Tom Morris

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(born 22 June 1964) is a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

-winning 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 ...

, writer and producer. He was the Artistic Director at BAC (

Battersea Arts Centre The Battersea Arts Centre ("BAC") is a performance space specialising in Theater, theatre productions. Located near Clapham Junction railway station in Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, it was formerly Battersea Town Hall. It is a ...

) from 1995 to 2004 and the Artistic Director of

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

from 2009 to 2022. He has been Associate Director at the National Theatre since 2004.

Early life and education

Morris was born in 1964. He is the younger brother of satirist Chris Morris. He was educated at

Stonyhurst College Stonyhurst College or Stonyhurst is a co-educational Catholic Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing education for boarding school, boarding and day school, day pupils, adhering to the Society of Jesus, Jesuit tradition. It is ...

, a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

boys' boarding

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

in north west England, and then read English Literature at

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...

, from 1983 to 1986.

Career

From 1988 to 1994, Morris taught English Literature and worked in broadcasting and journalism, as a critic and feature-writer for ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'', ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'', ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', ''

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 ...

'' and ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'', and appeared on

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 ...

television and

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

programmes ''

Kaleidoscope A kaleidoscope () is an optical instrument with two or more reflecting surfaces (or mirrors) tilted to each other at an angle, so that one or more (parts of) objects on one end of these mirrors are shown as a symmetrical pattern when viewed fro ...

'', '' Night Waves'' and '' The Late Show''. During this period he also founded Stage of Fools with Nick Vivian and Nick Sweeting, writing, acting and directing at the

Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

and on tour. In 1995, Morris became Artistic Director of

(BAC), staying until 2004 when he joined the National Theatre. While at BAC, Morris established the Scratch Programme, The Sam Shepherd Festival, The Critics Up for Review, The British Festival of Visual Theatre, Playing in the Dark (which marked the launch of Vanishing Point and Sound and Fury and included the first scratch version of Complicite's

Mnemonic A mnemonic device ( ), memory trick or memory device is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval in the human memory, often by associating the information with something that is easier to remember. It makes use of e ...

) and BAC Opera (which produced Jerry Springer: The Opera). While at BAC he also wrote Ben Hur, Jason and the Argonauts and World Cup Final 1966 all with Carl Heap. In September 2009 Morris took over as Artistic Director of

theatre, overseeing the theatre's revival with Executive Director Emma Stenning. Morris and Stenning expanded the Old Vic's Outreach Programme into every part of the City, set up the widely imitated artist development programme, the Bristol Ferment, and restored the theatre's national and international reputation with West End transfers and national & international touring for ''Swallows and Amazons'', ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', ''Jane Eyre'' and ''Peter Pan'' (both of which were re-created for the National Theatre) and festivals such as Bristol Jam and Bristol Proms. in 2010, he directed the debut production of

Helen Edmundson Helen Edmundson (born 1964) is a British playwright, screenwriter and producer. She has won awards and critical acclaim both for her original writing and for her adaptations of various literary classics for the stage and screen. Early life Edmu ...

's ''Swallows and Amazons'' at Bristol Old Vic. He stepped down from his role at the Bristol Old Vic in 2022. In 2012 Morris & Stenning oversaw the first phase of a multimillion-pound redevelopment, which included the long-awaited refurbishment of the theatre's 250 year old auditorium and creation of new office and rehearsal spaces. The second phase of redevelopment of Bristol Old Vic commenced in November 2016, designed by Steve Tompkins. The plans included an overhaul of the front of house spaces and Studio theatre, and was completed in autumn 2018. As well as directing many theatrical productions, Morris has directed and produced several

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, including ''

The Death of Klinghoffer ''The Death of Klinghoffer'' is an American opera, with music by John Adams to an English-language libretto by Alice Goodman. First produced in Brussels and New York in 1991, the opera is based on the hijacking of the passenger liner ''Achille ...

'' ( ENO and the Met) and a staging of Handel's ''

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

'' (Bristol Proms, 2013). In 2011 he won the

for Best Direction of a Play for the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

production of '' War Horse'', along with co-director

Marianne Elliott Marianne Phoebe Elliott (born 27 December 1966) is a British theatre director and producer who works on the West End and Broadway. She has received numerous accolades including two Laurence Olivier Awards and four Tony Awards. Initially de ...

. Morris was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to theatre. One interviewer said of Morris: "His tastes are catholic, and frequently risky, but they can produce some of the most inspired, inventive theatre in Britain today." Tom Morris is on the board of innovating British theatre company Complicite, and is the founding chair of The JMK Trust, set up in honour of James Menzies-Kitchin to provide opportunities for talented young theatre directors.

Selected productions

*1999: ''

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 ...

'', director, BAC *2001: '' Jerry Springer: The Opera'', producer, BAC *2003-6
The Wooden FrockNights at the Circus
(co-writer with

Emma Rice Emma Juliet Rice (born August 1967) is a British actor, director and writer. Described as a fearless director, Rice's work includes theatrical adaptations of ''Brief Encounter'', '' The Red Shoes'' and ''Wise Children''. In 2022, Rice was named ...

), "Kneehigh" *2005: '' Coram Boy'', producer, National Theatre, Olivier *2007: '' A Matter of Life and Death'', writer and adaptor, National Theatre, Olivier *2007–2011: '' War Horse'', co-director and producer, National Theatre, Olivier; transferring to West End and Broadway. *2010:
Juliet and her Romeo
, director, Bristol Old Vic *2010: Swallows and Amazons, director, Bristol Old Vic *2011: ''

'', director,

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is a British opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in E ...

; 2014 at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

*2013: ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'', director,

*2015: ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1692 to 1693. Miller wrote ...

'', director, Bristol Old Vic *2016: ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'', director, Bristol Old Vic *2016-18: '' The Grinning Man'', director, Bristol Old Vic/Trafalgar Studios *2017
Messiah
director, Bristol Old Vic *2018: '' Touching the Void'', director, Bristol Old Vic & International tour

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Tom English theatre directors British opera directors Artistic directors Living people Tony Award winners Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge 1964 births Officers of the Order of the British Empire