Toby Sedgwick (born 16 August 1958) is a British
movement director, actor and
theatre choreographer. He achieved critical acclaim for his expressive "
horse choreography" for life-size puppets used in ''
War Horse
The first evidence of horses in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons. By 1600 BC, improved harness and chariot design ...
'' (2007), which played at
West End's
New London Theatre
The Gillian Lynne Theatre (formerly New London Theatre) is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden, in the London Borough of Camden. The Winter Garden Theatre formerly occupied the site until 1965 ...
,
Broadway's
Vivian Beaumont Theater
The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a Broadway theater in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Operated by the nonprofit Lincoln Center Theater (LCT), the Beaumont is the only Broa ...
and Toronto's
Princess of Wales Theatre
The Princess of Wales Theatre is a 2,000-seat live theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on King Street West, in Toronto's downtown Entertainment District. The theatre's name has a triple meaning: it honours Diana, Princess of Wales, ...
. For the latter, Sedgwick won a 2008
Laurence Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer
The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...
and a 2012
Dora Mavor Moore Award
The Dora Mavor Moore Award (also known as the Dora Award) is an award presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts which honours theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, who helped est ...
for Outstanding Choreography in a Play or Musical. Due to its success, the play went on a 30-city tour in the United States and was also produced in Australia and in Germany, opening late in 2013, just before the centenary of the first world war.
Early life and training
Toby Sedgwick was born in
England in 1958 and attended
Bryanston School
Bryanston School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located next to the village of Bryanston, and near the town of Blandford Forum, in Dorset in South West England. It was founded in 1928. ...
in
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , Do ...
. He trained at the Arts Educational (drama course). He later studied for two years at
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 ...
["Toby Sedgwick"](_blank)
''Who's Who'', playbill.com, accessed 28 February 2011. in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, where he co-founded "
The Moving Picture Mime Show"'.
["Toby Sedgwick"](_blank)
National Theatre, London. in
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 major s ...
.
Career
Early work and subsequent career
Sedgwick made a directorial debut with ''Pidgin Macbeth'' (1998) at the
National Theatre in
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 major s ...
.
In 2006, he choreographed ''Hergé's Adventures of Tintin'' at the
Playhouse Theatre
The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt in ...
and ''Dick Whittington And His Cat'' at the
Barbican. He also directed a
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
production of ''
The Taming of the Shrew
''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunke ...
''.
Sedgwick's first major credit was providing co-direction for ''
The 39 Steps'' (
Criterion Theatre
The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre at Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a seating capacity of 588.
Building the theatre
In 1870, the caterers Spiers and Pond began development ...
,
West End, 2006). Acting credits include ''
Ear
An ear is the organ that enables hearing and, in mammals, body balance using the vestibular system. In mammals, the ear is usually described as having three parts—the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear consists o ...
full'' at the
Battersea Arts Centre in 2007. Other credits include ''
The Tempest'' (2007), ''
His Dark Materials
''His Dark Materials'' is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of '' Northern Lights'' (1995; published as ''The Golden Compass'' in North America), ''The Subtle Knife'' (1997), and ''The Amber Spyglass'' (2000). It follows ...
'' (2009), and ''Looking For Yoghurt'' (2009).
Sedgwick had previously acted as "The Professor" in the
West End musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
''
Animal Crackers'',
which opened at the
Lyric Theatre on 16 March 1999 and closed 15 May 1999.
["Animal Crackers"](_blank)
''This Is London'', 16 March 1999.
Sedgwick has served as movement director for
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
productions of ''
The Nativity'', ''
Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
'', ''
King Lear
''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare.
It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...
'', ''
The Government Inspector
''The Government Inspector'', also known as ''The Inspector General'' ( rus, links=no, Ревизор, Revizor, literally: "Inspector"), is a satirical play by Russian dramatist and novelist, Nikolai Gogol. Originally published in 1836, the pl ...
'', ''
Marat/Sade
''The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade'' (german: Die Verfolgung und Ermordung Jean Paul Marats dargestellt durch die Schauspielgrupp ...
'', ''
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead'' is an absurdist, existential tragicomedy by Tom Stoppard, first staged at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1966. The play expands upon the exploits of two minor characters from Shakespeare's ''Hamle ...
''.
Other work
Sedgwick's theatrical work outside England is limited; besides the Broadway transfer of ''War Horse'', Sedgwick's lone New York movement-directorial credit is ''
The 39 Steps'', produced by the
Roundabout Theatre Company
The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres.
History
The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fried and Elizabe ...
starting in 2008.
Billed as ''
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
's The 39 Steps'', it opened on
Broadway at the
American Airlines Theatre
The American Airlines Theatre, originally the Selwyn Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 227 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Built in 1918, it was designed by George Keister and developed by broth ...
, later transferring to the
Cort Theatre (and later the
Helen Hayes Theatre
The Hayes Theater (formerly the Little Theatre, New York Times Hall, Winthrop Ames Theatre, and Helen Hayes Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 240 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Named for actres ...
) for an extended run.
Sedgwick assisted
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 ...
with the choreography for the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony.
Film and television
In addition to
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
work, Sedgwick's film credits include ''
28 Days Later
''28 Days Later'' is a 2002 British Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland. It stars Cillian Murphy as a bicycle courier who awakens from a coma to discover th ...
'', ''Laissez-passe'', and ''
Shrooms''.
In addition to serving as movement director in films, he has also appeared in small acting roles, such as "Thompson" in ''
Safe Conduct
Safe conduct, safe passage, or letters of transit, is the situation in time of international conflict or war where one state, a party to such conflict, issues to a person (usually an enemy state's subject) a pass or document to allow the enemy ...
'' (2002), "Infected Priest" in ''
28 Days Later
''28 Days Later'' is a 2002 British Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland. It stars Cillian Murphy as a bicycle courier who awakens from a coma to discover th ...
'' (2002), "Black Brother" in ''
Shrooms'' (2007), and "Enemy Pilot" in ''
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang
''Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang'' (released in the United States and Canada as ''Nanny McPhee Returns'') is a 2010 period fantasy comedy film directed by Susanna White, produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Lindsay Doran with music by James Ne ...
'' (2010).
"Toby Sedgwick"
Internet Movie Database. Sedgwick's first television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...
role was as "Mummy" on '' Monster Café'', which aired from 1994 to 1995 on Children's BBC
BBC Children's and Education is the BBC division responsible for media content for children in the UK. Since the launch of specially dedicated television channels in 2002, the services have been marketed under two brands. CBBC (short for Chi ...
.
References
External links
National Theatre information page and profile
;Credits
*
Toby Sedgwick
at the London Theatre Database
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sedgwick, Toby
1958 births
Living people
People educated at Bryanston School
British theatre directors
English male film actors
English male television actors
English choreographers
Laurence Olivier Award winners
L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq alumni