David Lan
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

David Lan is a South African-born British playwright, theatre producer and director and a social anthropologist.


Career

Born in Cape Town, he trained as an actor and gained a BA at the University of Cape Town. He has lived in London since 1972, apart from two years in Zimbabwe 1980–1982. He was awarded a BSc first class (1976) and a PhD (1984) in Social Anthropology from LSE, with his thesis
Making history: spirit mediums and the guerilla war in the Dande area of Zimbabwe
'. He was the writer in residence at the
Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...
from 1995 to 1997. He was the artistic director of the
Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...
theatre in London from 2000 until 2018. At the Young Vic, he led the campaign to rebuild the theatre (architects Haworth Tompkins) which reopened to acclaim in October 2006. He also led the 24 shows in 31 cities 'Walkabout' season during the 2-year rebuild. He has produced more than 200 shows. He initiated the Genesis Directors' Project, the Jerwood Directors Award and the Young Vic Award. In addition to his many plays, libretti, and films, he published an anthropological study after two years of field research in the Zambezi Valley in the extreme north of Zimbabwe. ''Guns and Rain: Guerrillas & Spirit Mediums in Zimbabwe'' (1985) describes the influence of religious practice on
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
's struggle for independence from colonial rule. It has been described as 'an undisputed modern classic' and is taught in universities all over the world. Some of his stage works reflect his interest in politics and religion, including
spirit possession Spirit possession is an unusual or altered state of consciousness and associated behaviors purportedly caused by the control of a human body by spirits, ghosts, demons, or gods. The concept of spirit possession exists in many cultures and rel ...
and
cargo cult A cargo cult is an indigenist millenarian belief system, in which adherents perform rituals which they believe will cause a more technologically advanced society to deliver goods. Causes, beliefs, and practices Cargo cults are marked by a ...
s. He wrote screenplays for the features ‘Dark City’ and ‘Streets of Yesterday’ and wrote, directed and produced documentaries for the BBC made in Mozambique, Namibia and Nigeria, and also a 'fly on the wall' account of the redesign of the Royal Court Theatre which he filmed himself over the course of a year. He was co-director of the 'Young Genius' season at the Barbican in 2005 and of 'World Stages London' at theatres across London in 2012. In 2010 he co-founded the What Next? alliance of arts organisations which now has 35 chapters across the UK. He is on the boards of Sadlers Wells, the Belarus Free Theatre, the Genesis Foundation and the Genesis Theatre Design Programme. He is co-chair of the International Council of the Isango Ensemble of South Africa and Patron of the theatre at the Mulberry School. Between 2013 and 2016 he was Consulting Artistic Director of the soon to be completed Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center in New York, where he is now an artistic associate. In his final season at the Young Vic, all five shows that he produced received five star reviews. These were ‘The Suppliant Women’, ‘The Jungle’, ‘The Brothers Size‘, ‘The Inheritance‘ and ‘Fun Home’. ‘The Jungle’ and ‘The Inheritance‘ both transferred to the West End and won more than 25 major awards in the UK and the US including multiple Oliviers, Tonys, Evening Standards, Critics Circle and Drama Desk awards as well as South Bank Sky Arts Awards in successive years. He was Theatre Associate at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York 2020/2021 where he produced, with ITA, Simon Stone's adaptation of ‘Medea’ by Euripides directed by Stone with Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale. His memoir ‘As If By Chance: Journeys, Theatres, Lives’ was published by Faber & Faber in February 2020. He and Tracey Seaward are co-directors of The Walk Productions which produced ‘The Walk’, Gaziantep to Manchester, July to November 2021 in association with Good Chance and Handspring as well as subsequent journeys to The Hague, Poland, Ukraine, Amsterdam, across the U.K. and a 3 week visit to New York City by Amal, the 12ft puppet of a 10 year old Syrian refugee girl. ‘The Walk’ received the 2021 Time Out Best Public Theatre Award.


Publications

Guns and Rain: Guerrillas and Spirit Mediums in Zimbabwe 1985, re-issued in Zimbabwe 2018 Selected Plays 1999 As If By Chance: Journeys, Theatres, Lives 2020, paperback 2021


Stage works

* ''Ion'', libretto for the opera by
Param Vir Param Vir is a British composer originally from India. Born in Delhi into a family life permeated with Indian classical music, Param Vir's strong interest in music developed as a teenager when attending a Catholic school, Roman Catholic secon ...
(2000) Aldeburgh * '' Tobias and the Angel'', libretto for the opera by Jonathan Dove (1999 Almeida Theatre, 2006 Young Vic) * ''The Ends of the Earth'' (1996) National Theatre * "Charley Tango" (1995) BBC Radio 4 and World Service * ''Desire'' (1990) Almeida Theatre * ''
A Mouthful of Birds ''A Mouthful of Birds'' is a 1986 play with dance, written by Caryl Churchill and David Lan, with choreography by Ian Spink. Drawing its themes from '' The Bacchae'' of Euripides, it is a meditation on possession, madness and female violence. ...
'', with Caryl Churchill (1986) Joint Stock/Royal Court * ''Flight'' (1986) RSC * ''Sergeant Ola And His Followers'' (1979) Royal Court * ''Red Earth'' (1978) ICA * ''The Winter Dancers'' (1977) Royal Court * ''Not in Norwich (1977) Royal Court * ''Paradise'' (1975) Royal Court * ''Homage To Bean Soup'' (1975) Royal Court * ''Painting A Wall'' (1974) Almost Free Theatre * ''Bird Child'' (1974) Royal Court


Translations

* "The Magic Flute" translation of the opera libretto (2009) Isango/Young Vic * ''
The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' (russian: Вишнёвый сад, translit=Vishnyovyi sad) is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by ''Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate edition ...
'', translation of the play by
Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
(2001) National Theatre * ''La Lupa'' translation of the play by
Giovanni Verga Giovanni Carmelo Verga di Fontanabianca (; 2 September 1840 – 27 January 1922) was an Italian realist ('' verista'') writer, best known for his depictions of life in his native Sicily, especially the short story and later play ''Cavalleria ...
(2000) RSC * ''
Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1898, and was first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre under the dir ...
'', translation of the play by
Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
(1998) RSC/Young Vic * ''
Ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...
'', translation of the play by
Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...
(1994) RSC * '' Hippolytos'', translation of the play by
Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...
(1991) Almeida Theatre * ''Ghetto'', translation of the play by
Joshua Sobol Joshua Sobol ( he, יהושע סובול; born 24 August 1939), is an Israeli playwright, writer, and theatre director. Biography Joshua Sobol was born in Tel Mond. His mother's family fled the pogroms in Europe in 1922 and his father's family imm ...
(1989) National Theatre


Films

* ''The Sunday Judge '' (1985) Writer BBC, filmed in Mozambique * ''Dark City'' (1990) Writer BBC Films, filmed in South Africa * ''Welcome Home Comrades'' (1990) Writer BBC, filmed in Namibia * ''Artist Unknown'' (1995) Writer, producer, director BBC Omnibus, filmed in Nigeria * ''Royal Court Diaries'' (1996) Cameraman, director, co-producer BBC Omnibus


Productions as director include

* “Why It’s Kicking Off Everywhere” based on the book by Paul Mason (2017) * "Blackta" by Nathaniel Martello-White (2012) * "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" by August Wilson (2010) * "As You Like It" by Shakespeare (2006) * "The Skin of Our Teeth" by Thornton Wilder (2004) * A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry (2003 and 2005) * "The Daughter-in-Law" by D H Lawrence (2002) * '' Doctor Faustus'' 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 ...
(2002) * "Julius Caesar" by Shakespeare (2000) * '' 'Tis Pity She's a Whore'' by John Ford (1999) * "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams (1998)


Awards

On graduating from the LSE he received the Raymond Firth Award. For his writing he received the
John Whiting Award Between 1965 and 2010, the John Whiting Award (from 2007 renamed the Peter Wolff Trust Supports the John Whiting Award) was awarded annually to a British or Commonwealth playwright who, in the opinion of a consortium of UK theatres, showed a new ...
and the
George Orwell Award The NCTE George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language (the Orwell Award for short), is an award given since 1975 by the Public Language Award Committee of the National Council of Teachers of English ...
. He received an
Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...
for the entire 2004 Young Vic season. The re-design and rebuild of the Young Vic, for which he wrote the brief and which took place under his leadership, was named RIBA London Building of the Year 2007 and was short-listed for the Stirling Prize as well as winning many other awards. His productions of plays, operas and musicals have received multiple Olivier, Evening Standard, Critics' Circle, South Bank Sky Arts (theatre and opera), Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League and Obie Awards. In 2010 he was awarded an honorary D.Litt. for services to theatre and community by the University of the South Bank. In
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
he was appointed a CBE for services to theatre. In the 2016 survey in ''
The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...
'' of the 100 most influential people in the UK theatre he was ranked 6th. Following the announcement of his departure from the Young Vic, he was presented with the inaugural Critics' Circle Special Award for Services to Theatre.''The Stage'' Apr 2018
/ref> Also in 2018 he received the Laurence Olivier Special Award in recognition of his 'outstanding contribution in leading the Young Vic since 2000, his work within the local community around the theatre, and his commitment to internationalism and diversity. Of his two productions that played on Broadway, ‘A View from the Bridge’ (2016) won Tony Awards for Best Revival and Best Director and ‘The Inheritance’ (2019) won for Best Play, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress. He received the 2018 Marsh ‘Anthropology in the World’ Award given by the Royal Anthropological Institute. The citation read ‘David is a polymath parallel who has built connections between the world of the social sciences, inter-continental understandings and the humanities and performing arts. He has applied these talents while leading theatre companies both artistically and practically with their building projects. David first trained as an actor before beginning to write and direct for the theatre. When he moved to London in the 1970s, he took a degree in Social Anthropology, followed by a PhD which would be published in 1985 as Guns and Rain: Guerrillas and Spirit Mediums in Zimbabwe, an original study of the role of rural, religious practitioners in the struggle to bring an end to the Rhodesian racist regime. The book made an enormous impact at the time and thirty years later has become an undisputed modern classic. Following his PhD, David travelled extensively in Africa writing films and drama documentaries for the BBC and continuing to write plays for major companies and venues. David has connected scholarship, and geographical and cultural differences with complete disregard for conventional boundaries: educating through performance and taking every opportunity to help younger and less well-placed artists at each stage of a career that is currently at its height. He is a fine example of practising the characteristics of an anthropological informed mindset appraising the contemporary world.’ He was co-producer of ‘The Walk - Little Amal’ which was named as the No 1 theatre event of 2021 in London by the Observer, received the Time Out London Award for the Best Public Theatre event 2021 and was named by Time Out New York as the best art exhibit of 2022, as well as one of the best theatre events of 2022 by the New York Times.


References


External links


Biography at the Young Vic

David Lan named as artistic director of World Trade Centre arts hub




{{DEFAULTSORT:Lan, David 1952 births Living people British writers British theatre directors Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Writers from Cape Town Writers from London South African emigrants to the United Kingdom