Alby James

Last updated

Alby James
OBE, FRSA
Born (1954-05-24) 24 May 1954 (age 70)
London, England
NationalityBritish
Alma mater University of East Anglia
Occupation(s)Director and producer, screenwriter, script consultant and trainer

Alby James OBE FRSA (born 24 May 1954) [1] is a British theatre director and a producer for film and television drama, screenwriter, script consultant and trainer, whose career spans more than four decades. Committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in the industry, he has worked with broadcasters such as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) [2] and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), [3] as well as being involved with other development and mentorship schemes for writers, directors and producers. [4] From its inception in March 2017 [5] he led the Diverse Directors' Workshop at the National Film & Television School, [6] with the aim of improving access to the mainstream and professional independent sector for women, ethnic minorities and those with disabilities. [1] Recognition that James has received for his work include being appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2019 for services to film, theatre and broadcasting. [7]

Contents

Biography

Born in north London, James attended the University of East Anglia (1974–1977), where he earned a BA in Development Studies, [8] before beginning a career in directing. [9] In 1979 he was appointed as Arts Council Trainee Assistant Director at the Royal Court Theatre, and also was Assistant Director, working with Trevor Nunn, at the Royal Shakespeare Company for its first season at the Barbican Centre (1982–83). [1] In 1984 James became Artistic Director of Temba Theatre Company, [9] [10] where he "sought to create new audiences by looking beyond the uniquely black experience". [11] He also worked for the BBC as a film and radio drama producer and director. [1] James has also run his own theatre company, was head of development for EON Screenwriters' Workshop, [8] and head of screenwriting at the Northern Film School at Leeds Metropolitan University (now Leeds Beckett University). [7]

He led the Diverse Directors' Workshop launched in 2017 at the National Film & Television School. [12] He has also run development programmes in South Africa – where he founded the Sediba Scriptwriter's Training and Development Programme, an initiative spearheaded by the NFVF and run in collaboration with the South African Script Writer's Union (SASWU) and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) [13] – and in Russia, [4] where he ran a script lab for four years from 2010. [1] He also works with the Berlin International Film Festival's Berlinale Talents programme, serving as a mentor and on the selection jury. [4]

In the 2019 New Year Honours James was appointed an OBE for services to film, theatre and broadcasting. [14] [15]

Selected productions as director

Stage productions directed by James include: [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth Branagh</span> British actor and filmmaker (born 1960)

Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. His accolades include an Academy Award, four BAFTAs, two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an Olivier Award. He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2012 Birthday Honours, and was given Freedom of the City in his native Belfast in 2018. In 2020, he was ranked in 20th place on The Irish Times' list of Ireland's greatest film actors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Pryce</span> Welsh actor (born 1947)

Sir Jonathan Pryce is a Welsh actor who is known for his performances on stage and in film and television. He has received numerous awards, including two Tony Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards, and a knighthood for services to drama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Suchet</span> English actor

Sir David Courtney Suchet is an English actor known for his work on stage and in television. He portrayed Edward Teller in the television serial Oppenheimer (1980) and received the RTS and BPG awards for his performance as Augustus Melmotte in the British serial The Way We Live Now (2001). International acclaim and recognition followed his performance as Agatha Christie's detective Hercule Poirot in Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989–2013), for which he received a 1991 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) nomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Wilson (Scottish actor)</span> Scottish actor, theatre director (born 1936)

Richard Wilson is a Scottish actor, theatre director and broadcaster. He is most famous for playing Victor Meldrew in the BBC sitcom One Foot in the Grave. Another notable role was as Gaius, the court physician of Camelot, in the BBC drama Merlin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RADA</span> Drama school in London, England

The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, commonly abbreviated to RADA, is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London, close to the Senate House complex of the University of London, and is a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Film and Television School</span> Film school in Buckinghamshire, England

The National Film and Television School (NFTS) is a film, television and games school established in 1971 and based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. It is featured in the 2021 ranking by The Hollywood Reporter of the top 15 international film schools.

John Anthony Bell FRSN is an Australian actor, theatre director and theatre manager. He has been a major influence on the development of Australian theatre in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

John Raymond Hopkins AM OBE was a British-born Australian conductor and administrator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Dance</span> English actor (born 1946)

Walter Charles Dance is an English actor. He is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters and villains. Dance started his career on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) before appearing in film and television. For his services to drama he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adrian Lester</span> English actor, director and writer

Adrian Anthony Lester is an English actor, director and writer. He is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award, an Evening Standard Theatre Award and a Critics' Circle Theatre Award for his work on the London stage, and has also been nominated for a Tony Award.

Declan Michael Martin Donnellan is an English film/stage director and author. He co-founded the Cheek by Jowl theatre company with Nick Ormerod in 1981. In addition to his Cheek by Jowl productions, Donnellan has made theatre, opera and ballet with a variety of companies across the world. In 1992, he received an honorary degree from the University of Warwick and in 2004 he was made a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his work in France. In 2010, he was made an honorary fellow of Goldsmiths' College, University of London. Donnellan was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to theatre.

Neil Vivian Bartlett, OBE, is a British director, performer, translator and writer. He was one of the founding members of Gloria, a production company established in 1988 to produce his work along with that of Nicolas Bloomfield, Leah Hausman and Simon Mellor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Ford Davies</span> English actor

Oliver Robert Ford Davies is an English actor and writer, best known for his extensive theatre work, and to a broader audience for his role as Sio Bibble in Star Wars Episodes I to III. He is also known for his role as Maester Cressen in HBO series Game of Thrones.

Christopher Robbie is a British actor, television announcer, theatre director and designer, playwright and photographer. He trained as an actor at RADA in London, and has had a distinguished theatrical career, playing the title role in King Lear when a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Marsden</span> English actor (b. 1941)

Roy Marsden is an English actor who portrayed Adam Dalgliesh in the Anglia Television dramatisations (1983–1998) of P. D. James's detective novels, and Neil Burnside in the spy drama The Sandbaggers (1979–1980).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Jefford</span> British actress (1930–2020)

Barbara Mary Jefford, OBE was a British actress, best known for her theatrical performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Old Vic and the National Theatre and her role as Molly Bloom in the 1967 film of James Joyce's Ulysses.

Lolita Chakrabarti is a British actress and writer.

Josette Bushell-Mingo OBE is a Sweden-based English theatre actress and director of African descent, who was born in London and has been living and working in Sweden for many years. In February 2021, the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama announced she had been appointed as the incoming Principal of the School. She is the first person of African descent, the first woman since 1942, and the third woman overall to hold this role. Previously, she served as artistic director for the National Touring Swedish Deaf Theatre ensemble TystTeater for 13 years before accepting a position as the Head of the theatre department at the Stockholm University of the Arts in 2019.

Burt Caesar is a British actor, broadcaster and director for stage and television, who was born in St Kitts and migrated to England with his family as a child. His career has encompassed acting in Bond films, stage performances including in Shakespearian roles, and many plays for BBC Radio 4. Caesar regularly works as a director and is an artistic advisor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). He is also a commentator on theatre and literature.

Anni Domingo is a British actress, director and writer, working in theatre, television, radio and films. She additionally holds positions on the boards of several organisations in various sectors, and has said: "You can't make a difference unless you have a seat at the table." Her writing includes plays, poetry and fiction, with her debut novel Breaking the Maafa Chain published in 2021.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Alby James". Theatricalia. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  2. ↑ "Accountability – Cultural diversity" (PDF). BBC Annual Report and Accounts 2000/2001. BBC. p. 35. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  3. ↑ Treffry-Goatley, Astrid (April 2010). "The Representation and Mediation of National Identity in the Production of Post-apartheid, South African Cinema" (PDF). University of Cape Town. p. 81. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 Lofthus, Kai. "Interview with UK creative producer Alby James". WeirdMusic.net. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  5. ↑ Grater, Tom (28 June 2017). "NFTS selects participants for diversity-focused directors workshop". Screen Daily .
  6. ↑ "NFTS renews commitment to diversity announcing 2nd run of directing workshop led by Alby James". The British Blacklist. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  7. 1 2 Parfitt, Orlando (31 December 2018). "UK actors, film industry execs recognised in 2019 New Year's Honours list". Screen Daily. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  8. 1 2 "University of East Anglia Alumni". University of East Anglia. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  9. 1 2 "Alby James". British Black and Asian Shakespeare Database. University of Warwick. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  10. ↑ Carpenter, Sandy (Spring 1990). "Black and British Temba Theatre Forges the Mainstream: An Interview with Alby James". TDR. 34 (1). The MIT Press: 28–35. doi:10.2307/1146003. JSTOR   1146003.
  11. ↑ "Temba Theatre Company". Black Plays Archive. National Theatre . Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  12. ↑ "Key Industry Figures Attend Third Diverse Directors Showcase". NFTS. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  13. ↑ Archer, Nicholas Paul (2005). "The Recent Development of South African Short Film-Making" (PDF). Johannesburg: University of the Witwatersrand. p. 64. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  14. ↑ "New Year's Honours List for 2019: Thandie Newton, Michael Palin, Sophie Okonedo and more". London Theatre. 31 December 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  15. ↑ "New Year Honours at Leeds Beckett". 3 January 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.