Andrew Upton (born 1 February 1966) is an Australian playwright, screenwriter and director. He has adapted the works of Gorky,

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

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 ...

and others for London's

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

and the

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in The Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Thea ...

. He wrote the original play ''Riflemind'' (2007), which premiered at the Sydney Theatre Company to favourable reviews, with

Hugo Weaving Hugo Wallace Weaving (born 4 April 1960) is an English actor. Born in Colonial Nigeria to English parents, he has resided in Australia for the entirety of his career. He is the recipient of six AACTA Awards, Australian Academy of Cinema and Tel ...

starring and Philip Seymour Hoffmann directing the London production. Upton and wife

Cate Blanchett Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received nu ...

are the co-founders of the film production company, Dirty Films, under which Upton served as a producer for the Australian film '' Little Fish'' (2005). Upton and Blanchett became joint artistic directors of the Sydney Theatre Company from 2008 until 2012.

Career

As a playwright, Upton created adaptations of ''

Hedda Gabler ''Hedda Gabler'' () is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage. The play has been can ...

'', ''

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' (russian: Вишнёвый сад, translit=Vishnyovyi sad) is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by ''Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate edition ...

'', ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th cen ...

'', ''

Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni (Italian), is a legendary, fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. Famous versions of the story include a 17th-century play, '' El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra'' ...

'' (with Marion Potts), ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1898, and was first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre under the direct ...

'', ''

The Maids ''The Maids'' (french: Les Bonnes, links=no) is a 1947 play by the French dramatist Jean Genet. It was first performed at the Théâtre de l'Athénée in Paris in a production that opened on 17 April 1947, which Louis Jouvet directed. The pla ...

'', '' Children of the Sun'' and '' Platonov'' for the

(STC) and

Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...

's ''

The Philistines ''The Philistines'' (russian: Мещане, translit=Meshchane) is the debut play by Maxim Gorky written in 1901. It was first published by Znaniye in 1902, subtitled: "The Scenes in the House of Bessemenov. The Drama sketch in 4 Acts". The pl ...

'' for the

in London. Upton's original play ''Riflemind'' opened with

, playing an ageing rock star planning a comeback, at the Sydney Theatre Company on 5 October 2007, and received a favourable review in ''

Variety (magazine) ''Variety'' is an American media company owned by Penske Media Corporation. The company was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933 it added ''Daily Variety'', based ...

''. The London production of ''Riflemind'', directed by

Philip Seymour Hoffman Philip Seymour Hoffman (July 23, 1967 – February 2, 2014) was an American actor. Known for his distinctive supporting and character roles—typically lowlifes, eccentrics, underdogs, and misfits—he acted in many films and theatrical produ ...

, opened in 2008, but closed as a result of the financial pressure of the

Global Financial Crisis Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

after receiving poor popular press reviews. In 2008, Upton and wife Cate Blanchett became joint artistic directors of the

for what became a five-year term. Upton and Blanchett formed a film production company, Dirty Films, whose projects include the films '' Bangers'' (1999) and '' Little Fish'' (2006). Upton wrote, produced and directed the short, ''Bangers'', which starred Blanchett. Upton shares writing credits for the feature film '' Gone'' (2007). Upton wrote the

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

Alan John Alan John (born 7 May 1958 in Sydney) is an Australian composer. He studied music at the University of Sydney, graduating in 1980. His compositions include original music for various plays, films (such as '' Holding the Man'', ''Three Dollars'' an ...

's opera ''

Through the Looking Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' (also known as ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'' or simply ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a novel published on 27 December 1871 (though indicated as 1872) by Lewis Carroll and the ...

'', which premiered with the

Victorian Opera Victorian Opera is an opera company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company was founded in 2005 by the Victorian Government as a replacement for the Victoria State Opera. It commenced operations in January 2006 with Richard Gill as ...

in Melbourne in May 2008. Upton acted in one of Julian Rosenfeldt's thirteen-part

art film An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...

, ''

Manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

'' (2015).

Awards and recognition

In June, 2014, Upton was recognised with the Rotary Professional Excellence Award, an award instituted "to honour a person who has demonstrated consistent professional excellence in his or her chosen vocation by contributing to the benefit of the wider community beyond their typical workplace role".

Personal life

Upton attended The King's School, Parramatta and University of Sydney. He and

met in Australia in the mid-1990s and married on 29 December 1997. The couple have three sons and one daughter. Their sons are Dashiell John Upton (born 2001), Roman Robert Upton (born 2004), Ignatius Martin Upton (born 2008), and daughter Edith Vivian Patricia Upton (adopted in 2015). The couple's children appeared with Upton in segment 11 of the 2015 film ''

''. Upton and Blanchett purchased a house in

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

, England, in early 2016.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Upton, Andrew 1966 births Australian screenwriters Australian film directors Australian opera librettists Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Australian theatre directors Writers from New South Wales Australian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights