Keith Boak is a British film and television director, best known for his work on several popular continuing drama series. He currently resides and works in the United States.
Early life
Born in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, he attended the John Hampden High School,
High Wycombe
High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...
and graduated in law at the
University of Bristol
, mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'')
, established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter
, type ...
in 1984.
His career began in the theatre, directing 'In Nomine Patris' by Paula Maggee which won a
Scotsman Fringe First Award
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 ...
at the 1985
Edinburgh Festival
__NOTOC__
This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...
and transferred to the
Kings Head Theatre, London. He subsequently trained as an Assistant Director at
Riverside Studios
Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production.
Having closed for redevelopment i ...
under David Gothard running a writer's group with
Hanif Kureishi
Hanif Kureishi (born 5 December 1954) is a British playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker and novelist of South Asian and English descent. In 2008, ''The Times'' included Kureishi in its list of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945.
Early l ...
and directing new work by
Stephen Lowe, Tunde Ikoli and
Dario Fo
Dario Luigi Angelo Fo (; 24 March 1926 – 13 October 2016) was an Italian playwright, actor, theatre director, stage designer, songwriter, political campaigner for the Italian left wing and the recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature. ...
, assisting on productions with
Paines Plough
Paines Plough is a touring theatre company founded in 1974 by writer David Pownall and director John Adams.
The company specialises exclusively in commissioning and producing new plays and helping playwrights develop their craft.
Over the past ...
, Foco Novo, the
Royal National Theatre and the Theatre of Comedy Company.
Appointed Assistant Director at the
Royal Court
A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...
in 1986 under
Max Stafford Clark, he assisted
Sir Richard Eyre
Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre (born 28 March 1943) is an English film, theatre, television and opera director.
Biography
Eyre was born in Barnstaple, Devon, England, the son of Richard Galfridus Hastings Giles Eyre and his wife, Minna Mar ...
on Alan Bennett's '
Kafka's Dick',
Jonathan Miller
Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE (21 July 1934 – 27 November 2019) was an English theatre and opera director, actor, author, television presenter, humourist and physician. After training in medicine and specialising in neurology in the late 1 ...
on
Ryszard Kapuściński
Ryszard Kapuściński (; 4 March 1932 – 23 January 2007) was a Polish journalist, photographer, poet and author. He received many awards and was considered a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Kapuściński's personal journals in bo ...
's 'The Emperor' and
Danny Boyle
Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including '' Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel '' T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', ''28 Days Later'', '' S ...
on
Howard Barker's 'Bite of the Night'.
He directed Berkoff's 'East' and the first stage production of
Anthony Burgess
John Anthony Burgess Wilson, (; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993), who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer.
Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his dystopian satire ''A Clockwork ...
' '
Clockwork Orange' at
Edinburgh Festival
__NOTOC__
This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...
, 'Requiem' with the dancer Gaby Agis at
Leicester Haymarket
The Leicester Haymarket Theatre is a theatre in Leicester, England, next to the Haymarket Shopping Centre on Belgrave Gate in Leicester City centre.
History
The Haymarket Theatre was opened by Sir Ralph Richardson and the opening season started ...
, 'Milkwood Blues' with
Allan Corduner
Allan Corduner (; born 2 April 1950) is a British actor. Born in Stockholm to a German mother and a Russo-Finnish father, Corduner grew up in a secular Jewish home in London. After earning a BA (Hons) in English and Drama at Bristol Univer ...
at the
Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith,
Jean-Claude van Itallie's 'The Traveller' with
David Threlfall
David John Threlfall (born 12 October 1953) is an English stage, film and television actor and director. He is best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's series '' Shameless''. He has also directed several episodes of the show. In A ...
at the
Almeida Theatre
The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325-seat producing house with an international reputation, which takes its name from the street on which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diver ...
and
Heidi Thomas
Heidi Thomas (born 13 August 1962) is an English screenwriter and playwright.
Career
After reading English at Liverpool University, Thomas gained national attention when her play, ''Shamrocks And Crocodiles'', won the John Whiting Award in ...
' 'Indigo' with
Dougray Scott
Stephen Dougray Scott (born 25 November 1965) is a Scottish actor. He has appeared in the films ''Ever After'' (1998), '' Mission: Impossible 2'' (2000), ''Enigma'' (2001), ''Hitman'' (2007), and ''My Week with Marilyn'' (2011).
Early life
Sc ...
also at the
Almeida. Other theatre credits include 'Crimes of Passion' at
Leicester Haymarket
The Leicester Haymarket Theatre is a theatre in Leicester, England, next to the Haymarket Shopping Centre on Belgrave Gate in Leicester City centre.
History
The Haymarket Theatre was opened by Sir Ralph Richardson and the opening season started ...
, 'Water Music' at the
Soho Theatre
The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces.
The the ...
and 'Jitterbugger' at the
Royal National Theatre Studio.
Career
Boak was the first director on the widely acclaimed
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
". For
in 2008.
'', and the single drama ''Substance''.
He directed the documentary Running the Bulls and six short films for
film Companies Like Yours for The Edge Picture Company. That year, it won the IVCA Award for Best Director and two Best Film Gold Awards at the New York International Film and Television Festival.
In the
.