Matthew Warchus | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Warchus at the2014 Toronto International Film Festival | |
| Born | (1966-10-24)24 October 1966 (age 59) |
| Alma mater | University of Bristol |
| Occupations |
|
| Notable work | Simpatico The Lord of the Rings Pride Matilda the Musical |
| Title | Artistic Director ofThe Old Vic (2015–present) |
| Spouse | Lauren Ward |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | |
Matthew Warchus (born 24 October 1966) is an English theatre director, playwright, and filmmaker.[1][2] He has been the Artistic Director ofLondon'sThe Old Vic since September 2015.[3]
Warchus grew up inSelby, North Yorkshire where he attendedSelby High School.[4] He majored in music atBristol University and studied in the school's department of drama.[5][6]
Warchus has directed for theNational Youth Theatre,Bristol Old Vic,Donmar Warehouse,Royal Shakespeare Company,National Theatre,Opera North,West Yorkshire Playhouse,Welsh National Opera,English National Opera in theWest End and onBroadway. He won the Globe's Most Promising Newcomer Award forMuch Ado About Nothing in the West End, the Evening Standard Best Director award, andOlivier Award nominations forHenry V andVolpone.[citation needed]
Productions includeSejanus his Fall (Edinburgh),"Master Harold"...and the Boys (Bristol Old Vic),The Suicide,Coriolanus (National Youth Theatre),Life is a Dream,Plough and the Stars(West Yorkshire Playhouse),True West, (West Yorkshire Playhouse, Donmar Warehouse, Broadway),Henry V,The Devil is an Ass,Hamlet (RSC),Volpone (RNT),Troilus and Cressida (Opera North),Rake's Progress (Welsh National Opera),Falstaff (Opera North & ENO), andArt (West End andBroadway).
His 1997 productions ofHamlet at theBarbican Theatre andFalstaff at the English National Opera have been nominated for several Olivier Awards includingBest Director.Hamlet was also seen at theBrooklyn Academy in New York and theKennedy Center inWashington, D.C.[citation needed]
Warchus directedYasmina Reza's playsThe Unexpected Man (RSC) andLife x 3 (National Theatre) in London and New York (at, respectively, the Promenade Theatre andCircle in the Square Theatre). In 2000 he directedSam Shepard'sTrue West starringPhilip Seymour Hoffman andJohn C. Reilly. In 2002 he directedOur House, at theCambridge Theatre, a new musical written byTim Firth featuring the music ofMadness which won theOlivier Award for Best New Musical.
In 2007 he directedThe Lord of the Rings, the stage adaptation of the novelThe Lord of the Rings, which played at theTheatre Royal, Drury Lane from May 2007 to July 2008 and which he wrote the music and book for. It was the most expensive stage production ever at the time of its debut. In 2008 he directedDavid Mamet'sSpeed-the-Plow, starringKevin Spacey andJeff Goldblum andAlan Ayckbourn's trilogy of playsThe Norman Conquests at London'sThe Old Vic, andBoeing Boeing at New York'sBroadhurst Theatre for which he received aTony Award nomination forBest Direction of a Play.
During the 2009Broadway season, Warchus directed two productions. One was the critically lauded,2009 Tony Award winner forBest Revival of a Play transfer of his Old Vic production ofThe Norman Conquests, for which he won theDrama Desk Award forOutstanding Director of a Play. The other was the 2009 Tony Award winner forBest Play, Yasmina Reza'sGod of Carnage, for which Warchus won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play.[7]
In 2010, Warchus directed the acclaimedRoyal Shakespeare Company musicalMatilda, with a book byDennis Kelly and music and lyrics byTim Minchin, which transferred to the West End in October 2011 at theCambridge Theatre, before opening at theShubert Theatre onBroadway in March 2013. The musical has since gone on to tour the US, Australia and New Zealand, winning multiple awards with a record-breaking sevenOlivier Awards including Best New Musical and Best Director for Warchus.[8]
Warchus's production ofGhost: The Musical, a stage adaptation of theAcademy Award winning 1990 filmGhost, premiered at theManchester Opera House in March 2011, and opened at the West End'sPiccadilly Theatre in July 2011 and closed on 6 October 2012. The show transferred toBroadway beginning at theLunt 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.
In September 2024 he will direct a revival ofSeán O'Casey'sJuno and the Paycock starringJ. Smith-Cameron andMark Rylance at theGielgud Theatre inLondon'sWest End.
In 2026, he will direct a new musicalPride, based on the 2014 film in which he also directed at theSherman Theatre andRoyal National Theatre.[9]
In May 2014 Warchus was appointed Artistic Director of The Old Vic in London,[10] succeedingKevin Spacey. His first season began in September 2015 directing a new play,Future Conditional by Tamsin Oglesby, starringRob Brydon. In 2016 he also directedThe Master Builder byHenrik Ibsen starringRalph Fiennes,The Caretaker byHarold Pinter starringTimothy Spall,Daniel Mays andGeorge Mackay, and the world premiere of the new musicalGroundhog Day with book byDanny Rubin and music and lyrics byTim Minchin.[11] The musical ran for 8 weeks from July to September 2016 before transferring to theAugust Wilson Theatre onBroadway from April to September 2017. The musical later returned to the Old Vic from May to August 2023 before playing at thePrincess Theatre, Melbourne from January to April 2024.
His second season at the Old Vic saw him direct the 20th anniversary revival of'Art' starringRufus Sewell,Tim Key andPaul 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 ofCharles Dickens'A Christmas Carol byJack Thorne starringRhys Ifans as Scrooge which has since returned to The Old Vic every year due to its popular demand starringStephen Tompkinson,Paterson Joseph,Stephen Mangan,Owen Teale andChristopher Eccleston as Scrooge. It has also played theLyceum Theatre, Broadway for the 2019 season a US tour in 2021 and theComedy Theatre, Melbourne in 2022 and 2023.
In 2019 he directed a revival ofNoël Coward'sPresent Laughter starringAndrew Scott, followed byDuncan Macmillan'sLungs starringClaire Foy andMatt Smith.
In 2020, Warchus was planned to directAmy Herzog’s4000 Miles starringEileen Atkins andTimothée Chalamet in April to May 2020, however due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the production has been postponed with the rescheduled dates to be announced. Also his production ofLungs which was due to transfer withClaire Foy andMatt Smith reprising their roles to theBrooklyn Academy of Music,New York in March to April 2020 was also cancelled due to the pandemic.
During theCOVID-19 pandemic a series calledOld Vic: in Camera began broadcasting performances from the empty auditorium of The Old Vic live to audiences around the world viaZoom, beginning with a social distanced version ofLungs withClaire Foy andMatt Smith returning. This was followed byThree Kings byStephen Beresford starringAndrew Scott,Faith Healer byBrian Friel starringMichael Sheen,David Threlfall andIndira Varma andA Christmas Carol (which was due to return for a fourth consecutive season) starringAndrew Lincoln as Scrooge.
In summer 2024, Warchus will directThe Constituent, a new political drama byJoe Penhall starringJames Corden andAnna Maxwell Martin. In January 2025, he co-directed withHofesh Shechter a new adaptation ofOedipus byElla Hickson starringRami Malek andIndira Varma. In September to November 2025, he will directMary Page Marlowe starringAndrea Riseborough andSusan Sarandon.
It was announced that he will step down as Artistic Director at The Old Vic from September 2026 after 11 years in the role.[12]
In 1999, Warchus completed his debut feature film – anadaptation ofSam Shepard's playSimpatico – which he co-wrote and directed, starringNick Nolte,Jeff Bridges,Albert Finney andSharon Stone.
His filmPride was selected to be screened as part of theDirectors' Fortnight section of the2014 Cannes Film Festival,[13] where it won theQueer Palm award on 23 May 2014.
A film adaptation ofMatilda the Musical based on the stage musical, also directed by Warchus with screenplay byDennis Kelly and songs byTim Minchin was released byNetflix on 23 November 2022 in the United Kingdom and 9 December 2022 in the United States.
In December 2024, it was announced that Warchus will direct a remake ofChitty Chitty Bang Bang forAmazon MGM Studios andEon Productions, withEnda Walsh writing the screenplay.[14]
Warchus is married to American actressLauren Ward, who played the role of Miss Honey in theStratford-upon-Avon, London, andBroadway productions ofMatilda the Musical.[15] Ward and Warchus met when he directed her in the 2001 revival ofFollies on Broadway.[16] They have three children.[17]
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Best Director | Volpone andHenry V | Nominated |
| 1997 | Art | Nominated | |
| 1998 | Hamlet | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Matilda | Won | |
| 2017 | Groundhog Day | Nominated |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Best Director | Pride | Nominated |
