William John Mitchell (2 December 1951 – 14 April 2017) was the artistic director of

Kneehigh Theatre Kneehigh Theatre was an international touring theatre company founded in 1980 by Mike Shepherd and based in Cornwall, England. The company was based in barns on the southern Cornish coast, at Gorran Haven, but the administration was in Truro. ...

from 1995 until 2002 and created site-specific theatre company

Wildworks WildWorks (formerly Smart Bomb Interactive) is an American game development studio based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The studio was assembled from game industry veterans, co-founded by Kris Johnson, Clark Stacey, and Jeff Amis. The studio has develope ...

in 2005. Mitchell was born in Erith, Kent, and educated at Dartford Grammar School. He completed a foundation course at Medway School of Art and studied theatre design at

Wimbledon School of Art Wimbledon College of Arts, formerly Wimbledon School of Art, is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London specialising in theatre, screen and performance art. It is located in Wimbledon and Merton Park, South West London. ...

. He moved to Cornwall with his wife Sue in 1988 and designed a number of Kneehigh's shows including ''Tristan and Yseult'' directed by

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

, ''The Red Shoes'', and ''A Matter of Life and Death''. In 2006, he was made an honorary Fellow of

Falmouth University Falmouth University ( kw, Pennskol Aberfal) is a specialist public university for the creative industries based in Falmouth and Penryn, Cornwall, England. Founded as Falmouth School of Art in 1902, it was later known as Falmouth College of Ar ...

. Mitchell won the Best Director award at the

Theatre Awards UK The UK Theatre Awards, established in 1991 and known before 2011 as the TMA Awards, are presented annually by UK Theatre (formerly the Theatrical Management Association) in recognition of creative excellence and outstanding work in regional thea ...

in 2011 for ''The Passion'', a joint production between

National Theatre Wales National Theatre Wales (NTW) is a theatre company known for its large-scale site-specific productions and its grassroots work with diverse Welsh communities. It is the English-language national theatre of Wales, and refers to Theatr Genedlaet ...

and Wildworks. In 2015, Mitchell worked with

Lost Gardens of Heligan The Lost Gardens of Heligan ( kw, Lowarth Helygen, meaning "willow tree garden") are located near Mevagissey in Cornwall, England and are considered to be amongst the most popular in the UK. The gardens are typical of the 19th century ...

on a show called ''100: The Day Our World Changed'' to commemorate local people who died in WW1. Mitchell was diagnosed with cancer in 2015, but continued to work up to his death on ''Wolf’s Child'' which was performed at Trelowarren Estate in Cornwall in July 2017. Mitchell's attic has been recreated at Krowji, Redruth, as an artists resource space, in digital and physical form.

Productions

* ''A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings'' - 2005 * ''Souterrain'' - 2006 - 07 Performed in

Dolcoath Mine Dolcoath mine ( kw, Bal Dorkoth) was a copper and tin mine in Camborne, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Its name derives from the Cornish for 'Old Ground', and it was also affectionately known as ''The Queen of Cornish Mines''. The site is ...

Camborne Cornwall and Stanmer Park Brighton * ''The Beautiful Journey'' - 2009 performed in HMNB Devonport Plymouth and Wallsend Newcastle. * ''The Enchanted Palace'' - 2010 until 2012, Kensington Palace London * ''The Passion'' - Port Talbot, South Wales, 2011. In collaboration with

Michael Sheen Michael Christopher Sheen OBE (born 5 February 1969) is a Welsh actor, television producer and political activist. After training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he worked mainly in theatre throughout the 1990s with stage rol ...

and National Theatre Wales

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Bill 1951 births 2017 deaths Alumni of Wimbledon College of Arts Cornish culture English theatre directors