Rebecca Frecknall | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1986 (age 38–39) |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Theatre director |
| Years active | 2016–present |
| Notable work | Cabaret,Summer and Smoke |
Rebecca Frecknall is a British theatre director best known for directing the 2021 West End revival ofCabaret starringEddie Redmayne andJessie Buckley.[1] The show received the 2022 Olivier Award for Best Revival of a Musical, and Frecknall was named Best Director, taking home both the Olivier Award and Critics' Circle Award. She is also associate director at theAlmeida Theatre[2] where she directedSummer & Smoke,Three Sisters,The Duchess of Malfi,A Streetcar Named Desire andRomeo and Juliet.[3] Her direction ofSummer & Smoke first brought her critical acclaim and showcased her ability to re-invent old works in new ways.[4] The production won theLaurence Olivier Award for Best Revival of a Play in 2019, with Frecknall also nominated for theSir Peter Hall Award for Best Director.[5] In 2023 she was listed byThe Stage as the 13th most influential person in the theatre.[6]
In 2018, Frecknall directed a revival of theTennessee Williams playSummer and Smoke at theAlmeida Theatre, her first in a major London theatre. The revival received rave reviews and secured a transfer to theWest End, at theDuke of York's Theatre.[7] Holly Williams, writing forThe Independent, remarked that the staging "announces Frecknall as a director of real vision".[8] Veteran criticMichael Billington wrote inThe Guardian that Frecknall's production "restores Williams’s wrongly neglected play to a central place in the canon."[9]Susannah Clapp atThe Observer, asserted, "Summer and Smoke must make Rebecca Frecknall’s name as a director."[10] The production received 5 nominations[11] at the2019 Laurence Olivier Awards and was awardedBest Revival andBest Actress forPatsy Ferran.[12]
In 2019, she directed revivals ofThe Duchess of Malfi andThree Sisters, both at theAlmeida Theatre.[13][14]
In 2019,Eddie Redmayne saw Frecknall's production of Summer and Smoke on the final night of its West End run at the Duke of York's, and was inspired to ask her to consider directing a revival ofCabaret that he was attached to, in the role ofthe Emcee.[15][16] The production, titledCabaret at the Kit Kat Club, converted thePlayhouse Theatre from a proscenium-arch theatre into an in-the-round cabaret space, with prologue performers putting on routines on all levels of the theatre before the start of the show.[15][16] It opened in 2021 to rapturous reviews,[17] and was described inthe New York Times as "a nerve-shredding revival".[18] Dominic Cavendish atThe Telegraph called it "the kill-for-a-ticket theatrical triumph of 2021".[19] Renowned criticJohn Lahr, writing forAir Mail, stated that Frecknall was "the complete dazzling directorial package: a fine critical mind wedded to a confident sense of fun", and "succeeded in making John Kander and Fred Ebb’s 56-year-old fun machine feel like a brand-new musical event".[20] The revival received 11 nominations, and led with seven wins at the2022 Olivier Awards, includingBest Musical Revival andBest Director for Frecknall, setting a record for being the most award-winning revival in Olivier history, as well for being the first production to obtain awards in all 4 eligible acting categories, with awards forRedmayne,Jessie Buckley,Liza Sadovy andElliot Levey. The production has enjoyed widespread audience acclaim, and is slated to continue at the converted Playhouse Theatre till September 2024.[1]
In 2023, she directed a revival of A Streetcar Named Desire, starringPatsy Ferran,Paul Mescal andAnjana Vasan, which opened at the Almeida and then transferred to the West End, at thePhoenix Theatre.[21] The revival was met with rave reviews, and received 6 nominations at the2023 Laurence Olivier Awards, winning 3, including Best Revival, Best Actor for Mescal and Best Supporting Actress for Vasan.[22] David Benedict, writing forVariety, stated that Frecknall "proves once again that she is a theatrical force to be reckoned with."[23]
Her 2023 production ofRomeo and Juliet, at the Almeida Theatre, starringToheeb Jimoh andIsis Hainsworth, was met with glowing reviews. Arifa Akbar atthe Guardian remarked that Frecknall "is fast becoming the director with a consummate gift for turning old into new",[24] a sentiment echoed inthe New York Times by Matt Wolf, who wrote that Frecknall "treats the often overly familiar play as if it were entirely fresh, and the result is astonishing."[25]
Frecknall grew up in Cambridgeshire, the middle of three sisters.[26] She read Drama and Theatre Arts atGoldsmiths, University of London, before participating in the director's course atLAMDA.[27] Her love of theatre was inspired by her late father, to whom she dedicated her 2022 Laurence Olivier Award.[28]
| Year | Title | Venue | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | A Moon for the Misbegotten | Almeida Theatre | |
| A Streetcar Named Desire | Noël Coward Theatre (later,Brooklyn Academy of Music) | Director | |
| 2024 | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Almeida Theatre | |
| Cabaret | The Kit Kat Club (August Wilson Theatre) | ||
| Julie | Internationaal Theater Amsterdam | ||
| 2023 | The House of Bernarda Alba | National Theatre, Lyttelton | |
| Romeo and Juliet | Almeida Theatre | ||
| A Streetcar Named Desire | Almeida Theatre (later,Phoenix Theatre, London) | ||
| 2021 | Cabaret | The Kit Kat Club (Playhouse Theatre) | |
| 2020 | Sanctuary City | New York Theatre Workshop | |
| 2019 | The Duchess of Malfi | Almeida Theatre | |
| Three Sisters | Almeida Theatre | ||
| 2018 | Steel | Sheffield Theatres, Studio | |
| Summer and Smoke | Almeida Theatre (later,Duke of York's Theatre) |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | WhatsOnStage Awards[29] | Best Director | A Streetcar Named Desire | Nominated |
| 2023 | Evening Standard Theatre Awards[30] | Best Director | A Streetcar Named Desire | Nominated |
| 2023 | Laurence Olivier Awards[31] | Best Director | A Streetcar Named Desire | Nominated |
| 2022 | Laurence Olivier Awards[32] | Best Director | Cabaret | Won |
| Critics' Circle Theatre Award[33] | Best Director | Cabaret | Won | |
| WhatsOnStage Awards[34] | Best Director | Cabaret | Nominated | |
| Drama Desk Awards[35] | Best Director | Sanctuary City | Won | |
| 2019 | Laurence Olivier Awards[5] | Best Director | Summer and Smoke | Nominated |