Jonathan Church,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(born 1967), is a British

stage 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 ...

. Church was the artistic director of the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

(2001–2005) and

Chichester Festival Theatre Chichester Festival Theatre is a theatre and Grade II* listed building situated in Oaklands Park in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, it was opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Mart ...

(2006–2016). In August 2015, Sydney Theatre Company announced that he would be succeeding

Andrew Upton Andrew Upton (born 1 February 1966) is an Australian playwright, screenwriter and director. He has adapted the works of Gorky, Chekhov, Ibsen and others for London's Royal National Theatre and the Sydney Theatre Company. He wrote the original p ...

as their artistic director.

Career

At Birmingham, Church directed the first revival of the David Hare trilogy '' Absence of War'', '' Murmuring Judges'', and '' Racing Demon''). Productions he has directed at Chichester include ''

The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby ''Nicholas Nickleby'' or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'' (or also ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings, and Complete Career of the ...

'', the first major revival since its RSC premiere in 1980, and '' The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui''. ''The Telegraph'' has credited Church with reviving the fortunes of both the

Salisbury Playhouse Salisbury Playhouse is a theatre in the English city of Salisbury, Wiltshire. It was built in 1976 and comprises the 517-seat Main House and the 149-seat Salberg, a rehearsal room and a community & education space. It is part of Arts Council En ...

and the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.Charles Spencer: Lady Macbeth at Chichester
''The Telegraph'', 23 February 2009 In 2006, Church moved to Chichester and was praised for saving the Chichester Festival Theatre from closure by almost doubling audience numbers and overseeing a £22m redevelopment to the theatre. A number of Chichester productions during his tenure, including ''

Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial '' The String of Pearls'' (1846–47). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet Stre ...

'' and '' South Downs'', have subsequently gone on to the West End.The irresistible rise of Jonathan Church
''The Independent'', 1 July 2012 Church's production of '' Singin' in the Rain'' opened at the Palace Theatre in 2012. Church and the executive director of CFT, Alan Finch, both announced in March 2015 that they would stand down from their positions at the end of September 2016, in order to make way for "new ideas and new energies". In June 2015, they were received into the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

as Commander, for their services to the Festival Theatre. At the end of 2015, Church replaced

as artistic director of the Sydney Theatre Company.

Personal life

Church is the son of Tony Church, former broadcaster with

BBC Radio Nottingham BBC Radio Nottingham is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Nottinghamshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on London Road in Nottingham city centre. According to RAJAR, the station has ...

and previously chief technician at Nottingham Playhouse, and the actress Marielaine Douglas.

References

External links

Jonathan Church biography, Chichester Festival Theatre website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Church, Jonathan 1967 births Living people British theatre directors British artistic directors Commanders of the Order of the British Empire