Michael Buffong (born 1964) is an English theatre director and the Artistic Director of

Talawa Theatre Company Talawa Theatre Company is a Black British theatre company founded in 1986.

. His work is characterised by reworking stage classics delivered to high degree of detail. Buffong has been described as "one of the most influential directors of classic plays over the last two decades", in addition to being named one of '' Creative Review''s 50 Creative Leaders. In Spring 2019, Buffong was one of the judges of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.

Career

Buffong was born in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ...

, London, in 1964. He attended a director's course at

Theatre Royal Stratford East The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with director Joan Littlewood, whose ...

and was later appointed an assistant director there. Buffong then went on to work in television and film and his credits include ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' Casualty'', and ...

'', ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'', ''Admin'', ''Placebo'', ''Calais Rules'', '' Doctors'', '' Casualty'' and ''Comedy Shuffle'' (BBC), ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera '' Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on sister channel E4 a ...

'' (Lime Pictures), ''Feeling It'' (Eye2Eye) and ''Blazed'' (

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

). He has also written and directed the award-winning short film ''Simple!'' (

Acapulco Film Festival The Acapulco Film Festival () was a film festival held in Acapulco, Mexico, annually from 1959 to 1968 and once more in 1987, with a precursor event held in Mexico City in 1958. The festival showcased both Mexican and international films, and in it ...

). He has also been particularly associated with the

Royal Exchange Theatre The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal ...

in Manchester, where he has directed at least five plays. Buffong also directed

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer. Henry gained success as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in '' The Le ...

and Lashana Lynch in the

Willy Russell William Russell (born 23 August 1946) is an English dramatist, lyricist and composer. His best known works are ''Educating Rita'', ''Shirley Valentine'', '' Blood Brothers'' and ''Our Day Out''. Early life Russell was born in Whiston, Lancash ...

play Educating Rita at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, in 2015. Buffong has been the

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since th ...

Talawa Theatre Company Talawa Theatre Company is a Black British theatre company founded in 1986.

since 2011. With Talawa, Buffong has most recently directed ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on " The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also b ...

'', ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane a ...

'', ''

All My Sons ''All My Sons'' is a three-act Play (theatre), play written in 1946 by Arthur Miller. It opened on Broadway theatre, Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Coronet Theatre in New York City on January 29, 1947, closed on November 8, 1949, and r ...

'', ''

Moon on a Rainbow Shawl ''Moon on a Rainbow Shawl'' is a 1957 play written by Trinidadian actor-playwright Errol John. Described as "ground-breaking" and "a breakthrough in Britain for black writing," the play has been produced and revived worldwide since its premiere ...

'', ''God's Property'', ''The Serpent's Tooth'' and ''Passing Wind''. Buffong has directed Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti's ''A Kind of People'' at

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 ...

and will also direct the Talawa co-production with Park Theatre (London) of Archie Maddocks's ''A Place for We'' in early summer 2020.

Theatre Productions

Royal Exchange

His credits include: * '' Six Degrees of Separation'' by John Guare with Lisa Eichhorn as Ouissa Kittredge, Phillip Bretherton as Flanders Kittredge and

O-T Fagbenle Olatunde Olateju Olaolorun "O-T" Fagbenle ( Yoruba: ''Ọlátúndé Ọlátẹ́jú Ọláọlọ́run Fágbénlé''; born 22 January 1981) is an Emmy-nominated English actor, writer, and director. He has appeared in several films, stage, and ...

( MEN Award) as Paul (May 2004) * ''All the Ordinary Angels'' by Nick Leather (November 2005) * ''

A Raisin in the Sun ''A Raisin in the Sun'' is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The title comes from the poem "Harlem" (also known as "A Dream Deferred") by Langston Hughes. The story tells of a black family's experiences in south Chi ...

'' by

Lorraine Hansberry Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (May 19, 1930 – January 12, 1965) was a playwright and writer. She was the first African-American female author to have a play performed on Broadway. Her best-known work, the play ''A Raisin in the Sun'', highli ...

( MEN Award) with Ray Fearon as Walter Lee Younger, Starletta DuPois ( MEN Award) as Lena Younger and

Jenny Jules Jenny Jules is an English actress. She started her acting career as a member of the youth theatre programme at the Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn, London. Her career has been closely linked with the Tricycle Theatre where she has acted numerous tim ...

( MEN Award) as Ruth Younger (Feb 2010) * ''

Private Lives ''Private Lives'' is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It concerns a divorced couple who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, discover that they are staying in adjacent rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetu ...

'' by

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

with

Imogen Stubbs Imogen Stubbs (born 20 February 1961) is an English actress and writer. Her first leading part was in '' Privileged'' (1982), followed by '' A Summer Story'' (1988). Her first play, '' We Happy Few'', was produced in 2004. In 2008 she joined ...

as Amanda Prynne, Simon Robson as Elyot Chase, Joanna Page as Sibyl Chase and Clive Hayward as Victor Prynne (Mar 2011) * ''

'' by

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 ...

with Don Warrington as Joe Keller, Dona Croll as Kate Keller, Chike Okonkwo as Chris Keller, Kemi-Bo Jacobs as Ann Deever and Simon Coombs as George Deever. (October 2013) * ''

''. Co-production with

Talawa Theatre Company Talawa Theatre Company is a Black British theatre company founded in 1986.

with Don Warrington in the title role. (April 2016) * ''

''. Co-production with

Talawa Theatre Company Talawa Theatre Company is a Black British theatre company founded in 1986.

with Ray Fearon as Nathan Detroit, Lucay Vandi as Miss Adeleide, Ashley Zhamghazha as Sky Mssterson, and Abiona Omonua as Sarah Brown. (December 2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buffong, Michael 1964 births British artistic directors British theatre directors Living people