Dominic Cooke
Dominic Cooke | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1966 (age 57–58) Wimbledon, London,England |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupations |
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| Partner | Alexi Kaye Campbell |
Dominic CookeCBE(born 1966) is an English director and writer.
Early life
[edit]Born inWimbledon,south London, Cooke was brought up seeing a lot of theatre as a teenager from free theatre tickets provided by theInner London Education Authority.
Career
[edit]Soon after graduating fromWarwick University,Cooke's first job as a TV runner led him to start his own theatre company, Pan Optic, which he ran for two years before becoming an assistant director at theRoyal Shakespeare Company(RSC).
He started his relationship with theRoyal Court TheatreunderStephen Daldryin 1995. He then became an associate director at the Royal Court forIan Ricksonin 1999 during which time he directedFirefacebyMarius von Mayenburg,Other PeoplebyChristopher ShinnandRedundantbyLeo Butler.In 2003 he left the Royal Court and returned to the RSC forMichael Boydwhere he directed his acclaimed version ofThe CruciblestarringIain Glenwhich won him the 2007Laurence Olivier Awardfor Best Director; the play also won the Olivier for Best Revival.
He has won fiveOlivier Awards.In addition to Best Director and Best Revival forThe Cruciblein 2007, he won Best Revival forMa Rainey’s Black Bottomin2016, Best Musical Revival forFolliesin 2018 and in 2013 his final season in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court won Achievement In An Affiliate Theatre.
In 2013 he won the International Theatre Institute Award for Excellence in International Theatre and in the same year was awarded Honorary Doctorate of Letters by his alma mater, Warwick University. Cooke was appointedCommander of the Order of the British Empire(CBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to drama.[1]
Royal Court
[edit]Cooke was artistic director and Chief Executive of the Royal Court Theatre 2006 to 2013 during which time he pioneered new writing by actively promoting the Royal Court's Young Writers’ Programme and new, young writers such asMike Bartlett(My Child),Polly Stenham(That Face),Penelope Skinner(The Village Bike) andBola Agbaje(the Olivier Award-winningGone Too Far!).[2][3]
During his tenure at the Royal Court Cooke stagedJez Butterworth’s multi-award winningJerusalemwhich was directed by Ian Rickson and which transferred to theWest End,Broadway, and San Francisco;Lucy Prebble’s 2009Enronwhich was directed byRupert Goold;andBruce Norris’Clybourne Parkwhich Cooke directed himself. All three were transferred to the West End amid critical acclaim and box office success.
Cooke's time at the Royal Court was deemed a huge success;[2]he staged numerous new plays and refocused the aims of the theatre. Of the 130+ plays, 94 were full productions of new plays, with public readings and productions of old plays making up the number. The theatre was nominated for 210 major awards and won 59. Cooke was also credited with bringing a new dynamism and excitement to the Royal Court Theatre with his eclectic programming: "What makes Cooke’s reign unique is that he has used the Royal Court’s young writers programme as a way of finding and cultivating new talent, often by precariously young writers...for Cooke, if a play was good enough, that was enough: he would put it on…Polly Stenham’s ‘That Face’, staged when she was only 19, bowled over its audiences. Anya Reiss was younger still – 18 – when her assured debut ‘Spur of the Moment’ opened. Bola Agbaje won an Olivier with her first play ‘Gone Too Far!’"[2]
Writing
[edit]In 2007 Cooke wrote the stage adaptation ofMalorie Blackman'sNoughts and Crosses,which he directed and produced at the RSC. He wrote an adaptation ofArabian Nightsfor the Young Vic in 1998 and directed a revised version for the RSC in 2009. With scriptwriter Ben Power, Cooke co-wrote the scripts for Shakespeare'sHenry VI Parts 1 and 2for BBC TV'sThe Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses(May 2016).
National Theatre
[edit]Cooke is a National Theatre Associate Director; he made his directing debut there in November 2011 with Shakespeare'sThe Comedy of Errorswhich he set in modern-day London. The cast included Lenny Henry and Claudie Blakley and was broadcast worldwide in March 2012 as part of the NT Live programme. Cooke directedCaryl Churchill'sHere We Goat the National in 2015. He directed the critically acclaimed production ofAugust Wilson'sMa Rainey’s Black Bottomin 2016 which won the 2015 Olivier Award for Best Revival.[4][5]His 2017 production ofStephen SondheimandJames Goldman'sFolliesstarringImelda Staunton,Janie DeeandTracie Bennettwas nominated for tenOlivier Awards,[6]winning Best Musical Revival.[7][circular reference]Cooke received theCritics' CircleBest Director Award.[8]
Television
[edit]Cooke's TV directorial debut was in May 2016 with the second BBC TV series ofThe Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses.The series was televised in three parts:Henry VI, Part 1,Henry VI, Part 2,andRichard III.The series was produced by Sam Mendes' company,Neal Street Productions,and starsBenedict Cumberbatch,Judi Dench,Sophie Okonedo,Tom Sturridge,andHugh Bonneville.
Film
[edit]Cooke's feature directorial debut,On Chesil BeachstarringSaoirse RonanandBilly Howle,premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2017. It is based on the novelof the same namebyBooker Prizewinning novelistIan McEwan.The film received wide release in 2018 and was chosen by Variety as one of the ten best films at the Toronto International Film Festival 2017.[9][10]His latest filmThe CourierstarringBenedict Cumberbatch,Merab Ninidze,Rachel BrosnahanandJessie Buckley,premiered atSundancein January 2020.[11]It was released in the US byLionsgateandRoadside Attractions.[12]He is slated to direct a movie of Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman's musicalFollies.[13]
Private life
[edit]Cooke's civil partner is the actor and playwrightAlexi Kaye Campbell.[3]They have been together since 1997.
Cooke is Jewish.[14]
Work
[edit]Theatre
[edit]Film
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | On Chesil Beach | director | [16] |
| 2020 | The Courier | director, executive producer | [17] |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | The Hollow Crown | director | 3 episodes | [18] |
Awards and nominations
[edit]Theatre
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Critics’ Circle Theatre Award[19] | Best Director | Follies | Won |
References
[edit]- ^"No. 60728".The London Gazette(Supplement). 31 December 2013. p. 8.
- ^abcKellaway, Kate."Royal Court theatre prepares to bid farewell to King Dominic"The Guardian,10 March 2013
- ^abCosta, Maddy."'Shakespeare was daring - why aren't new writers?'"The Guardian,23 February 2006
- ^Ma Rainey's Black Bottomnationaltheatre.org.uk, retrieved 13 June 2019
- ^"Reviews Round Up"westendtheatre.com, retrieved 13, 2019
- ^"Olivier Awards 2018: The nominations in full".Archived fromthe originalon 28 April 2019.Retrieved8 April2020.
- ^Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival
- ^"Dominic Cooke | Critics' Circle Theatre Awards".30 January 2018.
- ^"Best Movies"Variety,2017
- ^Thomas, Lou (18 May 2018)."Adapting Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach: 'My advice would be don't worry about having sex tonight'".British Film Institute.Retrieved13 June2019.
- ^"The Courier".IMDb.19 March 2021.
- ^"Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate Nab Benedict Cumberbatch's 'Ironbark' Out of Sundance".27 January 2020.
- ^"Dominic Cooke to adapt Stephen Sondheim's Follies for the big screen".
- ^"Visionary behind the shock of the Young Vic - The Jewish Chronicle".Archived fromthe originalon 7 November 2021.
- ^"Hamilton receives record number of Olivier nominations".BBC News.6 March 2018.
- ^"On Chesil Beach (2018)".British Film Institute.Archived fromthe originalon 23 May 2018.Retrieved4 July2021.
- ^Prokopy, Steve (23 March 2021)."Interview: Filmmaker Dominic Cooke on Re-Teaming with Benedict Cumberbatch on The Courier, Patriotism and Making an Emotional Spy Movie".Third Coast Review.Archivedfrom the original on 4 July 2021.Retrieved4 July2021.
- ^"Directing and producing Shakespeare's The Hollow Crown: War of the Roses".BBC Academy.7 September 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 4 July 2021.Retrieved4 July2021.
- ^"2017 Results | Critics' Circle Theatre Awards".31 January 2018.Retrieved6 December2020.
External links
[edit]| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
