Benedict Andrews

Benedict Andrews
Occupation	Theatre director Film director
Years active	1995–present

Benedict Andrews is an Australian theatre and film director, based in Reykjavík. Born in Adelaide in 1972, he was educated at Flinders University Drama Centre. His first feature film Una (an adaption of Blackbird by David Harrower) was released in 2016.

Over the past decade, Andrews has built up his body of work for theatres in both Australia and Europe. He is known for his versions of works by Shakespeare,Anton Chekhov,Jean Genet. and Tennessee Williams, as well as his stagings of contemporary writers such as David Harrower, Martin Crimp,Marius von Mayenburg,Caryl Churchill and Sarah Kane.

Andrews' direction of Shakespeare has gained more critical acclaim and focus than any other Australian director of the early 21st century. His marathon Shakespeare cycle, The War of the Roses (Sydney Theatre Company, 2009) which was a part of the 2009 Sydney and Perth festivals, received six Helpmann Awards in 2012 including Best Play and Best Direction of a Play, as well as five Sydney Theatre Awards for Best Direction and Best Mainstage Production. The two-night eight-hour production of The War of the Roses incorporates all eight War of the Roses Shakespearean plays in name but largely cut out the Henrys, making it in large part a combination of both Richard II and Richard III. The first night consisted of Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V. The second consisted of Henry VI and Richard III. The production was also memorable for having his two female leads, Cate Blanchett and Pamela Rabe, play Richard II and Richard III, respectively, while still dressing in modern gender-neutral clothing.

...
Wikipedia