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37 Facts About Richard Eyre

1.

Richard Eyre was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1992 News Year Honours, and knighted in the 1997 New Year Honours.

2.

Richard Eyre started his career as the associate director at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh from 1967 to 1972 before becoming the artistic director of the Royal National Theatre from 1987 to 1999.

3.

Richard Eyre has directed numerous West End productions earning three Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Director for Guys and Dolls, King Lear, and Hedda Gabler.

4.

Richard Eyre was Olivier-nominated for Racing Demon, Skylight, John Gabriel Borkman, Vincent in Brixton, Mary Poppins, and Ghosts.

5.

Richard Eyre made his directorial film debut with The Ploughman's Lunch.

6.

Richard Eyre went on to direct the dramas Iris and Notes on a Scandal earning nominations for the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film.

7.

Richard Eyre directed The Cherry Orchard, Tumbledown, The Dresser, and King Lear.

8.

Richard Eyre was educated at Sherborne School, an independent school for boys in the market town of Sherborne in northwest Dorset in southwest England, followed by Peterhouse at the University of Cambridge.

9.

Richard Eyre became the first president of Rose Bruford College in July 2010.

10.

Richard Eyre gives "President's Lectures" at this drama school; his 2012 talk was entitled "Directing Shakespeare for BBC Television".

11.

Richard Eyre was Associate Director at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh from 1967 to 1972.

12.

Richard Eyre won STV Awards for the Best Production in Scotland in 1969,1970 and 1971.

13.

Richard Eyre worked as both a director and one of the producers of BBC's Play for Today between 1978 and 1980.

14.

Richard Eyre directed The Ploughman's Lunch in 1983, which won the Evening Standard Award for Best Film.

15.

Richard Eyre returned to the BBC in 1988 to direct the Falklands War story Tumbledown, which won him the BAFTA Award for Best Director and the Prix Italia.

16.

Richard Eyre has been the recipient of numerous directing awards including five Olivier Awards.

17.

Richard Eyre was artistic director of the UK's National Theatre between 1987 and 1997.

18.

Richard Eyre had previously directed a well received revival of Guys and Dolls for the venue in 1982, with Olivier Award-winner Julia McKenzie and Bob Hoskins.

19.

Richard Eyre repeated this production in 1996 with Imelda Staunton and Joanna Riding.

20.

Richard Eyre made his Broadway debut directing the David Hare play Racing Demon earning a Tony Award for Best Play nomination.

21.

Richard Eyre directed Hare's play The Judas Kiss starring Liam Neeson and Tom Hollander on the West End and Broadway.

22.

Richard Eyre's debut was the 1994 production of La traviata at the Royal Opera House which starred Angela Gheorghiu and was conducted by Sir Georg Solti.

23.

Richard Eyre was appointed to the Board of Governors of the BBC in November 1995, and in October 2000 was appointed for a second term of office, though he resigned early due to theatre and film directing commitments.

24.

Richard Eyre has written adaptations of Hedda Gabler and of Sartre's as The Novice for the Almeida Theatre.

25.

Charles Isherwood of Variety wrote, "Richard Eyre's production has an earnest integrity to the text that firmly accentuates the play's powerful aspects".

26.

Richard Eyre then directed the 2005 stage musical Mary Poppins for West End and Broadway.

27.

Richard Eyre directed The Other Man, an adaptation of a short story by Bernhard Schlink, starring Liam Neeson, Antonio Banderas, and Laura Linney.

28.

Richard Eyre was planning to direct Jon Robin Baitz's stage adaptation of Hollywood legend Robert Evans' memoirs The Kid Stays in the Picture and its sequel, The Fat Lady Sang, but the project was cancelled by the producer.

29.

Richard Eyre directed The Dark Earth and The Light Sky for the Almeida Theatre, and The Pajama Game for the Chichester Festival Theatre.

30.

Richard Eyre directed the drama film The Children Act, based on the novel of the same name by Ian McEwan and starring Emma Thompson.

31.

In 2021, Richard Eyre directed Allelujah, a film adaptation of Alan Bennett's play of the same name which starred Jennifer Saunders, Bally Gill, Russell Tovey, David Bradley, Derek Jacobi, and Judi Dench.

32.

Richard Eyre's archive is part of the performing arts collections at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, Texas alongside friends and collaborators like David Hare, Ian McEwan, and Tom Stoppard.

33.

Richard Eyre's papers include his personal journals, production scripts, annotated opera libretti, correspondence, photographs, posters, and theatre ephemera.

34.

Richard Eyre was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1992 New Year Honours, and knighted in the 1997 New Year Honours, receiving the honour on 4 March 1997.

35.

Richard Eyre became a Patron of the Alzheimer's Research Trust in 2001.

36.

Richard Eyre was made an in 1998, and was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of Nottingham on 10 July 2008.

37.

Richard Eyre was appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to drama.