students in the UK. From 1990 to 1998, he was director of the National Theater Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center
in Waterford, CT. During this period, he served on the Regional Committee of the Arts Council of Great Britain, on the National Council for Drama Training, was Chairman of the Drama Panel of the Yorkshire Arts Association, and taught regularly at colleges and universities throughout the United States. He also served on the Board of the Drama League of New York
and helped found their Directors Project. In 1997 he was named Adjunct Professor of Theater at Connecticut College
where he had worked since 1984.
, and the two began their professional careers working on many of the same productions with Digby Day serving as assistant director.
He is credited with discovering actors Ralph Fiennes
and Hugh Grant
.
He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
and was the school's first ever directing student.
Was a 1.2% shareholder in Cadbury before the Kraft
buyout.
website for the Theatre Archive Project
http://www.bl.uk/projects/theatrearchive/day.html
For production photos of some Shakespeare plays Digby Day staged at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park
during the early 1970s, visit:
http://www.ahds.rhul.ac.uk/ahdscollections/docroot/shakespeare/performancedetails.do?performanceId=11870
and
http://www.ahds.rhul.ac.uk/ahdscollections/docroot/shakespeare/performancedetails.do?performanceId=11649
A brief profile of Richard Digby Day can be found at the Northcott Theatre website:
http://www.northcott-theatre.co.uk/people/digbyday.html
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
stage director and international professor and lecturer. He is particularly well-known for his work in the classical theater, and is considered to have a special penchant for the plays of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
and George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
. He is Vice President of the Shaw Society, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used for brevity...
, and has staged more productions of Shaw's work than any other living director. His productions of Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
musicals have also been notable.
Artistic Directorships
Digby Day has been Artistic Director of five major regional theaters in the UK: the Bournemouth Theatre Company (from 1966 to 1968); the New Shakespeare Company at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's ParkRegent's Park
Regent's Park is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the north-western part of central London, partly in the City of Westminster and partly in the London Borough of Camden...
(from 1968 to 1985); the Welsh National Theatre Company (from 1969 to 1971); the York Theatre Royal
York Theatre Royal
The York Theatre Royal is a theatre in St. Leonard's Place, York, England, which dates back to 1744. The theatre currently seats 847 people. This reduced capacity takes into account removal of the mixing position seats and the stage side boxes which are normally not sold...
(from 1971 to 1976); the Nottingham Playhouse
Nottingham Playhouse
The Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in the 1950s when it operated from a former cinema. Directors during this period included Val May and Frank Dunlop.-The building:...
(from 1980 to 1984); and the Northcott Theatre
Northcott Theatre
The Northcott Theatre is a theatre situated on the Streatham Campus of the University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, England.-History:The Northcott is the seventh building in Exeter to be used as a theatre....
, (from 1977 to 1980).
Additionally, his work has been seen in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
and on tour extensively throughout the UK, Canada, Denmark, and Ireland. Particularly successful were his touring productions of Sondheim's A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade...
and Company
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
, Shaw's The Devil's Disciple
The Devil's Disciple
The Devil's Disciple is an 1897 play written by Irish dramatist, George Bernard Shaw. The play is Shaw's eighth, and after Richard Mansfield's original 1897 American production it was his first financial success, which helped to affirm his career as a playwright...
, Somerset Maugham's Our Betters
Our Betters
Our Betters is a 1933 American satirical comedy film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Jane Murfin and Harry Wagstaff Gribble is based on the 1923 play of the same title by W. Somerset Maugham.-Plot:...
, and J M Barrie's Peter Pan
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
. He directed Geraldine McEwan
Geraldine McEwan
Geraldine McEwan is an English actor with a diverse history in theatre, film, and television. From 2004 to 2009 she appeared as Miss Marple, the Agatha Christie sleuth, for the series Marple.-Background:...
at the National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in Two Inches of Ivory, a production about Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
that has been seen all over the world under the auspices of the British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
, the UK's official international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations.
Career as a Professor
Richard Digby Day has taught and lectured in many programs and universities both in the UK and in North America. Since 2003 he has been Principal of the London Dramatic Academy of Fordham UniversityFordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
. He previously served on the faculty at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
, as well as the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art is a leading British drama school in west London. LAMDA's president is Timothy West and its new principal is Joanna Read, who recently succeeded Peter James...
, the National Theatre School of Canada
National Theatre School of Canada
The National Theatre School of Canada is a private college located in Montreal, Quebec.Established in Montreal in 1960, the National Theatre School of Canada offers professional training in English and French in a setting that unites all the theatre arts: acting, playwriting, directing, set and...
, and the graduate program of Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
where he directed the Shakespeare Project for two years.
From 1998–2002, he was Principal of the London Academy of Theatre, a classical theater program for American students in the UK. From 1990 to 1998, he was director of the National Theater Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center
Eugene O'Neill Theater Center
The Eugene O'Neill Memorial Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut is a 501 not-for-profit theater company founded in 1964 by George C. White. The O'Neill is the recipient of the . The O'Neill is home to the National Theater Institute , and several major theater conferences including the...
in Waterford, CT. During this period, he served on the Regional Committee of the Arts Council of Great Britain, on the National Council for Drama Training, was Chairman of the Drama Panel of the Yorkshire Arts Association, and taught regularly at colleges and universities throughout the United States. He also served on the Board of the Drama League of New York
Drama League of New York
The Drama League of New York originated as a national organization begun in Chicago in 1910. The organization had two primary objectives: to influence the professional production of the best plays by alerting members to performances that warranted their support; and to ensure the continuity of...
and helped found their Directors Project. In 1997 he was named Adjunct Professor of Theater at Connecticut College
Connecticut College
Connecticut College is a private liberal arts college located in New London, Connecticut.The college was founded in 1911, as Connecticut College for Women, in response to Wesleyan University closing its doors to women...
where he had worked since 1984.
Trivia
Richard Digby Day is a contemporary of British actor Ian McKellenIan McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction...
, and the two began their professional careers working on many of the same productions with Digby Day serving as assistant director.
He is credited with discovering actors Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....
and Hugh Grant
Hugh Grant
Hugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor and film producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César. His films have earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide. Grant achieved international stardom after appearing in Richard Curtis's...
.
He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
and was the school's first ever directing student.
Was a 1.2% shareholder in Cadbury before the Kraft
Kraft
Kraft has more than one meaning:* Kraft Foods, the world's third largest food and beverage company by revenue* Kraft process, a paper pulp production method* Kraft paper, paper produced by the Kraft process* Kraft , a video game character...
buyout.
Sources and links
For an extended interview with Richard Digby Day, visit the British LibraryBritish Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
website for the Theatre Archive Project
http://www.bl.uk/projects/theatrearchive/day.html
For production photos of some Shakespeare plays Digby Day staged at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park
Regent's Park
Regent's Park is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the north-western part of central London, partly in the City of Westminster and partly in the London Borough of Camden...
during the early 1970s, visit:
http://www.ahds.rhul.ac.uk/ahdscollections/docroot/shakespeare/performancedetails.do?performanceId=11870
and
http://www.ahds.rhul.ac.uk/ahdscollections/docroot/shakespeare/performancedetails.do?performanceId=11649
A brief profile of Richard Digby Day can be found at the Northcott Theatre website:
http://www.northcott-theatre.co.uk/people/digbyday.html