In today’s programme we speak to theatre and film director Declan Donnellan, described by Le Figaro newspaper as “Irish by birth, English by education, European by culture and universal by thought. He and his partner, Nick Ormerod, formed the theatre company Cheek by Jowl in 1981 and he has since directed over 30 productions, primarily by Shakespeare, touring to nearly 400 cities, spanning six continents. In 2000, he formed a company of actors in Moscow whose productions include Boris Godunov, Twelfth Night, Three Sisters, and The Tempest. His first feature film, Bel Ami, co-directed with Nick Ormerod, starred Uma Thurman, Christina Ricci, and Robert Pattinson. We catch up with Declan Donnellan at Madrid’s Teatro Real where he’d come to give a talk on his relationship with Shakespeare as part of the British Council’s Shakespeare Lives 400th anniversary project.
