Declan Donnellan To Be Awarded The Golden Lion Award For Lifetime Achievement
By: Edward Baker Jul. 25, 2016
Declan Donnellan will be awarded the Golden Lion of Venice. The board of La Biennale di Venezia will give the co-artistic director of Cheek by Jowl the award for lifetime achievement. The ceremony takes place on 29 July at this year's Biennale festival.
A citation says Donnellan will receive the award 'for his profound faith in the text. For his ability to bring classic works to life for a contemporary audience, without ever losing the ability to 'read' them. For placing actors at the heart of his work and managing to get the very best out of them. When talking about productions by Declan Donnellan, one is talking about extraordinary endeavours in the field of acting.'
Declan Donnellan participated in the 42nd International Biennale when Cheek by Jowl presented Ubu Roi at La Fenice Opera House, hailed as 'a masterpiece' by the international press.
Born in England of Irish parents Donnellan grew up in London and with his partner, Nick Ormerod, formed Cheek by Jowl in 1981. He has since directed over 30 productions for the company, performing in nearly 400 cities spread over six continents.
His work with Cheek by Jowl includes the all-male As You Like It in 1991. Donnellan has also staged the English language premières of major European classics by writers such as Racine, Corneille, Lessing and Ostrovski .
As Associate Director of the National Theatre in London his productions numbered Fuenteovejuna, Sweeney Todd, Peer Gynt, The Mandate and both parts of Angels in America.
Lev Dodin invited him to stage The Winter's Tale at the Maly Drama Theatre in St Petersburg, and in 2007 he was invited by Peter Brook to direct Andromaque at the Bouffes Du Nord in Paris.
In 2000, he formed a company of actors in Moscow, under the auspices of The Chekhov International Theatre Festival, whose productions include Boris Godunov, Twelfth Night, Three Sisters and The Tempest.
Today Cheek by Jowl produces Donnellan and Ormerod's work in three languages, and their most recent productions include Ubu Roi in French, Measure For Measure in Russian - the production opens the 2016 Shakespeare Festival at Kronburg Castle next month, ahead of performances at the Edinburgh International Festival this August; and The Winter's Tale in English - which will be seen across Britain next Spring.
In opera, Donnellan's work includes Falstaff with Claudio Abbado at Salzburg; in ballet, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet both at the Bolshoi; and in film Bel-Ami with Uma Thurman and Kristin Scott-Thomas.
Donnellan's book, The Actor and the Target, originally published in Russian (2001), has since appeared in 15 languages.
He has received several awards in many cities including Moscow, Paris, New York, and London, including the Olivier for Outstanding Achievement.
He was made a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his work in France and in 2009 he shared the Charlemagne award with Craig Venter and Desmond Tutu.
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