Trevor Nunn

By: GinaMarie Dieckmann and Joseph Caputo                            

                                                     

Trevor Nunn, also known as Sir Trevor Robert Nunn, was born on January 14th, 1940 in Ipswich, England. He is a well-known English theatre artistic director, who has worked at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. Nunn began his career studying at Downing College, Cambridge, where he studied and engulfed himself in acting, directing, and writing for the theatre. Nunn became known for not only his masterful work on Shakespeare’s plays, but for his directing in all aspects of entertainment, which has earned him Tony awards and other accolades.

He is known as a genius in directing Shakespeare, which allowed him to hold many positions in different theatres that were dedicated to Shakespeare's productions. He found great successes as the Artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, which is a position he held from 1968 to 1986. He then became the Artistic Director of the Royal National Theatre in 1997. In addition to his successes in the world of Shakespeare, he also had many great contributions to Broadway and the musical world. In 1981, he directed the musical Cats, which was the longest running musical in Broadway’s history. He also directed the first English production of Les Miserables, in 1985. Some of his other work has included; South Pacific, My Fair Lady, Starlight Express, and Sunset Boulevard. His work has not been limited to musicals. He directed opera at the Gylndebourne, and then he also contributed to television in 1993 when he restaged his production of Porgy and Bess. He directed three films, Lady Jane in 1986, Hedda, and Twelfth Night in 1996.

                           

Although we were unable to contact Trevor Nunn directly, we were able to find the answers to the majority of the questions that we would have posed to him. These questions were asked to Trevor in an article that was published fairly recently in the New York Times on February 22, 2016. 

Here are the questions, and their answers:

1.     

    1.  What are the differences you have noticed between doing Shakespeare with American cast versus with an English cast?

This was Trevor Nunn first time working with an American cast.  It is shocking to see that a man who has accomplished so much has never directed Americans before.  When asked if he was looking forward to it he said “’paralyzingly terrifying — maybe I will find that it’s a whole new ballgame.’  By the time a reporter could observe him in rehearsal, though, he seemed to have learned the rules.”  American actors have an emotional intensity, if less verbal grace and dexterity than their British counterparts.  (Solocki)

2  2.  We noticed that you had many of your leads speaking with an English accent: is this because the American way of speaking is too slow or because Shakespeare does not work with American cadences of speech or the American accent?  (We are just speculating here.)

The reason a few of the lead actors were speaking an English was because some actors in the play are Brits who now live in America. This explains why you heard English accents on occasion.  In addition to this, American actors are less verbally graceful and dexterity then their British counterparts.

    3.     Directors like Kenneth Branagh have transitioned from plays to film, is there a reason you stayed committed to the theater? 

While Trevor does indeed remain committed to theater, he has directed three films—including a highly regarded Twelfth Night with music by Pericles’s composer Shaun Davey.  He has been offered directing jobs in other genres, one of his other chances was when the composer Stephen Schwartz offered him the chance to direct “Wicked” on Broadway. Mr. Nunn declined due to the fact that he didn’t want to spend that much time away from his family.  “’I frequently tell Stephen that he owes me a lot of money,’ Mr. Nunn said. ‘Because if I’d done it, it wouldn’t have worked.’” (Solocki)

    4.   Pericles lends itself to the discussion of exotic portrayals of otherness. Given American politics on the thorny subject of race, did you worry about some of the casting decisions like casting the evil King Antiochus and his daughters as African Americans? 

“Happily, Mr. Nunn said that in auditions he found much of what he prizes, actors concerned with ‘making something real ahead of making it beautiful.’ (He also found a diverse company of actors, having recently received criticism for an all-white ‘The Wars of the Roses.’)” (Solocki)  We feel like he used African Americans in order to show a deeper understanding of Shakespeare.  In many cases Shakespeare writes that ugly and evil are people who are “unfair”, while beautiful and kind are people who are “fair.” (Fair referring to the color of their skin.)

                                                

All interview information is taken from New York Times article:

Soloski, Alexis. "Trevor Nunn, British Shakespeare Master, Tries Something New: Directing Americans." The New York Times. The New York Times, 27 Feb. 2016. Web. 27 Apr. 2016.