Henric Hirsch (13 November 1923 – March 1999) was a Hungarian-Romanian theatre and television director. Initially an experienced theatre director in Hungary, Hirsch fled to England to seek refuge following the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 4 November 1956; ), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by ...

. There, he continued to direct for theatre but sought to move into television. After completing the BBC's directors course, his first assignment was directing a 1964 edition of TV anthology series '' First Night''.

TV work and ''Doctor Who''

This was seen by producer

Verity Lambert Verity Ann Lambert (27 November 1935 – 22 November 2007) was an English television and film producer. Lambert began working in television in the 1950s. She began her career as a producer at the BBC by becoming the founding producer of t ...

, who in turn offered Hirsch the opportunity to direct ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

Season 1 Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughters album), 2012 * ''Season One'' (Saukrates album), 2012 See also * * * Season 2 (disambiguation) Season 2 may refer to: ...

finale '' The Reign of Terror'' (after the intended director Gerald Blake was unable to commit). The experience was not a pleasant one for Hirsch. His background being in the theatre, he struggled, finding the production more gruelling than his previous TV work, not being particularly interested in the material he had to work with and having difficulties forging good working relationships with the cast members, in particular leading actor

William Hartnell William Henry Hartnell (; 8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor, who is best known for portraying the first incarnation of the Doctor, in the long-running British science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1963 t ...

. This led to Hirsch falling ill and being found collapsed from nervous exhaustion outside the studio before episode 3 was due to be filmed.The Reign Of Terror , A Brief History Of Time (Travel) - Shannon Patrick Sullivan
/ref> Production assistant Timothy Combe was placed in charge until a replacement director could be found; documentation indicates that John Gorrie oversaw production of the third episode, though Gorrie has no memory of the event. It is even debated that Mervyn Pinfield may have in fact directed the third instalment. Hirsch recovered to direct episodes 4–6, where he found the production smoother and tensions eased between him and Hartnell. Overall, as a result of this bad experience, Hirsch left the BBC and returned to work in the theatre. However, he would direct TV plays for anthology series such as ''

The Wednesday Play ''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of United Kingdom, British television plays which ran on BBC One, BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic ...

'' and ''

Theatre 625 ''Theatre 625'' is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production an ...

'' as well as ITV shows including episodes of soap operas ''

Crossroads Crossroads is a junction where four roads meet. Crossroads, crossroad, cross road(s) or similar may also refer to: Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a ...

'' and '' Emmerdale Farm'' in 1973. In addition, he tried his hand at acting, appearing in a 1966 instalment of '' The Spies''.

Theatre work & Translations

As a translator, Hirsch translated

Ion Luca Caragiale Ion Luca Caragiale (; According to his birth certificate, published and discussed by Constantin Popescu-Cadem in ''Manuscriptum'', Vol. VIII, Nr. 2, 1977, pp. 179–184 – 9 June 1912), commonly referred to as I. L. Caragiale, was a Romanians, ...

's ''The Carnival Story'' from Rumanian into English, performed by the

Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, formerly the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art, was a drama school, and originally a singing school, in London. It was one of the leading drama schools in Britain, and offered comprehen ...

for the first time in 1969, the production of which he also directed. Working as an assistant to theatre director Frank Hauser, Hirsch helped to translate

Ferenc Molnár Ferenc Molnár ( , ; born Ferenc Neumann; January 12, 1878April 1, 1952), often anglicized as Franz Molnar, was a Hungarians, Hungarian-born author, stage director, dramatist, and poet. He is widely regarded as Hungary's most celebrated and c ...

's comedy ''The Wolf'' into English. This production starred

Edward Woodward Edward Albert Arthur Woodward (1 June 1930 – 16 November 2009) was an English actor and singer. He began his career on stage, appearing in productions in both the West End of London and on Broadway in New York City. He came to wider att ...

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...

and

Leo McKern Reginald "Leo" McKern (16 March 1920 – 23 July 2002) was an Australian actor who appeared in numerous British, Australian and American television programmes and films, and in more than 200 stage roles. His notable roles include Clang in ...

and initially began at the

Oxford Playhouse The Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F. G. M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum. History The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road (Oxford), W ...

in 1973 before transferring to the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a listed building, Grade II listed West End theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

, Queen's Theatre and

New London Theatre The Gillian Lynne Theatre (formerly the New London Theatre) is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden in the London Borough of Camden. The Winter Garden Theatre occupied the site until 1965. On ...

. Following this, Hirsch appears to have retired from theatre and TV, as it seems that there are no further credits with his name after this period. From 1976, he spent the next two decades dividing his time between the United Kingdom and Australia (due to his wife coming from down there).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hirsch, Henric 1923 births 1999 deaths Romanian expatriates in Hungary Romanian emigrants to the United Kingdom