Clare Rosamund Venables (17 March 1943 – 17 October 2003) was an 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 ...
. She was artistic director of regional theatres in
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
,
Stratford East (London), and
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
; she became Director of Education at the
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...
, and she also directed a number of
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
s.
Early life
She was born in
Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...
,
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
, to Sir Peter Venables, first vice-chancellor of the
University of Aston
Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston''. for post-nominals) is a public research university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first c ...
and a founder of the
Open University
The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
, and Ethel Howell, an educational psychologist who chaired the
Marriage Guidance Council
Relate is a charity providing relationship support throughout the United Kingdom. Services include counselling for couples, families, young people and individuals, sex therapy, mediation and training courses. Relate also offers online services ...
.
[Obituary: Clare Venables](_blank)
''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'', 29 October 2003.[Obituary: Clare Venables](_blank)
''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 20 October 2003.
She was educated at
Manchester High School and
Camp Hill School,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
.
She then read drama at
Manchester University
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
, gaining a
first-class degree
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...
, and taught there for three years after graduating.
Career
Clare Venables started her career as director at the Theatre Royal in Lincoln in 1968, taking over as artistic director in 1970, with Howard Lloyd-Lewis as her assistant. They both moved on to the Manchester Library Theatre in 1973.
From 1977 to 1980, she was artistic director at the
Theatre Royal in Stratford East, London, a high-profile role where she followed
Joan Littlewood
Joan Maud Littlewood (6 October 1914 – 20 September 2002) was an English theatre director who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and is best known for her work in developing the Theatre Workshop. She has been called "The Mother of M ...
in the role.
[Obituary: Clare Venables](_blank)
''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 ...
'', 27 October 2003.
From 1981 to 1992, she was artistic director at the
Crucible Theatre
The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's m ...
in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
,
where she had a role in the early careers of
Tim Albery
Tim Bronson Reginald Albery (born 20 May 1952) is an English stage director, best known for his productions of opera.
Life and career
Albery was born in Harpenden, the son of the impresario Donald Albery and grandson of the producer Sir Bronson ...
,
Stephen Daldry
Stephen David Daldry CBE (born 2 May 1960) is an English director and producer of film, theatre, and television. He has won three Olivier Awards for his work in the West End and three Tony Awards for his work on Broadway. He has received three ...
and
Steven Pimlott.
She was active in the administration of the dramatic arts as a founding director of the Actors' Centre and as a member of the
Arts Council drama panel.
She was also active throughout her career in teaching: long before taking up her RSC post, she taught at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sen ...
and at the
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
From 1995 to 1999, she was principal of the BRIT School of Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon.
She was appointed Director of Education at the
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...
in 1999, a post which she held until her death. In this role she worked on education projects in the United States with the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
,
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, and
Davidson College
Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan ...
, and in England with many schools as well as the
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...
. One of her last projects was a production of ''
Pericles
Pericles (; grc-gre, Περικλῆς; c. 495 – 429 BC) was a Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Pelopo ...
'' with the homeless people's theatre company,
Cardboard Citizens
Cardboard Citizens is the UK's only homeless people's professional theatre company, and the leading practitioner of Forum Theatre and the Theatre of the Oppressed methodology in the UK. The acclaimed theatre company works with people who have exp ...
.
RSC’s Cardboard Pericles Takes Refuge at Elephant
WhatsOnStage
10 July 2003.
She contributed articles to ''Theatre Quarterly'' (1980), ''Plays and Players
Hansom Books was a British publisher founded in 1950 by Philip Dosse to produce the magazine ''Dance and Dancers''. Magazines in a similar format were then founded to cover other arts, so forming the Seven Arts Group. The other titles were '' Ar ...
'' (1987) and ''Changes'' (1988).
Personal life
On 27 May 1971 she married the actor Robert Whelan; they separated in 1982. Their son, Joe, was born on 6 October 1978.
She died of breast cancer aged 60.
References
Further reading
* Kate Dorney
Venables, Clare Rosamund (1943–2003)
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'', online edn, first published January 2007. (Subscription required.)
* Lizbeth Goodman
Lizbeth Goodman is the Chair of Creative Technology Innovation and founder director of thSMARTlab Digital Media Instituteand the MAGIC Multimedia & Games Innovation Centre, formerly at the University of East London, England, and elsewhere, now at ...
and Jane de Gay
Jane de Gay is a British academic and lecturer who has earned an international reputation as an expert on the life and works of Virginia Woolf. de Gay's works on Woolf include a series of articles and a 2006 book, ''Virginia Woolf's Novels and the ...
, Feminist Stages: ''Interviews with Women in Contemporary British Theatre''. Routledge
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...
, 1996. , . (Includes an interview with Clare Venables.)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Venables, Clare
1943 births
2003 deaths
People from Southend-on-Sea
Alumni of the University of Manchester
English theatre directors
Academics of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
People educated at Manchester High School for Girls
People educated at King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls
University of Michigan people