John Barton (director)
|
John Barton CBE |
|
|---|---|
| Born |
26 November 1928 London, England |
| Occupation | Director, writer |
| Spouse(s) |
Anne Righter (1969–2013; her death) |
John Bernard Adie Barton CBE (born 26 November 1928 in London, England) is a theatrical director. He is the son of Sir Harold Montague and Lady Joyce (née Wale) Barton.
Barton was educated at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge and while at Cambridge directed and acted in many productions for the Marlowe Society and the ADC. At the Westminster Theatre in July 1953 he directed his first London production, Henry V for the Elizabethan Theatre Company. He created a 12-part series for BBC Radio on the medieval Mysteries, inspired by the York Mystery Plays.
In 1960, along with Peter Hall, he co-founded the Royal Shakespeare Company where Barton was an active director for over 40 years. He has directed over 50 productions on his own or as a collaborator with Sir Peter Hall and Trevor Nunn. Some landmark productions at RSC include 1969's Twelfth Night with Judi Dench as Viola, and the 1963/1964 sequence of Histories (with Peter Hall and Clifford Williams). In the RSC's 50th anniversary commemorations (2011) Barton's teaching is acknowledged as one of the lasting reasons for the company's success and he is regarded as one of the most influential directors of Shakespeare of his time.
At the Aldwych Theatre in London in 1980, Barton directed The Greeks, his adaptations (with playwright Kenneth Cavander) from Homer, Euripides, Aeschylus and Sophocles, ten plays centring on the Oresteia legend, presented in the terse style of the original verse. This was part of an RSC London season which also embraced Trevor Nunn and John Caird's production of David Edgar's eight-hour adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby. "Both projects were daunting undertakings, planned at a time of renewed financial crisis, and both proved remarkably successful."
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