Sophie Irene Hunter (born 16 March 1978) is an English theatre director, playwright and former actress and singer. She made her directorial debut in 2007 co-directing the experimental play ''The Terrific Electric'' at the

Barbican Pit 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 ...

after her theatre company Boileroom was granted the Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award. In addition, she has directed an Off-Off-Broadway revival of

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

's ''

Ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

'' (2010) at Access Theatre, the

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

titled ''Lucretia'' (2011) based on

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

's opera '' The Rape of Lucretia'' at Location One's Abramovic Studio in New York City, and the Phantom Limb Company's ''69° South'' also known as ''Shackleton Project'' (2011) which premièred at the

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...

's Harvey Theatre and later toured North America. In August 2015, Hunter directed ''

Phaedra Phaedra may refer to: Mythology * Phaedra (mythology), Cretan princess, daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, wife of Theseus Arts and entertainment * ''Phaedra'' (Alexandre Cabanel), an 1880 painting Film * ''Phaedra'' (film), a 1962 film by ...

'' and '' The Turn of the Screw'' to critical acclaim for the Happy Days Enniskillen International Beckett Festival and Aldeburgh Music, respectively.

Early life and education

Sophie Irene Hunter was born in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

district of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 16 March 1978, she is the daughter of Anna Katharine (née Gow) and Charles Rupert. The couple later divorced. She has two younger brothers, Timothy and Patrick, as well as two half-siblings from her father's second marriage, Lily-Rose and Samuel. She is a niece of pianist

Julius Drake The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the ...

. Her maternal grandfather is General Sir Michael James Gow, a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer who worked with

Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, (Henry William Frederick Albert; 31 March 1900 – 10 June 1974) was the third son and fourth child of King George V and Queen Mary. He served as Governor-General of Australia from 1945 to 1947, the only memb ...

in the 1950s and was

Aide-de-Camp General Aide-de-camp general is a senior honorary appointment for generals in the British Army. The recipient is appointed as an aide-de-camp general to the head of state, currently King Charles III. They are entitled to the post-nominals "ADC (Gen.)". The ...

to the Queen from 1981 to 1984. Hunter's maternal great-great grandfather was First World War politician

J. E. B. Seely, 1st Baron Mottistone John Edward Bernard Seely, 1st Baron Mottistone, (31 May 1868 – 7 November 1947), also known as Jack Seely, was a British Army general and politician. He was a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) from 1900 to 1904 and a Liberal MP from 1 ...

. Hunter attended St Paul's Girls' School in Hammersmith before studying Modern Languages with a concentration in French and Italian at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. After graduating from Oxford, Hunter lived in Paris to study avant-garde theatre for two years at the

L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq École internationale de théâtre Jacques Lecoq is a school of physical theatre located on Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. Founded in 1956 by Jacques Lecoq, the school offers a professional and intensive two-ye ...

. She then trained at the Saratoga International Theatre Institute in New York City under theatre and opera director Anne Bogart.

Career

Theatre

Hunter co-founded the Lacuna Theatre Company and was an associate director at Royal Court Theatre in the

West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buil ...

and Broadhurst Theatre in New York's Broadway for the play ''

Enron Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was founded by Kenneth Lay in 1985 as a merger between Lay's Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both relatively small regional companies. ...

''. She is the co-founder and artistic director of theatre company Boileroom, which won the 2007 Samuel Theatre Trust Award for the avant-garde play ''The Terrific Electric''. She also serves as collaborating director and

dramaturge A dramaturge or dramaturg is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and printed programmes (or helps others with these tasks), consults auth ...

on marionette and puppetry production with the Phantom Limb Company. Known for her avant-garde plays, Hunter has directed, performed and conceived theatre productions throughout Europe, the Middle East and North America. She directed the

experimental play An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a ...

''69° South'' (2013), the New York City performance art titled ''Lucretia'' (2011) based on

's opera '' The Rape of Lucretia'' and the 2010 revival of

's ''

''. She was a member of the performance collective Militia Canteen. In collaboration with music director

Andrew Staples Andrew Staples (born 19 August 1979) is an English operatic tenor. Education and training Staples started as a chorister at St Paul's Cathedral and was accepted at Eton College under a musical scholarship. Career With The Royal Opera, Staples ...

, Hunter directed mezzo-soprano Ruby Philogene in ''

'' (2015) at the Happy Days Enniskillen International Beckett Festival in Northern Ireland. The production was met with praise, with ''

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 ...

'' saying it was "exquisitely realized," ''

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 ...

'' hailing it as "creative brilliance," and ''

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 ...

'' describing it as "astonishing". She has also staged Benjamin Britten's '' The Turn of the Screw'' in Suffolk and London for Aldeburgh Music. In June 2017, Hunter took part as narrator in ''Music on the Meare'' at Aldeburgh Festival with readings from

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...

and

Ted Hughes Edward James "Ted" Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest wri ...

alongside oboist Nicholas Daniel.

Creative arts

Hunter worked on the transfer of

Punchdrunk Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets worse o ...

's '' Sleep No More'' to New York City in 2011 while serving as creative director for the theatre company Emursive. She has also directed the company's theatrical experiences ''The Forgotten'' (2012) and ''Don't Major in Debt Student House'' (2012). In 2013, she developed ''Loma Lights'' (2013), one of the largest public arts programs in New York City.

Music

In 2005, Hunter recorded a French-language music album titled ''The Isis Project'' in collaboration with songwriter

Guy Chambers Guy Antony Chambers (born 12 January 1963) is an English songwriter, musician and record producer, best known for his work with Robbie Williams. Education Chambers attended Quarry Bank Comprehensive School sixth form in Liverpool. From 18, h ...

. In 2011, she released an English-language EP titled ''Songs for a Boy'', again with Chambers. Hunter has also collaborated with

Armin van Buuren Armin Jozef Jacobus Daniël van Buuren ( , ; born 25 December 1976) is a Dutch DJ and record producer from Leiden, South Holland. Since 2001, he has hosted ''A State of Trance'' (ASOT), a weekly radio show, which is broadcast to nearly 40&nbs ...

for the song "Virtual Friend" which was included in Buuren's 2010 album ''Mirage''.

Film and television

Earlier in her career, Hunter acted in film and television. She had supporting roles in the television series ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of I ...

'' (2004), '' Keen Eddie'' (2004), ''

Mumbai Calling ''Mumbai Calling'' is a British-Indian comedy series, starring Sanjeev Bhaskar, set in the fictional Teknobable call centre in Mumbai. The series was shot on location in India. The pilot first aired on ITV on 30 May 2007. The first series aired ...

'' (2007) and '' Torchwood'' (2009). In 2004, she played Maria Osborne in the costume drama film '' Vanity Fair'' starring Reese Witherspoon and played Annabel Blythe-Smith in the 2009 thriller film '' Burlesque Fairytales''. In May 2017, Hunter was announced as a producer for the film adaptation of

Megan Hunter Megan Hunter (born 1984) is an English novelist and poet. She is best known for her debut novel ''The End We Start From'' (2017), a climate disaster survival story which was adapted into a The End We Start From, movie of the same name, released ...

dystopia A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...

n novel '' The End We Start From'' alongside her husband Cumberbatch and Adam Ackland's production company Sunnymarch, and Liza Marshall's Hera Productions.

Recognition

* Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award (2007) *International Artist Fellowship by Location One, New York City (2010/11)

Personal life

Sophie-Hunter-Benedict-Cumberbatch-US-Embassy

Hunter had a long-term relationship with sculptor Conrad Shawcross whom she met while studying at Oxford. The couple split in early 2010. On 14 February 2015, she married actor Benedict Cumberbatch at

St Peter and St Paul's Church, Mottistone St Peter and St Paul's Church is a parish church in the Church of England in the village of Mottistone, Isle of Wight. It is a Grade I listed building. History The church is medieval, dating from the 12th century, by Brian de Insula, lord of Mo ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

followed by a reception at

Mottistone Manor Mottistone Manor is a National Trust property in the village of Mottistone on the Isle of Wight, England. It has popular gardens and is a listed building. It was first mentioned in documents related to the Domesday Book of 1086. History The old ...

. They have three sons. Hunter speaks fluent French and Italian. She is also a skilled pianist.

Selected credits

Theatre

As director

As actor

Film and television

As actor

Discography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Sophie Irene Living people 1978 births Alumni of the University of Oxford British theatre directors British women dramatists and playwrights British opera directors Cumberbatch family Female opera directors L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq alumni People educated at St Paul's Girls' School People from Hammersmith Place of birth missing (living people)