David Farr (born 29 October 1969) is a British writer, theatrical director and Associate Director of 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 ...

Background

Farr was brought up in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

and educated in

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

and the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

(English Literature

double first 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 ...

Career

Farr began directing theatre at University and won the ''Guardian Student Drama Award'' at the

Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

in 1991 with ''Slight Possession'' starring

Rachel Weisz Rachel Hannah Weisz (; born 7 March 1970 ) is an English actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Rachel Weisz, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, and a BAFTA Award. We ...

. His professional directorial debut came at

The Gate Theatre ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...

in 1995 (aged 25) under

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 ...

. He was also 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 2002 to 2005 and

Lyric Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London.

from 2005 to 2009. In 2009, he joined the

as Associate Director. He wrote regularly for ''Spooks'' for the BBC and is a film writer having co-written the

Joe Wright Joseph Wright (born 25 August 1972) is an English film director residing in Somerset, England. His motion pictures include the literary adaptations '' Pride & Prejudice'' (2005), ''Atonement'' (2007), ''Anna Karenina'' (2012), and ''Cyrano'' ( ...

film '' Hanna'', released in 2011. Farr's adaptation of

John le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British and Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. ...

's novel ''

The Night Manager ''The Night Manager'' is an espionage novel by British writer John le Carré, published in 1993. It is his first post- Cold War novel, detailing an undercover operation to bring down a major international arms dealer. Plot summary Jonathan Pin ...

'' was aired in 2016 on BBC1. His first novel, ''The Book of Stolen Dreams'', was published by Usborne in 2021.

Works

Professional productions

*'' The Great Highway'', by

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

(The Gate Theatre 1993) *''The Boat Plays'' (The Gate Theatre 1994) *''

Powder Her Face ''Powder Her Face'', Op. 14 (1995), is a chamber opera in two acts by the British composer Thomas Adès, with an English libretto by Philip Hensher. The opera is 100 minutes long. It was commissioned by the Almeida Opera, a part of London's A ...

'', by

Thomas Ades Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

(Almeida Opera 1995) *''The Nativity'', by David Farr (Young Vic 2000) *''

Coriolanus ''Coriolanus'' ( or ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Caius Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same ye ...

'', by William Shakespeare (RSC and London

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

winner critics circle, best lead actor Greg Hicks 2003) *''

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

'' (Bristol Old Vic, winner best director TMS Awards 2002) *''

The Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Iliad'', the ...

'' (Bristol Old Vic 2004) *'' The UN Inspector'', by

Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...

, adapted by David Farr starring

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 role ...

(National Theatre 2005) *''

Tamburlaine ''Tamburlaine the Great'' is a play in two parts by Christopher Marlowe. It is loosely based on the life of the Central Asian emperor Timur (Tamerlane/Timur the Lame, d. 1405). Written in 1587 or 1588, the play is a milestone in Elizabethan p ...

'', by

Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe, also known as Kit Marlowe (; baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), was an English playwright, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the Elizabethan playwrights. Based upon the ...

(

The Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibi ...

, London) *''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

'', by William Shakespeare (RSC and Lyric Hammersmith 2005) *''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...

'', by William Shakespeare (Royal Shakespeare Company 2012) *''

Metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...

'', by

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...

, music by

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ca ...

and

Warren Ellis Warren Girard Ellis (born 16 February 1968) is a British comic book writer, novelist, and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of several original comics series, including ''Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002), ''Global Frequency'' ( ...

(Lyric Hammersmith 2006) *'' The Birthday Party'', by

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

(50th anniversary production, Lyric Hammersmith 2008) *''Water'', a collaboration with Filter Theatre (Lyric Hammsermith 2007) *''Spyski'', a collaboration with Peepolyskus (Lyric Hammersmith 2008) *''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...

'', by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

(RSC 2010) *''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

'', by

(RSC 2010)

Playwriting

*''Elton John's Glasses'' (Watford Palace Theatre and West End, 1996). *''The Danny Crowe Show'' (Bush Theatre, 2002). *''Crime and Punishment in Dalston'' (Arcola Theatre, 2002 and 2003). *''The Queen Must Die'' (National Theatre, 2003). *''Ruckus in the Garden'' (National Theatre, 2007). *''Night of the Soul'' (Royal Shakespeare Company, 2002).
''The UN Inspector''
(adaptation from Gogol 2006) Faber 2005 and bilingual edition (French/English). Presses Universitaires du Mirail (2008). *''Metamorphosis'' (adaptation from Kafka 2006). *''The Heart of Robin Hood'' (Royal Shakespeare Company 2011/12 season).

Screenwriting

*'' Spooks'' (series 4-9) *'' Hanna'' (2011) *'' Outcasts'' (2011) *''

The Ones Below ''The Ones Below'' is a 2015 British thriller directed by David Farr in his feature debut. It was shown in the Panorama section at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival and released on 11 March 2016 in the United Kingdom. Plot Kate (Cl� ...

'' (2016) *''

'' (2016) *'' The Man with the Iron Heart'' (2016) *'' Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams'' (2017) *''

McMafia ''McMafia'' is a British crime drama television series created by Hossein Amini and James Watkins, and directed by Watkins. It is inspired by the book '' McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld'' by journalist Misha Glenny ...

'' (2018) *'' Troy: Fall of a City'' (2018) *'' Hanna'' (2019-2021) *''

The Midwich Cuckoos ''The Midwich Cuckoos'' is a 1957 science fiction novel written by the English author John Wyndham. It tells the tale of an English village in which the women become pregnant by brood parasitic aliens. The book has been praised by many critic ...

'' (2022)

Publications

*''Plays 1'', Faber and Faber (2005). (with cover artwork painting by Andrew Litten). *''The UN Inspector'', Faber and Faber (2005). *''Reamayana'', Faber and Faber (2007). *''The Heart of Robin Hood'', Faber and Faber (2011).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Farr, David Charles 1969 births Living people Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge People from Surrey British theatre directors British thriller writers British spy fiction writers British television writers British science fiction writers British male dramatists and playwrights English dramatists and playwrights English male dramatists and playwrights English television writers English screenwriters English male screenwriters British male television writers