Declan Donnellan
Declan Donnellan (4 August 1953) is an English film and theater director and author. He co-founded the Cheek by Jowl Theater Company with Nick Ormerod in 1981. In addition to his Cheek by Jowl productions, Donnellan has done theatre, opera and ballet with a variety of companies around the world. In 1992, he received an honorary degree from the University of Warwick and in 2004 was appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his work in France. In 2010, he was made an Honorary Fellow of Goldsmiths’ College, University of London. Donnellan was also appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his contribution to the world of theatre.
In Temporada Alta, Declan Donnellan has brought shows like La vida es sueño (2022), The Winter’s Tale (2020), Dvendatsataia Noch (Nit de reis) (2017), Mesura per mesura (2015), Les tres germanes (2012) or Macbeth (2009).
Biography of Declan Donnellan
Donnellan was born in Manchester and grew up in Ealing, London. He was educated at St Benedict’s School, Ealing and Queens’ College, Cambridge, where he graduated in English and Law. He founded Cheek by Jowl with Nick Ormerod in 1981. Since 2006 the company has been part of the Barbican International Theater Program (BITE) participating in co-productions such as The Changeling (2006), Cymbeline (2007) and Troilus and Cressida (2008). He has also directed plays at the Royal Shakespeare Company, the English National Opera, the Old Vic and the Bolshoi Ballet, among others.
One of the best-known theater directors around the world
He has directed for the Royal Shakespeare Company The School for Scandal, King Lear (2002) and an adaptation of Great Expectations (2005) with Nick Ormerod. He has also directed Le Cid for the Avignon Festival, Falstaff for the Salzburg Festival and the Romeo and Juliet ballet for the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. Other plays in Russia include The Winter’s Tale by the Maly Drama Theater in St. Petersburg.
Declan Donnellan also directed the 1992 short The Big Fish, starring Fiona Shaw. He directed the 2012 film Bel Ami, an adaptation of Maupassant’s novel; the film starred Robert Patinson, Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Christina Ricci and Colm Meaney.
In 2016, Donnellan won the Venice Golden Lion for his theatrical career at the Venice Biennale.
