Dominic Cooke (born 1966) is an English director and writer.
Early life
Born in
Wimbledon, south London, Cooke was brought up seeing a lot of theatre as a teenager from free theatre tickets provided by the
Inner London Education Authority
The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was an ad hoc local education authority for the City of London and the 12 Inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990. The authority was reconstituted as a directly elected body corpor ...
.
Career
Soon after graduating from
Warwick University
, mottoeng = Mind moves matter
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £7.0 million (2021)
, budget = £698.2 million (2020� ...
, Cooke's first job as a TV runner led him to start his own theatre company, Pan Optic, which he ran for two years before becoming an assistant director at the
Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).
He started his relationship with the
Royal Court Theatre under
Stephen Daldry in 1995. He then became an associate director at the Royal Court for
Ian Rickson
Ian David Rickson (born 1963) is a British theatre director. He was the artistic director at the Royal Court Theatre in London from 1998 to 2006. in 1999 during which time he directed ''
Fireface'' by
Marius von Mayenburg
Marius von Mayenburg (born 21 February 1972 in Munich) is a German playwright and dramaturg.
Education
In 1994, Mayenburg began his studies at the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin. His first play, '' Haarmann'', was first performed at Baracke ...
, ''Other People'' by
Christopher Shinn
Christopher Shinn (born 1975) is an American playwright. His play ''Dying City'' (2006) was a finalist for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and
''Where Do We Live'' (2004) won the 2005 Obie Award, Playwriting.
Early life
Shinn was born in Hartf ...
and
''Redundant'' by
Leo Butler
Leo Butler (born 1974 in Sheffield) is a British playwright. His plays have been staged, among others, by the Royal Court, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Almeida Theatre. His plays have been published by Bloomsbury A & C Black. His 2001 ...
. In 2003 he left the Royal Court and returned to the RSC for
Michael Boyd where he directed his acclaimed version of ''
The Crucible'' starring
Iain Glen
Iain Alan Sutherland Glen (born 24 June 1961) is a Scottish actor. Glen is best known for his roles as Dr. Alexander Isaacs/Tyrant in three films of the ''Resident Evil'' film series (2004–2016) and as Ser Jorah Mormont in the HBO fantasy te ...
which won him the 2007
Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director; the play also won the Olivier for Best Revival.
He has won five
Olivier Awards
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 a ...
. In addition to Best Director and Best Revival for
The Crucible in 2007, he won Best Revival for
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottomin 2016, Best Musical Revival for
Follies in 2018 and in 2013 his final season in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court won Achievement In An Affiliate Theatre.
In 2013 he won the International Theatre Institute Award for Excellence in International Theatre and in the same year was awarded Honorary Doctorate of Letters by his alma mater, Warwick University. Cooke was appointed
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to drama.
Royal Court
Cooke was artistic director and Chief Executive of the Royal Court Theatre 2006 to 2013 during which time he pioneered new writing by actively promoting the Royal Court's Young Writers’ Programme and new, young writers such as
Mike Bartlett (''My Child''),
Polly Stenham
Polly Stenham (born 16 July 1986) is an English playwright known for her play ''That Face'', which she wrote when she was 19 years old.
Background
Stenham was born and raised in London. She attributes her love of theatre to her father as he to ...
(''That Face''),
Penelope Skinner
Penelope Skinner is a British playwright. She came to prominence after her play ''Fucked'' was first produced in 2008 at the Old Red Lion Theatre and the Edinburgh Festival to huge critical acclaim and has had successive plays staged in London ...
(''
The Village Bike
''The Village Bike'' is a 2011 play by Penelope Skinner which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London. It won the 2011 George Devine Award and received rave reviews and had an extended sellout run.
Plot
Becky, a newly-pregnant school teac ...
'') and
Bola Agbaje
Bola Agbaje is a British-born playwright of Nigerian origin. (the Olivier Award-winning ''
Gone Too Far!
''Gone Too Far!'' is a play written by Bola Agbaje.
It was produced at the Royal Court Theatre in February 2007, and won the Olivier Award
The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of ...
'').
[Kellaway, Kate]
"Royal Court theatre prepares to bid farewell to King Dominic"
''The Guardian'', 10 March 2013[Costa, Maddy]
"'Shakespeare was daring - why aren't new writers?'"
''The Guardian'', 23 February 2006
During his tenure at the Royal Court Cooke staged
Jez Butterworth’s multi-award winning ''
Jerusalem'' which was directed by Ian Rickson and which transferred to the
West End, Broadway, and San Francisco;
Lucy Prebble
Lucy Prebble (born 1981) is a British playwright. She is the author of the plays ''The Sugar Syndrome'', '' The Effect'', ''ENRON'' and '' A Very Expensive Poison''. For television she adapted ''Secret Diary of a Call Girl'' and co-created ''I H ...
’s 2009 ''
Enron'' which was directed by
Rupert Goold
Rupert Goold (born 18 February 1972) is an English director who works primarily in theatre. He is the artistic director of the Almeida Theatre, and was the artistic director of Headlong Theatre Company (2005–2013).
Early years
Goold was ...
; and
Bruce Norris’ ''
Clybourne Park
''Clybourne Park'' is a 2010 play by Bruce Norris written as a spin-off to Lorraine Hansberry's play ''A Raisin in the Sun'' (1959). It portrays fictional events set during and after the Hansberry play, and is loosely based on historical events ...
'' which Cooke directed himself. All three were transferred to the West End amid critical acclaim and box office success.
Cooke's time at the Royal Court was deemed a huge success;
[ he staged numerous new plays and refocused the aims of the theatre. Of the 130+ plays, 94 were full productions of new plays, with public readings and productions of old plays making up the number. The theatre was nominated for 210 major awards and won 59. Cooke was also credited with bringing a new dynamism and excitement to the Royal Court Theatre with his eclectic programming: "What makes Cooke’s reign unique is that he has used the Royal Court’s young writers programme as a way of finding and cultivating new talent, often by precariously young writers...for Cooke, if a play was good enough, that was enough: he would put it on…Polly Stenham’s ‘That Face’, staged when she was only 19, bowled over its audiences. Anya Reiss was younger still – 18 – when her assured debut ‘Spur of the Moment’ opened. Bola Agbaje won an Olivier with her first play ‘Gone Too Far!’"][
]
Writing
In 2007 Cooke wrote the stage adaptation of Malorie Blackman
Malorie Blackman is a British writer who held the position of Children's Laureate from 2013 to 2015. She primarily writes literature and television drama for children and young adults. She has used science fiction to explore social and ethica ...
's ''Noughts and Crosses
Tic-tac-toe (American English), noughts and crosses (Commonwealth English), or Xs and Os (Canadian or Irish English) is a paper-and-pencil game for two players who take turns marking the spaces in a three-by-three grid with ''X'' or ''O''. ...
,'' which he directed and produced at the RSC. He wrote an adaptation of ''Arabian Nights
''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'' for the Young Vic in 1998 and directed a revised version for the RSC in 2009. With scriptwriter Ben Power, Cooke co-wrote the scripts for Shakespeare's ''Henry VI Parts 1 and 2'' for BBC TV's '' The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses'' (May 2016).
National Theatre
Cooke is a National Theatre Associate Director; he made his directing debut there in November 2011 with Shakespeare's ''The Comedy of Errors
''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. It ...
'' which he set in modern-day London. The cast included Lenny Henry and Claudie Blakley and was broadcast worldwide in March 2012 as part of the NT Live programme. Cooke directed Caryl Churchill
Caryl Lesley Churchill (born 3 September 1938) is a British playwright known for dramatising the abuses of power, for her use of non- naturalistic techniques, and for her exploration of sexual politics and feminist themes. 's ''Here We Go'' at the National in 2015. He directed the critically acclaimed production of August Wilson
August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...
's '' Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom'' in 2016 which won the 2015 Olivier Award for Best Revival. His 2017 production of Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman's '' Follies'' starring Imelda Staunton
Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born 9 January 1956) is an English actress and singer. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Staunton began her career in repertory theatre in 1976 and appeared in various theatre produc ...
, Janie Dee and Tracie Bennett
Tracie Bennett (born 17 June 1961) is an English singer and stage and television actress. She trained at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in Clapham, London. She played the role of Sharon Gaskell in ''Coronation Street'' from 1982 to ...
was nominated for ten Olivier Awards
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 a ...
, winning Best Musical Revival. Cooke received the Critics' Circle Best Director Award.
Television
Cooke's TV directorial debut was in May 2016 with the second BBC TV series of '' The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses''. The series was televised in three parts: '' Henry VI, Part 1'', '' Henry VI, Part 2'', and ''Richard III
Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...
''. The series was produced by Sam Mendes' company, Neal Street Productions
Neal Street Productions is a British film, television and theatre production company.
History
The company was set up in 2003 by Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris and Caro Newling. Nicolas Brown joined in 2013 to work across the film and TV portfolio. Th ...
, and stars Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. Known for his work on screen and stage, he has received various accolades, including a British Academy Television Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurence Oli ...
, Judi Dench, Sophie Okonedo
Sophie Okonedo (born 11 August 1968) is a British actress and narrator. The recipient of a Tony Award, she has been nominated for an Academy Award, three BAFTA Television Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. She began her f ...
, Tom Sturridge
Thomas Sidney Jerome Sturridge is an English actor. His early films include ''Being Julia'' (2004), '' Like Minds'' (2006), and ''The Boat That Rocked'' (2009). He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performances i ...
, and Hugh Bonneville.
Film
Cooke's feature directorial debut, ''On Chesil Beach
''On Chesil Beach'' is a 2007 novella by the British writer Ian McEwan. It was selected for the 2007 Booker Prize shortlist.
''The Washington Post'' and Pulitzer Prize-winning book critic Jonathan Yardley placed ''On Chesil Beach'' on his top ...
'' starring Saoirse Ronan and Billy Howle
William Walter Douglas Howle (born 9 November 1989) is a British actor. His films include '' On Chesil Beach'', ''The Seagull'', and '' Outlaw King''. On television, he is known for his roles in the E4 drama ''Glue'', the BBC miniseries '' The ...
, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2017. It is based on the novel of the same name by Booker Prize
The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...
winning novelist Ian McEwan
Ian Russell McEwan, (born 21 June 1948) is an English novelist and screenwriter. In 2008, ''The Times'' featured him on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945" and ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked him number 19 in its list of th ...
. The film received wide release in 2018 and was chosen by Variety as one of the ten best films at the Toronto International Film Festival 2017. His latest film '' The Courier'' starring Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. Known for his work on screen and stage, he has received various accolades, including a British Academy Television Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurence Oli ...
, Merab Ninidze
Merab Ninidze ( ka, მერაბ ნინიძე; born 3 November 1965) is a Georgian actor. In the English-speaking world, he is best known for the roles of Walter Redlich in ''Nowhere in Africa'' and Oleg Penkovsky in '' The Courier''.
...
, Rachel Brosnahan
Rachel Elizabeth Brosnahan (born July 12, 1990) is an American actress. She stars as aspiring stand-up comedian Miriam "Midge" Maisel in the Amazon Prime Video period comedy series '' The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'' (2017–present), for which she ...
and Jessie Buckley
Jessie Buckley (born 28 December 1989) is an Irish actress and singer. The recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and three BAFTA Awards, she was listed at number 38 on ''The Irish Times'' list of ...
, premiered at Sundance
A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony.
Sun dance or Sundance may also refer to:
Places
;Canada
* Sundance, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood
* Sundance, Manitoba, a ghost town
;United States
* Sundance, New Mexico, a census-designated pla ...
in January 2020. It was released in the US by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions
Roadside Attractions is an American production company and film distributor based in Los Angeles, California, founded on July 27, 2000, by Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff, specializing largely in independent films
An independent film, in ...
. He is slated to direct a movie of Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman's musical ''Follies''.
Private life
Cooke's civil partner is the actor and playwright Alexi Kaye Campbell
Alexi Kaye Campbell (born 1966) is a Greek-British playwright and actor. In 2009, his play '' The Pride'' was given the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre.
Personal life
Alexi Kaye Campbell was born ...
.[ They have been together since 1997.
Cooke is Jewish.]
Work
Theatre
Film
Television
Awards and nominations
Theatre
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, Dominic
1966 births
Living people
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
English film directors
English theatre directors
Laurence Olivier Award winners
LGBT theatre directors
LGBT dramatists and playwrights
English LGBT people
LGBT writers from the United Kingdom
Date of birth missing (living people)
Place of birth missing (living people)