- Roland Jaquarello
Roland Jaquarello, born December 14th 1945, is a British
theatre director and radio producer/director. He started his career inDublin Theatre Festival after graduating fromTrinity College, Dublin in 1968. Since then he has directed over 80 theatre and 60 radio productions in the UK and Ireland.The 1960s
In 1969 he was Assistant Director to
Lindsay Anderson onDavid Storey 's "The Contractor" at TheRoyal Court Theatre , London. He then went on to direct the successful Irish production of -"It's a 2'6" Above The Ground World" byKevin Laffan , a comedy aboutbirth control , which ran for over a year as well as the Irish premieres of two plays byJoe Orton , "Loot" withDonal McCann as Inspector Truscott and "What The Butler Saw". During this period, he showed his interest in European drama by directing "Police", the first Irish production of the Polish playwrightSławomir Mrożek 's comic satire on political power.The Abbey Theatre Dublin
In the early 1970s, at the age of 26, he became one of the few English theatre practitioners to become a resident Director at the
Abbey Theatre Dublin. While there, his productions includedRichard Brinsley Sheridan 's classic comedy of manners "The School for Scandal ", the witty Shavian drama, "King Herod Advises" byConor Cruise O'Brien , the premiere of "Hatchet", a play about violence in working class Dublin by Heno Magee, and Irish premieres of continental writersFernando Arrabal andMichel De Ghelderode .Half Moon Theatre London
He later successfully redirected "Hatchet", regarded as one of the best Irish plays of that period at
Half Moon Theatre , London, withColin Meaney in the title role.The Welsh Drama Company Cardiff
In the mid 1970s he ran an enterprising season for the
Welsh Drama Company at TheSherman Theatre , Cardiff where he directed productions ofAugust Strindberg 's "Miss Julie ",Bertolt Brecht 's "The Exception and the Rule " andFernando Arrabal 's "The Car Cemetery ".Green Fields and Far Away
From 1977-1981, he ran his own touring company Green Fields and Far Away. It was the first company of its kind in Britain. Based in London, the company produced 12 productions of Irish and Irish-related work and toured the UK. It also toured Ireland and its production of "Jack Doyle - The Man Who Boxed Like John McCormick!" by Ian McPherson, about the celebrated Irish boxer and entertainer, featured at the
Lyric Hammersmith , London in the 1980 'A Sense Of Ireland' Festival. The company produced work by writersDesmond Hogan ,Leigh Jackson (who wrote a specially commissioned play aboutErskine Childers , English author, turned Irish patriot), James McKenna, James Pettifer and Bryan MacMahon. Actors likeBrid Brennan ,Liam Neeson , Michael Loughnan, John O'Toole, Patch Connolly,David Haig , Robert O'Mahoney andKevin Wallace were among those who worked for the company. Green Fields and Far Away received an "Irish Post" Award for its work in 1981 and an insightful documumentary film about the company, directed by John Lynch, was transmitted onRTE .Live Theatre Company Newcastle and The Group
During the 80s, he also worked as Artistic Director of
Live Theatre Company , Newcastle, England where he expanded the repertoire to include Graham Reid’s "The Death Of Humpty Dumpty", a powerful play about how a Belfast family deals with a father becoming a paraplegic as a result of sectarian violence. Later, during the same period, he also founded The Group with actorTim Woodward . The company presented a series of rarely performed European and American plays in London fringe venues. The work included plays byLuigi Pirandello ,Ernst Toller ,Fernando Arrabal ,Michel De Ghelderode andHoward Fast .John McEnery ,Ray Winstone , Catherine Harrison, Mark Drewry and Tim Woodward were among those actors who performed for the company.The Young Vic
Between productions for The Group, he also directed the revival of Tom Kempinski’s play about soldiers in Northern Ireland - "Flashpoint" - at
The Young Vic .Lyric Theatre Belfast
From 1988-1991, Roland Jaquarello was Artistic Director of The Lyric Theatre Belfast. During his tenure, four new plays by Robin Glendinning, Christina Reid, John McLelland and Robert Ellison were produced. There was also the premiere of a ‘glasnost’ play "Threshold" by Alexei Dudarev which was directed and designed by a visiting Belarussian team. During this time, The Lyric Theatre also visited The Glasgow Mayfest with his production of Sam Thompson’s "Over The Bridge", a play about sectarianism in the Belfast shipyards. They also visited The International Ibsen Festival in Oslo, Norway with "Ghosts" and instigated a new Summer Festival presenting work by international writers such as
Vaclav Havel and the Argentinian playwrightEduardo Pavlovsky . Roland Jaquarello also directed innovative classical revivals ofSeán O'Casey ’s "The Plough and the Stars ",Oscar Wilde ’s "The Importance Of Being Earnest " withConleth Hill as Algernon and J. M. Synge’s "The Playboy of the Western World ". However at the centre of his progressive artistic leadership were his own ambitious productions of three American classics: "After the Fall (play) " byArthur Miller , withTim Woodward andClaire Hackett giving memorable performances in the leading roles, "The Iceman Cometh " withPeter Marinker as a fine Hickey and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof " with strong performances fromSara Stewart as Maggie andPatrick O’Kane as Brick.Druid Theatre Galway
In 1991, he directed a well received production of "Cheapside" by David Allen at the Druid Theatre,
Galway , about the rivalry betweenShakespeare and his contemporary Robert Greene.Redgrave Theatre Farnham
In the mid 90's he was Artistic Director of the
Redgrave Theatre ,Farnham , for a season. He directed J. M Synge’s "The Playboy Of The Western World",Moliere ’s "George Dandin " and producedGeorge Bernard Shaw ’s "Mrs. Warren's Profession " andNeil Duffield ’s adaptation ofRudyard Kipling ’s "The Jungle Book ".BBC Radio Drama
In 1996 he became senior producer for Radio Drama at
BBC Northern Ireland. He worked in Belfast for three years in broadcasting and then turned freelance, basing himself in London. His productions include work for BBC Radio 4 and 3 by experienced writers likeJohn Arden ,Brian Friel ,Sebastian Barry , Mark Lawson,Gary Mitchell ,Carlo Gebler ,Robin Glendinning ,Christopher Fitz-Simon ,Christina Reid ,Jonathan Myerson andLarry Gelbart , writer of TV’s "M*A*S*H". He also produced and directedWilliam Trevor ‘s "The Property Of Colette Nervi ", which was nominated for thePrix Italia Play Section, 1999, and Martin Lynch’s modern Belfast version ofHenrik Ibsen ’s "An Enemy of the People ". This play won a Zebbie Award for Best Radio Script 2007 from the Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild.Colm McCann ,Kaite O’Reilly andRob John are among other talented writers he has helped to develop in radio drama. Roland Jaquarello has also expanded his work in broadcasting by producing music documentaries for BBC Radio 2 onVan Morrison ,Joni Mitchell ,Mel Torme andMarlon Brando .Recent Theatre
Despite working in radio he continues to direct for the theatre. His recent productions include two Irish plays performed in Belfast and a tour:"The Butterfly of Killybegs" by Brian Foster, a comic play, set in the 1960s, about a young woman trying to grow up against the background of a suffocating invalid mother and an oppressive rural town and "New York State of Mind" by Samuel McCready, a play about an Irish actor trying to succeed in America while leaving his roots and family behind.
Links
* [http://www.rolandjaquarello.com Roland Jaquarello] - Main website
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