Anna Mackmin (born 1964) is a British

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

. She has been an associate director at the

Sheffield Crucible The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's ...

and at the

Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Gearóid Ó Lochlai ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Early life and education

Mackmin was born in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

. Mackmin's sister,

Scarlett Mackmin Scarlett Mackmin is an English choreographer. She trained in New York City and at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance in London. Her work for the theatre includes ''The Hypochondriac'' (Almeida), ''President of an Empty Room'' (National Th ...

, is a choreographer also working in the London theatre. Mackmin attended the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

, studying acting.

Career

Dissatisfied with her acting career, she became a

clothing designer Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and place. "A fashion designer creates ...

at one point and set up a business with her sister in London's

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

neighbourhood. Mackmin was friends with the actress and writer Charlotte Jones, and it was Jones' first play ''

Airswimming {{one source, date=July 2011 ''Airswimming'' is the first play written by Charlotte Jones. Its 1997 premiere at the Battersea Arts Centre was directed by Anna Mackmin (making her debut as a director) and featured Rosie Cavaliero and Scarlett Ma ...

'' which also provided Mackmin with her directorial debut in 1997. She had only done two plays when

Michael Grandage Michael Grandage CBE (born 2 May 1962) is a British theatre director and producer. He is currently Artistic Director of the Michael Grandage Company. From 2002 to 2012 he was Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse in London and from 2000 ...

offered her the position of associate director at the Crucible Theatre in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

. There she scored notable successes with

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

's ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as ...

'' and Caryl Churchill's '' Cloud Nine'', the latter earning her the 2004

TMA Award The UK Theatre Awards, established in 1991 and known before 2011 as the TMA Awards, are presented annually by UK Theatre (formerly the Theatrical Management Association) in recognition of creative excellence and outstanding work in regional thea ...

for best director. She has also had a successful stint at the Gate Theatre, where her most recent directorial effort was Ibsen's '' Ghosts''. Mackmin has repeatedly worked with Charlotte Jones since their joint debut, directing Jones' plays '' In Flame'', ''The Dark'' and ''The Lightning Play''. She has also collaborated several times with

Amelia Bullmore Amelia Mary Bullmore (born 31 January 1964) is an English actress, screenwriter and playwright. She is known for her roles in ''Coronation Street'' (1990–1992), ''I'm Alan Partridge'' (2002), '' Ashes to Ashes'' (2008–2009), '' Twenty Twelve ...

whom she originally directed as an actress in ''The Crucible'' in 2004. Since then, she has directed Bullmore's play ''Mammals'' and also her adaptation of ''Ghosts''. In 2006, Mackmin staged an acclaimed triple bill at the National Theatre, entitled '' Burn/Chatroom/Citizenship''. In the spring of 2007, she again won plaudits, this time for her direction of '' Dying For It'', Moira Buffini's 'free adaptation' of Nikolai Erdman's '' The Suicide''. Mackmin directed

Toby Stephens Toby Stephens (born 21 April 1969) is an English actor who has appeared in films in the UK, US and India. He is known for the roles of Bond villain Gustav Graves in the 2002 James Bond film ''Die Another Day'' (for which he was nominated for th ...

as Henry in a revival of

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

's ''

The Real Thing The Real Thing or Real Thing may refer to: Film and television * The Real Thing (film), ''The Real Thing'' (film) or ''Livers Ain't Cheap'', a 1996 American film * ''The Real Thing'', a 1980 television documentary by James Burke (science historian) ...

'' at the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

Theatre in London from April through June 2010.

Filmography

;Actor * 1992: '' Coronation Street'' – 1 episode as Sister Lancaster * 1993: ''

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

'' – 1 episode as Receptionist * 1993: '' The Chief'' – 2 episodes as June Robbins ;Director * 2004: ''

'' by

at the

(Sheffield) * 2005: '' Breathing Corpses'' by

Laura Wade Laura Wade is an English playwright. Early life Wade was born in Bedford, Bedfordshire. She grew up in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, where her father worked for a computer company. After completing her secondary education at Lady Manners School i ...

at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

(London) * 2005: ''

Mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur o ...

'' by

at the Bush Theatre (London) * 2006: ''Burn / Chatroom / Citizenship'' at the National Theatre (London) * 2007: '' Ghosts'' by Henrik Ibsen (adaptation) at the

(Dublin) * 2009: ''24 Hour Plays,''

The Old Vic The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, not-for-profit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal ...

(London) * 2009: ''

Dancing at Lughnasa ''Dancing at Lughnasa'' is a 1990 play by dramatist Brian Friel set in County Donegal in Ulster in the north of Ireland in August 1936 in the fictional town of Ballybeg. It is a memory play told from the point of view of the adult Michael Eva ...

'' by

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription req ...

(London) * 2010: ''

'' by

(London) * 2010: '' Really Old, Like Forty Five'' by Tamsin Oglesby at The National Theatre (London) * 2010: '' Me And My Girl'' by

Noel Gay Noel or Noël may refer to: Christmas * , French for Christmas * Noel is another name for a Christmas carol Places * Noel, Missouri, United States, a city * Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community * 1563 Noël, an asteroid *Mount Noel, Briti ...

at the

* 2012: ''

Hedda Gabler ''Hedda Gabler'' () is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage. The play has been ca ...

'' by Henrik Ibsen at

(London) * 2011: ''Di and Viv and Rose'' by

at Hampstead Downstairs (London) * 2013: ''Di and Viv and Rose'' by

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director since ...

(London) * 2015: ''Di and Viv and Rose'' by

Vaudeville Theatre The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on the Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each ...

(London)

Bibliography

* ''Devoured'' (Propolis, 2018)

References

Interview with Whatsonstage.com

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackmin, Anna British theatre directors Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Living people 1964 births Date of birth missing (living people) People from Leeds Film people from Yorkshire