Crispin Whittell (born 19 December 1969 in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

) is a British director and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

. He spent much of his early life in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. He was a member of the

National Youth Theatre The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and charity in London, created with the aim of developing young people's artistic skills via theatrical productions and other creative endeavours. Founded in 1956 as the world ...

of Great Britain, and studied English at

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 ...

Career

After leaving university Whittell was writer-in-residence at

Nottingham Playhouse Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in 1948 when it operated from a former cinema in Goldsmith Street. Directors during this period included Val May and F ...

(1997). He is perhaps best known for his play '' Darwin in Malibu'' which premiered at

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 ...

in 2003 in a production directed by John Dove. It was shortlisted for the TMA Award for Best New Play. It was subsequently produced at

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. History The original ''Hampstead Theatre Clu ...

in London. He is the writer of ''Happy Birthday'', a film directed by

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (; born Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov; 26 July 1945) is an English actor. With a career spanning over six decades of Helen Mirren on screen and stage, screen and stage, List of awards and nominations received by Helen Mirre ...

for Showtime. It starred Helen Mirren,

John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He rose to prominence in television before becoming an acclaimed and popular film actor. Goodman has received List of awards and nominations received by John Goodman, various acc ...

David Hyde Pierce David Hyde Pierce (born David Pierce; April 3, 1959) is an American actor. Known for his portrayal of psychiatrist Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Frasier'' from 1993 to 2004, he received four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting A ...

and

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and television shows since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future (franchise), ''B ...

. His play ''Happy Valley'' premiered at the

Liverpool Everyman Theatre The Everyman Theatre stands at the north end of Hope Street in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It was founded in 1964, in Hope Hall (once a chapel, then a cinema), in an area of Liverpool noted for its bohemian environment and political edge, ...

in 1997 in a production directed by Whittell. ''Clever Dick'', a farce about the American physicist

Richard Feynman Richard Phillips Feynman (; May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American theoretical physicist. He is best known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of t ...

and The Manhattan Project, was produced at Hampstead Theatre in 2006 in a production directed by Whittell

Whittell was then commissioned by

Roger Rees Roger Rees (5 May 1944 – 10 July 2015) was a Welsh-American actor and director. He won an Olivier Award and a Tony Award for his performance as the lead in ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (play), The Life and Adventures of Nicho ...

to write ''Villa America'' about the American socialite couple Gerald and Sara Murphy, and their relationship with

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

, F. Scott Fitzgerald and

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

. ''Villa America'' premiered at

Williamstown Theatre Festival The Williamstown Theatre Festival is a resident summer theater on the campus of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1954 by Williams College news director Ralph Renzi and drama program chairman David C. Bryant. ...

in 2007 in a production directed by Whittell. Whittell is also the translator of Argentinian playwright-director Rafael Spregelburd’s play ''Stupidity'' (''La Estupidez''). ''Stupidity'' was developed at the National Theatre Studio as part of their Channels project.

Richard Wolfe Richard Daniel Wolfe (1975-27 May 2016) was a Canadian gangster who co-founded the Indian Posse gang along with his younger brother Danny Wolfe in 1988, which he later left in 1997. Convicted of attempted murder in 1995, he was released on par ...

directed the English-language premiere for Theatre Conspiracy, in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, in 2007

Other produced plays include ''Killing Him'' (Pleasance Edinburgh), and ''Party Tricks'' (Nottingham Playhouse) directed by

Martin Clunes Alexander Martin Clunes (born 28 November 1961) is an English actor, director and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Martin Ellingham in the ITV comedy-drama series '' Doc Martin'', Gary Strang in the BBC sitcom ''Men Behavin ...

. Whittell wrote and directed a short film, ''Hot Dog'' starring

Tim McInnerny Timothy L. McInnerny ( ; born 18 September 1956) is a British actor. He is known for his many roles on stage and television, including as Lord Percy Percy and Captain Kevin Darling in the 1980s British sitcom ''Blackadder''. Early life McInner ...

and

Stephen Mangan Stephen James Mangan (born 16 May 1968) is a British actor, comedian, presenter and writer. He has played Guy Secretan in '' Green Wing'', Dan Moody in '' I'm Alan Partridge'', Seán Lincoln in ''Episodes'', Bigwig in ''Watership Down'', Postma ...

. He has also directed for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

(''

Twisted Tales ''Twisted Tales'' was a horror comics comics anthology, anthology published by Pacific Comics and, later, Eclipse Comics, in the early 1980s. The title was edited by Bruce Jones (comics), Bruce Jones and April Campbell. Publication history ''T ...

'') and

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

(''Coming Up''). In 2010 Whittell was commissioned to write a new version of ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...

'' for the

Guthrie Theater The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions among Sir Tyrone Gut ...

in Minneapolis. It opened in November 2010 in a production directed by Joe Dowling with Daniel Gerroll as Scrooge. The production has been remounted every year since. ''The Primrose Path'' - Whittell's adaptation of

Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev ( ; rus, links=no, Иван Сергеевич ТургеневIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; – ) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, poe ...

's novel ''Home of the Gentry'' - opened at the

in May 2013 in a production directed by

. In April 2013 he directed the World Premiere of Adam Rapp's play ''The Purple Lights of Joppa Illinois'' at South Coast Repertory Theatre

Plays

Unpublished

*''Killing Her'' (Old Red Lion) *''Killing Him'' (Pleasance, Edinburgh) *''Party Tricks'' (Nottingham Playhouse) *''Happy Valley'' (Liverpool Everyman) *''Villa America'' (Williamstown Theatre Festival)

Published

*'' Darwin in Malibu'' (Birmingham Repertory Theatre) *''Stupidity/La Estupidez'' (Theatre Conspiracy, Vancouver) *''Clever Dick'' (Hampstead Theatre)

References

External links

Oberon BooksDramatists Play Service
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whittell, Crispin Living people 1969 births National Youth Theatre members