Phelim McDermott (born 21 August 1963) is an English actor and stage director. He has directed plays and operas in Britain, Germany, Spain, the United States, and Australia. McDermott was a co-founder of the Improbable theatre in 1996.

Career

McDermott was born in Manchester, England. His screen debut was as Jester in the 1991 film ''

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...

'', followed by further minor roles in ''

The Baby of Mâcon ''The Baby of Mâcon'' is a 1993 historical drama film written and directed by Peter Greenaway, and starring Ralph Fiennes, Julia Ormond and Philip Stone. The film is set in France during the mid-17th century, in the court of Cosimo III de' Med ...

'' (1993) and other films. He has appeared on stage, including in 1991 at the Nottingham Playhouse production of

Sandi Toksvig Sandra Birgitte Toksvig (; ; born 3 May 1958) is a Danish-British writer, comedian and broadcaster on British radio, stage and television. She is also a political activist, having co-founded the Women's Equality Party in 2015. She has written ...

's ''The Pocket Dream'', in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'', and in a 2017 production of ''Lost Without Words'' at the Royal National Theatre. He also appeared in the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

improvisational show '' The Masterson Inheritance'' (1993 to 1995). He was made an Honorary Doctor of Middlesex University in 2007.

Notable productions

*1998: '' Shockheaded Peter'' for the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, and the

Lyric Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London.

, London *2002: '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

for

Deutsches Schauspielhaus The Deutsches Schauspielhaus is a theatre in the St. Georg quarter of the city of Hamburg, Germany. It was established in 1901 by the renowned stage actress Franziska Ellmenreich. Theatre managers Notable actors Marco Albrecht, Ingrid ...

, Hamburg *2007: '' Satyagraha'' by Philip Glass for

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...

(ENO), and in 2008 for the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...

(MET), New York; restaged at the ENO in 2009 and 2013, and in 2011 at the MET *2009: ''

The Addams Family ''The Addams Family'' is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 unrelated single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' over ...

'' with Bebe Neuwirth and

Nathan Lane Nathan Lane (born Joseph Lane; February 3, 1956) is an American actor. In a career spanning over 40 years he has been seen on stage and screen in roles both comedic and dramatic. Lane has received numerous awards including three Tony Awards, ...

, Oriental Theatre, Chicago, and in 2010 at the

Lunt-Fontanne Theatre The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, originally the Globe Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 205 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1910, the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre was designed by Carrère and Hasti ...

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

*2011: '' The Enchanted Island'' for the Metropolitan Opera, New York *2013: '' The Perfect American'' by Philip Glass for

Teatro Real The Teatro Real (Royal Theatre) is an opera house in Madrid, Spain. Located at the Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace, and known colloquially as ''El Real'', it is considered the top institution of the performing and musical arts in the ...

, Madrid, English National Opera, and in 2014 for

Opera Queensland Opera Queensland is an opera company based in Brisbane, Queensland. The company was founded with funding from the Queensland State Government in 1981 under the name ''Lyric Opera of Queensland'' after the Queensland Opera Company was closed in ...

and

Brisbane Festival Brisbane Festival is one of Australia's leading international arts festivals, and is held each September in Brisbane, Australia. Its presence dominates the city for three weeks in September and its line-up of classical and contemporary music, ...

*2014: '' Così fan tutte'' by

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

for English National Opera *2016: '' Akhnaten'' by Philip Glass for English National Opera *2017: ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 Decemb ...

'' by Giuseppe Verdi for English National Opera *2018: ''Così fan tutte'' by Mozart, a new production for the Metropolitan Opera *2019: ''Tao of Glass'' a new production for the

Manchester International Festival The Manchester International Festival is a biennial international arts festival, with a specific focus on original new work, held in the English city of Manchester and run by Factory International. The festival is a biennial event, first taking ...

*2019: '' Akhnaten'' by Philip Glass for the

*2022: '' The Hours'' by

Kevin Puts Kevin Matthew Puts (born January 3, 1972) is an American composer, best known for winning a Pulitzer Prize in 2012 for his first opera, ''Silent Night''. Early life and education Puts was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in Alma, Michi ...

for the Metropolitan Opera *2022: ''

My Neighbour Totoro is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten. The film—which stars the voice actors Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, and Hitoshi Takagi—tells the story of ...

'' by

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...

at the Barbican Centre

References

External links

Profile
Amanda Howard Associates * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McDermott, Phelim 1963 births Living people British opera directors English male stage actors English musical theatre directors English theatre directors Theatre people from Greater Manchester