Diane Ellen "Di" Trevis (born 8 November 1947) is an English

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 actress.

Early life and education

Trevis was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

and educated at Sussex University.

Career

After eight years as an actress, which included appearances in '' The Professionals'' and '' The Sweeney'', Trevis began directing in 1981. She was the first woman to run a company at Britain's

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

. Between 1986 and 1993, she directed ''Happy Birthday Brecht'', '' The Mother'', '' The School for Wives'', '' Yerma'', ''

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui ''The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui'' (), subtitled "A parable play", is a 1941 play by the German playwright Bertolt Brecht. It chronicles the rise of Arturo Ui, a fictional 1930s Chicago mobster, and his attempts to control the cauliflower ra ...

'' and '' Inadmissible Evidence'' for the National. In 2000 she adapted for the stage, with

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...

, Pinter's unfilmed cinema adaptation of Proust's '' Remembrance of Things Past''. The production, which transferred to the Olivier stage in 2001, was described as "ravishing" by critic Nicholas de Jongh in the ''

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'' and won an

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...

. Trevis has also worked extensively at the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

, with productions of '' Happy End'', ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunke ...

'', '' The Revenger's Tragedy'', ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

'' and ''Elgar’s Rondo''. In 1991 she mounted a production of

Harrison Birtwistle Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include '' T ...

's opera ''

Gawain Gawain ( ), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Matter of Britain, Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and one of the premier Knights of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned und ...

'' at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

. She also directed ''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' ( ) is an operetta by the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The Libretto, librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein (writer), Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's ...

'' for

Scottish Opera Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Founded in 1962 and based in Glasgow, it is the largest performing arts organisation in Scotland. History Scottish Op ...

and '' The Voluptuous Tango'' for the Almeida. Trevis has had a long-standing affiliation with the US, directing and teaching in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Pittsburgh. Her American productions include: ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

'', ''

The Duchess of Malfi ''The Duchess of Malfi'' (originally published as ''The Tragedy of the Dutchesse of Malfy'') is a Jacobean revenge tragedy written by English dramatist John Webster in 1612–1613. It was first performed privately at the Blackfriars Theat ...

'', ''Human Cannon'', ''Le Grand Meaulnes'' and ''Silverland''. In December 2008 she directed ''London Cries'' at the Irondale, Brooklyn, featuring Jenny Galloway and Richard Poe. Trevis directed a production of ''The Beaux' Stratagem'' at The Pennsylvania State University in the spring of 2011. For over a decade, Trevis has been teaching actors and directors in her international workshops. She has taught in the UK, the US, France, Germany, Austria and Cuba.

Gary Oldman Sir Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Gary Oldman, various accolades, including an Academ ...

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...

and

Rupert Everett Rupert James Hector Everett (; born 29 May 1959) is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film '' Another Country'' (1984) as a gay pupil at an English public scho ...

have all passed through her workshops and she has a following of young actors in London who regularly attend her Sunday workshop. Between 2003 and 2007, Trevis was Head of Directing at

Drama Centre London Drama Centre London (often abbreviated as Drama Centre) was a British drama school in Kings Cross, London, King's Cross, London, where it moved in 2011 after a major reshaping of the University of the Arts London. It was part of Central Saint ...

. A friend of

Ian Charleson Ian Charleson (11 August 1949 – 6 January 1990) was a Scottish stage and film actor. He is best known internationally for his starring role as Olympic athlete and missionary Eric Liddell in the Academy Award, Oscar-winning 1981 film ''Chariots ...

, Trevis contributed a to the 1990 book, ''For Ian Charleson: A Tribute''.Ian McKellen, Alan Bates, Hugh Hudson, et al
''For Ian Charleson: A Tribute''
London: Constable and Company, 1990. pp. 21–32. Trevis published her own book, ''Being a Director: A Life in Theatre'' in 2011.

Personal life

Since 1986, Trevis has been married to composer Dominic Muldowney. They live in Putney, south-west London.

Bibliography

*Trevis, Di
''Being a Director: A Life in Theatre''
Routledge, 2011.

References

External links

Official Site

Di Trevis interviewed on ''Conversations from Penn State''Internet Movie Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trevis, Di 1947 births 20th-century English actresses English theatre directors British women theatre directors Living people Actresses from Birmingham, West Midlands Alumni of the University of Sussex English stage actresses English television actresses