Stephen Unwin (born 29 December 1959) is an English theatre director. Unwin read English at

Downing College Downing College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 950 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to the university between 1596 and 1869, ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, where he directed many student productions, including an award-winning production of ''Measure for Measure'' that transferred to the Almeida, where he was awarded an Arts Council Trainee Director’s Bursary. He has since directed over 50 professional productions and 12

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

s. For much of the 1980s, he was Associate Director at the

Traverse Theatre The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded as The Traverse Theatre Club in 1962 by John Calder, John Malcolm, Jim Haynes, Richard Demarco, Terry Lane, Andrew Muir, John Martin and Sheila Colvin. The Traverse Th ...

, Edinburgh, and several of his productions transferred to London theatres. He worked with a wide range of leading actors, including

Simon Russell Beale Sir Simon Russell Beale (born 12 January 1961) is an English actor. He has been described by ''The Independent'' as "the greatest stage actor of his generation". He has received various accolades, including two BAFTA Awards, three Olivier Awar ...

Tilda Swinton Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. She is known for playing eccentric and enigmatic characters, often working with auteurs. Her accolades include an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and a Volpi Cup, in addit ...

Ken Stott Kenneth Campbell Stott (born 19 October 1954) is a Scottish stage, television and film actor who won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1995 in the play ''Broken Glass (play), Broken Glass'' at Royal National Thea ...

, and dozens of others. In the early 1990s, he became Resident Director at the National Theatre Studio. He launched the

English Touring Theatre English Touring Theatre (ETT) is a major touring theatre company based in London, England. History English Touring Theatre was founded in 1993 by Stephen Unwin. In 2008, the directorship of the company was taken over by Rachel Tackley, making E ...

in June 1993, where he directed twenty productions, many of which were seen at the Old Vic, the Donmar, the Lyric Hammersmith and others. He stepped down from ETT in 2008 after fifteen years at the helm. He became the second Artistic Director (after Sir Peter Hall) of the

Rose Theatre, Kingston The Rose Theatre Kingston is a theatre on Kingston High Street in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in London, England. The theatre seats 822 around a wide, thrust stage. It officially opened on 16 January, 2008 with the play ''Uncle V ...

. He has also directed in Europe and in British

repertory theatre A repertory theatre, also called repertory, rep, true rep or stock, which are also called producing theatres, is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom ...

. He was joint winner of the 2003

Sam Wanamaker Award The Sam Wanamaker Award or Sam Wanamaker Prize is an award established in 1994 for pioneering work in Shakespearean theatre, usually given to individuals who have worked closely with Shakespeare's Globe or the Royal Shakespeare Company; the award ...

with

Barrie Rutter Barrie Thomas Rutter OBE (born 12 December 1946) is an English actor and the founder and former artistic director of the Northern Broadsides theatre company based in Dean Clough complex, Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Biography Rutter was ...

, and in autumn 2003 was Judith E Wilson Visiting Fellow at Cambridge University. Unwin was Artistic Director of The Rose Theatre in Kingston, Greater London between 2008 and 2014. In September 2010, Unwin directed Noël Coward's Hay Fever, a Rose Theatre production starring

Celia Imrie Celia Diana Savile Imrie (born 15 July 1952) is a British actress and author. She is best known for her film roles, including the '' Bridget Jones'' film series, '' Calendar Girls'' (2003), '' Nanny McPhee'' (2005), '' The Best Exotic Marigold ...

, which received great critical acclaim. He was visiting professor at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

and the Judith E Wilson Visiting Fellow at

University of Cambridge 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 ...

Books

''So You Want to Be a Theatre Director?'' By Stephen Unwin
*''Faber Pocket Guide – Shakespeare'' *''Faber Pocket Guide – Twentieth Century Drama'' *''Faber Pocket Guide – Ibsen, Chekhov and Strindberg'' *''A Guide to the Plays of Bertolt Brecht'' Methuen, London. 2005.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Unwin, Stephen Living people 1960 births English theatre directors British opera directors Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge