Terry Hands

Terence David Hands CBE (9 January 1941 – 4 February 2020[1]) was an English theatre director. He founded the Liverpool Everyman Theatre and ran the Royal Shakespeare Company for thirteen years during one of the company's most successful periods; he spent 25 years in all with the RSC.[2] He also saved Clwyd Theatr Cymru from closure and turned it into the most successful theatre in Wales in his seventeen years as Artistic Director. He received several Olivier, Tony and Molière awards and nominations for directing and lighting.[3]

Terry Hands
Portrait by Fernand Michaud. Festival d'Avignon, 1972.
Born
Terence David Hands

(1941-01-09)9 January 1941
Aldershot, England
Died4 February 2020(2020-02-04) (aged 79)
OccupationTheatre director
Spouse(s)Dame Josephine Barstow (1964–1967; divorced)
Ludmila Mikaël (1974–1980; divorced); 1 child
Julia Lintott (partner 1987–1997); 2 sons
Emma Lucia (2002–present)
Children3

Early years

Hands was born at Aldershot, Hampshire, England. He studied at Woking Grammar School, University of Birmingham before attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art leaving with the gold medal for acting in 1964. He then established the Liverpool Everyman where he directed numerous productions,[4] including a prominent production of T.S. Eliot's "Murder in the Cathedral".[5]

Career

Hands joined the Royal Shakespeare Company two years later in 1966 to run the company's touring group, Theatregoround. He became joint Artistic Director with Trevor Nunn in 1978, and in 1986 sole chief executive.[6] As Director Emeritus and Artistic Director he directed more productions during his 25 years there than any other director in the company’s history. These included the entire History Cycle with Alan Howard, Much Ado About Nothing[2] and Edmund Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac with Derek Jacobi and Sinéad Cusack (both productions transferred to Broadway),[2] Christopher Marlowe's Tamburlaine with Sir Antony Sher, Loves Labours Lost with Ralph Fiennes, Anton Chekov's The Seagull with Sir Simon Russell Beale, A Winter’s Tale with Jeremy Irons, Othello with Sir Ben Kingsley and David Suchet and the award-winning musical Poppy.

In 1997, Hands became Artistic Director of Theatr Clwyd (afterwards renamed Clwyd Theatr Cymru),[6][4] which presents much of its work on tour in Wales and the rest of the UK, saving the theatre from closure.

He was appointed CBE in the 2007 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to drama. In October 2001 he resigned from his position as an advisory director of the RSC.

In 2015 Hands left his post as Artistic Director of Clwyd Theatr Cymru after seventeen years in the post, having turned the theatre into the most successful in Wales.

His international directing credits include productions in Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, London, New York, Oslo, Paris, Tokyo, Vienna and Zurich. From 1975 to 1980 he was consultant-director of the Comédie-Française and was a Chevalier of Arts and Letters. His Opera directing credits include "Otello" with Plácido Domingo (Paris Opera) and Parsifal (Royal Opera House).[6]

Personal life

Hands was married to soprano Dame Josephine Barstow (1964–1967),[6] and afterwards to actress Ludmila Mikaël (1974–1980),[6] with whom he had a daughter, actress Marina Hands. He had two sons, Sebastian and Rupert (also a director).[4] In 2002 he married director Emma Lucia.[5]

Awards and nominations
Awards
Nominations
  • 1985: Tony Award for Best Director of a Play – Much Ado About Nothing
  • 1985: Tony Award for Best Lighting Design – Much Ado About Nothing
  • 1985: Tony Award for Best Lighting Design – Cyrano De Bergerac[7]

Stage productions
Theatregoround – Touring RSC
RSC (Royal Shakespeare Theatre and Aldwych Theatre)
RSC at the Barbican Theatres and Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Chichester Festival
  • 1995: Hadrian VII, Chichester Festival Theatre
  • 1995: The Visit, Chichester Festival Theatre
Clwyd Theatr Cymru
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References
  1. Wiegand, Chris (4 February 2020). "Theatre director Terry Hands, who ran the Royal Shakespeare Company, dies aged 79". The Guardian.
  2. "Terry Hands, award-winning theatre director who proved to be the wrong man to lead the RSC – obituary". The Telegraph. 4 February 2020.
  3. Green, Michael. "Mold Clwyd Theatr Cymru to stage Hamlet as artistic director's swan song". chesterchronicle.co.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  4. Georgia Snow (4 February 2020). "Former RSC artistic director Terry Hands dies". The Stage.
  5. Billington, Michael (4 February 2020). "Terry Hands left our theatre infinitely richer than he found it". The Guardian.
  6. Michael Coveney (4 February 2020). "Terry Hands obituary". The Guardian.
  7. "Terry Hands". Playbillvault. Retrieved 31 May 2015.

Further reading
  • Trowbridge, Simon: The Company: A Biographical Dictionary of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Oxford: Editions Albert Creed (2010); ISBN 978-0-9559830-2-3
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