Christopher Haydon 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 ...

and the current

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

of 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 Lochla ...

in London. After graduating from

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, and training at

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school 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 ...

, Haydon became an associate director at the

Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. Artistic Directors * Brian McDermott ...

and is also associated with the series of plays ''On Theatre'' that played at

Soho Theatre Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, and Soho Theatre Walthamstow in north-east London. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three pe ...

. For many years Haydon ran

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

's theatre blog, under his birth name Chris Wilkinson. He has contributed as a journalist on theatre to many other publications.

On Theatre

On Theatre is a series of plays created by Mick Gordon often working with experts to explore key issues of everyday life; (e.g. ''On Death'' and ''On Emotion''). Haydon supports and directs many of the plays including the play "On Religion" which went under the name ''Grace'' and "On Identity" which went under the name ''Pressure Drop'' which was a project involving

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, author and political activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic th ...

and his band.

Gate Theatre

In 2011 Haydon became the new artistic director of the

, before taking over he directed ''Wittenburg'' by David Davalos which was well received and longlisted for Best New Play at the

Evening Standard Awards The ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are the oldest theatrical awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre, and are organised by the ''Evening Standa ...

. Since then he has announced a new season focusing on revolution and rebellion. In researching some of the plays in the new season Haydon was arrested in Egypt alongside the playwright Hassan Abdulrazzak.

Productions

* 2019 ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' at the

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

. * 2013

Twelve Angry Men ''Twelve Angry Men'' is an American courtroom drama written by Reginald Rose about the deliberations of a jury at a homicide trial. It was broadcast initially as a television play in 1954. It was adapted for the stage the following year, and ...

Reginald Rose Reginald Rose (December 10, 1920 – April 19, 2002) was an American screenwriter. He wrote about controversial social and political issues. His realistic approach was particularly influential in the anthology programs of the 1950s. Rose w ...

at the Garrick Theatre, London * 2011

Sixty Six Books ''Sixty-Six Books'' was a set of plays premiered at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2011, to mark the theatre's reopening on a new site and the 400th anniversary of the King James Version. It drew its title from the 66 books of the Protestant Bible ...

directed several of the pieces and was an associate curator at the

* 2011 Wittenberg by David Davalos at the

* 2010 Pressure Drop (On Theatre production) by Mick Gordon and

at the Welcome Collection * 2009 Deep Cut by Philip Ralph for a National Tour * 2009 Monsters by Niklas Radstrom at the

Arcola Theatre Arcola Theatre is in the London Borough of Hackney. It presents plays, operas and musicals featuring established and emerging artists. The theatre building, in the former Colourworks paint factory on Ashwin Street, Dalston, houses two studio ...

* 2008 A Number by

Caryl Churchill Caryl Lesley Churchill (born 3 September 1938) is a British playwright known for dramatising the abuses of power, for her use of non- naturalistic techniques, and for her exploration of sexual politics and feminist themes.

at the

Salisbury Playhouse Salisbury Playhouse is a theatre in the English city of Salisbury, Wiltshire. Built in 1976, it comprises the 517-seat Main House and the 149-seat Salberg Studio, a rehearsal room, a daytime café, and a community and education space. It is pa ...

* 2008 Grace (On Theatre production) by Mick Gordon and

A. C. Grayling Anthony Clifford Grayling (; born 3 April 1949) is a British philosopher and author. He was born in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and spent most of his childhood there and in Nyasaland (now Malawi). Until June 2011, he was Professor of Philos ...

at Theatre du Poche * 2006 Notes from The Underground by

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian literature, Russian and world literature, and many of his works are consider ...

at the

* 2003 Come and Go/The Maids/Agamenon at the CSSD Embassy Studio * 2002 The Insect Play at Emmanuel College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haydon, Christopher Date of birth missing (living people) Living people British artistic directors British theatre directors Year of birth missing (living people)