Michael Fentiman (born 1 June 1982 at

Harlow Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upp ...

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 ...

, England) is a British

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 ...

. Fentiman attended

Bretton Hall Bretton Hall may refer to: *Bretton Hall, Flintshire, former fortified manor house on the England/Wales border *Bretton Hall, West Yorkshire, country house in West Yorkshire, England *Bretton Hall College Bretton Hall College of Education was a h ...

for three years, where he trained to be an actor, followed by a postgraduate course at Mountview Academy for one year, to be a director."Michael Fentiman"
United Agents. Retrieved 9 December 2018 His directing credits to date (2019) include ''

Titus Andronicus ''Titus Andronicus'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593, probably in collaboration with George Peele. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy and is often seen ...

'' for the

RSC RSC may refer to: Arts * Royal Shakespeare Company, a British theatre company * Reduced Shakespeare Company, a touring American acting troupe * Richmondshire Subscription Concerts, a music society in Richmond, North Yorkshire, England * Rock Ste ...

, ''

The Importance of being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...

'' at the

Vaudeville Theatre The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on the Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each ...

, ''Raising Martha'' and

Joe Orton John Kingsley Orton (1 January 1933 – 9 August 1967), known by the pen name of Joe Orton, was an English playwright, author, and diarist. His public career, from 1964 until his death in 1967, was short but highly influential. During this brie ...

's '' Loot'' at the Park Theatre, London, ''The Last Days of

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

'' (writer and director) for

Historic Royal Palaces Historic Royal Palaces is an independent charity that manages some of the United Kingdom's unoccupied royal palaces. These are: * Tower of London * Hampton Court Palace * Kensington Palace (State Apartments and Orangery) * The Banqueting Hous ...

at the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

, and '' Amélie the Musical'' (UK national tour from April 2019)

Production reviews

In 2012 Fentiman with

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 ...

co-directed ''

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1950. It is the first published and best known of seven novels in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' (1950–1956). Among all the ...

'' for a Threesixty 'tented production' in

Kensington Gardens Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, are among the Royal Parks of London. The gardens are shared by the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and sit immediately to the west of Hyde P ...

, London. It received a ''

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

'' three star review. Fentiman directed a 2013 production of ''Titus Andronicus'' for the RSC at the

Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon The Swan Theatre is a theatre belonging to the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. It is built on to the side of the larger Royal Shakespeare Theatre, occupying the Victorian Gothic structure that formerly housed the Sh ...

. A review by Michael Billington considered Fentiman's production "strong on momentary effects, utnot exactly a model of intellectual coherence". Charles Spencer in ''

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 ...

'' saw this production as "a notable RSC debut" by Fentiman, "with just the right mixture of dark wit and in-your-face violence". ''Raising Martha'', a

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

by David Spicer, was directed by Fentiman in 2017.

Lyn Gardner Lyn Gardner is a British theatre critic, children's writer and journalist who contributes reviews and articles to ''The Stage,'' '' Stagedoor'' and has written for ''The Guardian''. Theatre critic and educator A graduate in drama and English from ...

reviewed the production for ''

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 ...

'', stating it was "never quite as riotously funny as it should be in a production by Michael Fentiman" and "ends up down a dramatic cul-de-sac" A review by David Fargnoli 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 ...

'' thought the play an "amusing, absurdist black comedy that lacks a cutting edge" More positive reviews were written for the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' which thought Fentiman's "brisk" production "achieves moments of tension", and by

Ann Treneman Ann Treneman (born 1956) is an American journalist, currently working for ''The Times'' newspaper in the United Kingdom. Treneman was born in Iowa City, Iowa, but she grew up in McMinnville, Oregon. She has lived in the UK since the mid-1980s. ...

for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', who believed the production was "wild and wacky, outrageously funny, with jokes from the very silly to the subtle and sophisticated" Fentiman directed Orton's ''Loot'' in 2017. His review in ''

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 ...

'' mentioned that the production "reinstates some of the lines that had been censored by the Lord Chamberlain", and was a "stylish and entertaining revival". Dominic Cavendish in ''The Daily Telegraph'' believed that "Fentiman has not only found the right venue..., he has got the right cast". Clare Brennan in ''The Guardian'' said that "if ever there was a cast to deliver Orton this is it – under Michael Fentiman's direction".

Neil Norman Neil Norman is a British playwright and critic. A journalist on the '' New Musical Express'' in the early 1970s, Norman became a film critic for '' The Face'' and in the ensuing years a reviewer of film and theatre for various cinema magazines ...

in the ''

Sunday Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'' called Michael Fentiman's production "a masterclass in physical comedy and timing". Michael Billington in ''The Guardian'' gave ''Loot'' a five star rating, commenting on the way Fentiman referenced the "shock tactics" in Orton's work. Fentiman's 2018 ''The Importance of being Earnest'' was reviewed less favourably by Billington, who wrote: "Michael Fentiman's coarse production robs Wilde of his decorum, swapping subtleties and satire for screaming and sex" and "never allows the words to do their work". A contrary viewpoint was taken by Alun Hood for

WhatsOnStage WhatsOnStage.com is a London-based website that provides information about, and offers tickets for, theatrical performances in the United Kingdom. It also organises the annual WhatsOnStage Awards. Founded in 1996, it has been owned by the Americ ...

who believed the production " hrowsfresh ideas at

he play He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

and "will likely infuriate as many people as it delights" Henry Hitchins in the ''

'' mentions Fentiman's "at times racy interpretation

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

suggests the anarchy seething beneath Wilde's polished witticisms". Paul Taylor in ''The Independent'' said "Does anybody need Wilde's masterpiece to be ‘decoded’ in this heavy-handed, pseudo-radical way?" Holly Williams in '' Time Out'' believed "Fentiman's approach rubbles the structure of an exquisitely formed play." Natasha Tripney in ''

'' thought "Fentiman's pantomimic production does it

a disservice".Tripney, Natasha
"The Importance of Being Earnest review at Vaudeville Theatre, London – 'heavy-handed'"
''

'', 2 August 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2018

Awards and nominations

References

External links

"Michael Fentiman

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 ...

. Retrieved 10 December 2018
Michael Fentiman
at

Getty Images Getty Images Holdings, Inc. is an American visual media company and is a supplier of stock images, editorial photography, video and music for business and consumers, with a library of over 477 million assets. It targets three markets— creative ...

. Retrieved 10 December 2018
"'A Day to Masscacre Them All' , Titus Andronicus"
Royal Shakespeare Company video, 11 April 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2018

Michael Fentiman directing ''

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 ...

'' at the

Playhouse. Retrieved 10 December 2018 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fentiman, Michael 1982 births Living people English theatre directors People from Harlow Alumni of Bretton Hall College Alumni of the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts