Benedict Andrews leikstýrir fyrstu tveimur verkunum í Mayenburg-þríleiknum, Ellen B. og Ex, á Stóra sviði Þjóðleikhússins í vetur. Hann hefur sett upp rómaðar og margverðlaunaðar sýningar í virtustu leikhúsum og óperuhúsum heims, meðal annars í Þýskalandi, Bretlandi, Ástralíu og Bandaríkjunum, og gert tvær kvikmyndir í fullri lengd. Hann hefur leikstýrt heimsfrægu listafólki, m.a. Cate Blanchett, Kristen Stewart, Sienna Miller, Gillian Anderson, Isabelle Huppert og Vanessa Kirby. Benedict fæddist í Ástralíu árið 1972 en hefur verið búsettur á Íslandi um allnokkurt skeið, og starfar víða um heim. Fyrri uppfærslur hans við Þjóðleikhúsið, Lér konungur (2010) og Macbeth (2012), hlutu fjölda Grímuverðlauna, m.a. sem leiksýning ársins, auk þess sem Benedict var valinn leikstjóri ársins fyrir Lé konung.
Benedict hefur áður leikstýrt fimm leikritum eftir Marius von Mayenburg í leikhúsum í Ástralíu og við Schaubühne-leikhúsið í Berlín, Feuergesicht, Eldorado, Der Hund, die Nacht und das Messer, Der Häßliche og Freie Sicht / Moving Target sem þeir sömdu í sameiningu.
Frumraun Benedicts sem kvikmyndaleikstjóra, kvikmyndin Una, sem byggð er á leikriti David Harrowers Blackbird, skartar Rooney Mara og Ben Mendelsohn í aðalhlutverkum, og var frumsýnd á Telluride kvikmyndahátíðinni árið 2016. Önnur kvikmynd hans, Seberg, var frumsýnd á alþjóðlegu kvikmyndahátíðinni í Feneyjum árið 2019. Í hlutverki Jean Seberg er Kristen Stewart en meðal annarra leikara eru Anthony Mackie, Margaret Qualley, Zazie Beetz, Vince Vaughan og Jack O’Connell. Kvikmyndir Benedicts hafa verið sýndar á alþjóðlegum kvikmyndahátíðum víða um heim.
Árið 2021 leikstýrði Benedict rómaðri uppfærslu á Così fan tutte eftir Mozart hjá Bayerische Staatsoper. Meðal annarra sviðsetninga hans á óperum eru Medea eftir Reimann í Komische Oper, Fiery Angel eftir Prokofiev í Komische Oper og Opera de Lyon, Stiffelio eftir Verdi í Frankfurt, La Bohème eftir Puccini hjá Hollensku þjóðaróperunni og ENO, Caligula eftir Detlev Glanert hjá ENO og Teatro Colón í Buenos Aires, Macbeth eftir Verdi í Konunglegu dönsku óperunni og Óperu Valencia, Le Nozze di Figaro eftir Mozart hjá Óperuhúsinu í Sydney og The Return of Ulysses eftir Monteverdi hjá ENO / Young Vic.
Uppfærsla Benedicts á Cat on a Hot Tin Roof hjá Young Vic árið 2018, með Sienna Miller, Jack O’Connell og Colm Meaney í aðalhlutverkum, hlaut mikið lof, var flutt yfir í Apollo Theatre á West End og sýnd þar fyrir fullu húsi. Hann leikstýrði A Streetcar Named Desire hjá Young Vic árið 2016, með Gillian Anderson, Ben Foster og Vanessa Kirby í aðalhlutverkum. Sýningin naut mikilla vinsælda og var jafnframt sýnd hjá St Ann’s Warehouse í New York. Rómaðri uppfærslu hans á The Maids hjá Sydney Theatre Company árið 2014, með Cate Blanchett, Isabelle Huppert og Elizabeth Debicki, var boðið á Lincoln Center Festival. Fyrir uppfærslu sína á Three Sisters hjá Young Vic árið 2012 hlaut hann London Critics Circle-verðlaunin sem besti leikstjóri. Hann hlaut Helpmann-verðlaunin í þriðja sinn sem leikstjóri ársins fyrir Groß und Klein, með Cate Blanchett í aðalhlutverki, hjá Sydney Theatre Company, og sýningin var m.a. sýnd í París, London og Vínarborg.
Meðal þekktustu leikstjórnarverkefna Benedicts er tímamótauppsetning hans á The War of the Roses hjá Sydney Theatre Company árið 2009, átta tíma leikgerð af verkum Shakespeares með Cate Blanchett í aðalhlutverki. Sýningin hlaut sex Helpmann-verðlaun, meðal annars fyrir besta leikverk og bestu leikstjórn, og fimm Sydney Theatre-verðlaun fyrir bestu leikstjórn og bestu sviðsetningu. Meðal annarra verkefna Benedicts hjá Sydney Theatre Company eru The City, The Season at Sarsaparilla (Green Room-verðlaunin fyrir bestu leikstjórn), Julius Caesar, Far Away, Endgame, Life is a Dream, Old Masters, Three Sisters, La Dispute (Helpmann-verðlaunin fyrir bestu leikstjórn), Mr Kolpert, Attempts on Her Life og Fireface.
Á árunum 2004-2010 setti Benedict upp fjölmargar sýningar við hið virta leikhús Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz í Berlín, m.a. Cleansed, Saved, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Dog, the Night, the Knife, Drunk Enough to Say I Love You, Stoning Mary, The Ugly One og Blackbird.
Hjá Belvoir Street leikhúsinu í Sydney leikstýrði Benedict The Seagull, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Chairs, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, The Threepenny Opera og Measure for Measure, en síðastnefnda sýningin hlaut Sydney Theatre-verðlaunin fyrir bestu leikstjórn, bestu leikmynd og besta leikrit árið 2010. Meðal annarra leikstjórnarverkefna Benedicts eru Moving Target (Malthouse/Adelaide Festival/Sydney Opera House), Eldorado (Malthouse), Ur/Faust (Weimar 99/Adelaide Festival), Closer (State Theatre South Australia), A Dream Play og Mojo (Brink Productions) og Wounds to the Face og Storm from Paradise (Blueprint).
Á árunum 2000-2003 gegndi Benedict stöðu fastráðins leikstjóra hjá Sydney Theatre Company. Árið 1997 var hann listrænn stjórnandi Magpie 2 Theatre hjá STCSA þar sem hann leikstýrði Features of Blown Youth, Mercedes og In The Solitude of the Cotton Fields. Benedict hlaut Sydney Myer Performing Arts-verðlaunin árið 2005 og hlaut styrk frá Gloria Payten and Gloria Dawn Foundation árið 1998. Benedict lauk námi í leikstjórn við Flinders University Drama Centre.
Auk leikstjórnarverkefna hefur Benedict sent frá sér leikrit og ljóð. Leikrit Benedicts Every Breath var frumflutt hjá Belvoir Street Theatre árið 2012 og sviðsett ári síðar hjá Unidos-leikhúsinu í Lissabon. Í Portúgal hlaut leikritið tilnefningu til Time Out Lisbon-verðlaunanna. Leikrit hans Gloria var frumflutt í Griffin Theatre í Sydney árið 2016, en það sama ár var safn leikrita hans gefið út af Oberon Books. Safnið inniheldur leikritin Like a Sun, Every Breath, The Stars, Geronimo og Gloria. Meðal leikgerða eftir Benedict eru The Maids í samvinnu við Andrew Upton, og The War of the Roses í samvinnu við Tom Wright, Life is a Dream og Three Sisters (2001) í samvinnu við Beatrix Christian, auk leikgerða af The Seagull og Three Sisters (2012). Fyrsta ljóðabók Benedicts, Lens Flare, kom út hjá Pitt Street Poetry árið 2014 og hlaut Mary Gilmore-verðlaunin fyrir bestu fyrstu ljóðabók höfundar í Ástralíu á árunum 2014-2016. Smásaga hans Strangers birtist í The White Review fyrr á þessu ári.
Benedict Andrews directs Ellen B. and Ex by Marius von Mayenburg at The National Theatre of Reykjavik season 2022-2023.
Based in Reykjavík, Benedict Andrews is an Australian poet, playwright, film-maker, and director of theatre and opera. Previously at The National Theatre of Iceland, he directed Macbeth which won the Gríman Award for Play of the Year, and King Lear, which won 6 Gríman Awards, including Best Direction and Play of the Year.
Benedict’s feature film debut Una (based on David Harrower’s play ‘Blackbird’ and starring Rooney Mara and Ben Mendelsohn) premiered at the 43rd Telluride Film Festival in 2016. Other festival appearances included: Toronto International Film Festival, London International Film Festival, Busan Film Festival, Hampton’s Film Festival, Palm Springs Film Festival, Rome Film Festival, Gothenborg Film Festival. In 2019, his second film Seberg (starring Kristen Stewart as Jean Seberg, and with an ensemble including Anthony Mackie, Margaret Qualley, Zazie Beetz, Vince Vaughan, and Jack O’Connell) premiered at the 76th Venice International Film Festival. Other festivals included: Toronto International Film Festival 2019, 67th San Sebastian Film Festival, 63rd BFI London Film Festival, 15th Zurich Film Festival, Cameraimage Torun, 1st Festival Internacional de Cine Tulum.
In 2021, Benedict staged a highly acclaimed new production of Mozart’s Cosí Fan Tutte at the Bayerische Staatsoper. Other opera includes: Reimann’s Medea at Komische Oper; Prokofiev’s Fiery Angel at Komische Oper, and Opera de Lyon; Verdi’s Stiffelio at Frankfurt; Puccini’s La Bohème at Dutch National Opera and ENO; Detlev Glanert’s Caligula at ENO and Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires; Verdi’s Macbeth at Royal Danish Opera and Opera Valencia; Le Nozze di Figaro at Sydney Opera House; Monteverdi’s The Return of Ulysses for ENO / Young Vic.
In 2018, his Young Vic production of Cat on A Hot Tin Roof (starring Sienna Miller, Jack O’Connell and Colm Meaney) sold out its West End run at the Apollo Theatre. In 2016, Benedict’s Young Vic production of A Streetcar Named Desire (starring Gillian Anderson, Ben Foster and Vanessa Kirby) transferred to St Ann’s Warehouse in New York. In 2014, his Sydney Theatre Company production of The Maids (starring Cate Blanchett, Isabelle Huppert, and Elizabeth Debicki) played at the Lincoln Center Festival. His prior Young Vic production Three Sisters (2012) won the London Critics Circle Best Director award. His prior STC production of Groß und Klein (also starring Cate Blanchett) won him his third Helpmann Best Director award and toured to Paris, London, Vienna and Recklinghausen.
His marathon Shakespeare cycle The War of the Roses (starring Cate Blanchett and the STC Ensemble) won six Helpmann Awards in 2009, including Best Play and Best Direction of a Play as well as five Sydney Theatre Awards for Best Direction and Best Mainstage Production. Further productions for Sydney Theatre Company include The City; The Season at Sarsaparilla (Green Room Award for Best Director); Julius Caesar; Far Away; Endgame; Life is a Dream; Old Masters; Three Sisters, La Dispute (Helpmann Award Best Director); Mr Kolpert; Attempts on Her Life; and Fireface.
From 2004 to 2010, Benedict worked extensively at the Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz, Berlin where his productions include Cleansed; Saved; A Streetcar Named Desire; The Dog, the Night, the Knife; Drunk Enough to Say I Love You; Stoning Mary; The Ugly One; and Blackbird.
For Belvoir Street Theatre, Sydney, he has directed The Seagull, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; The Chairs; A Midsummer’s Night Dream; The Threepenny Opera; and Measure for Measure, which was awarded Best Direction, Best Stage Design and Best Mainstage Play at the 2010 Sydney Theatre Awards. Other directing credits include Moving Target (Malthouse/Adelaide Festival/Sydney Opera House); Eldorado (Malthouse); Ur/Faust (Weimar 99/Adelaide Festival); Closer (State Theatre South Australia); A Dream Play and Mojo (Brink Productions); Wounds to the Face and Storm from Paradise (Blueprint).
From 2000 to 2003 Benedict was the Resident Director at Sydney Theatre Company, and in 1997 was the Artistic Director of Magpie 2 Theatre at STCSA where he staged Features of Blown Youth, Mercedes and In The Solitude of the Cotton Fields. Benedict was awarded the 2005 Sydney Myer Performing Arts Award and was the recipient of Gloria Payten and Gloria Dawn Foundation Fellowships in 1998. He is a graduate of Flinders University Drama Centre.
Benedict’s play Every Breath was produced at Belvoir Street Theatre in 2012 and subsequently translated into Portuguese by Jorge Silva Melo for a production by Artistas Unidos in Lisbon 2013. The Portuguese production was nominated for Time Out Lisbon’s Best Play award. His most recent play Gloria opened at Sydney’s Griffin Theatre in August 2016 coinciding with the publication of his Collected Plays by Oberon Books. This volume includes the plays Like a Sun, Every Breath, The Stars, Geronimo, and Gloria. His adaptations for the stage include The Maids with Andrew Upton and The War of the Roses with Tom Wright, Life is a Dream and Three Sisters (2001) with Beatrix Christian, as well as his own versions of Chekhov’s The Seagull and The Three Sisters (2012).
Benedict’s first volume of poetry Lens Flare was published in 2014 by Pitt Street Poetry and was awarded the 2016 Mary Gilmore Prize for best first book of Australian poetry (2014-2016).
His short story Strangers was published by The White Review in 2022.
