Michael Buffong
Michael Buffong is an English theatre director and the Artistic Director of Talawa Theatre Company. His work is characterised by reworking stage classics delivered to high degree of detail.[1][2][3][4] Buffong has been described as " ...one of the most influential directors of classic plays over the last two decades" [5].
Career
Buffong was born in Islington, London in 1964. He attended a director’s course at Theatre Royal Stratford East and was later appointed an assistant director there. He has been the artistic director Talawa Theatre Company since 2011.[6][7][8] With Talawa, Buffong has most recently directed Guys and Dolls,[9][10][11] King Lear,[2][1][12] All My Sons,[13][3] Moon On A Rainbow Shawl,[14][15][16][17] God's Property,[18] The Serpent's Tooth [19] and Passing Wind.[6][20]
He has also been particularly associated with the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester where he has directed at least five plays. Buffong also directed Lenny Henry and Lashana Lynch in the Willy Russell play Educating Rita at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester in 2015.[21][22][23]
His film and television credits include Holby City, EastEnders, Admin, Placebo, Calais Rules, Doctors, Casualty and Comedy Shuffle (BBC), Hollyoaks (Lime Pictures), Feeling It (Eye2Eye) and Blazed (Channel4). He has also written and directed the award-winning short film Simple! (Acapulco Film Festival).[24]
Theatre Productions
Royal Exchange
His credits include:[25]
- Six Degrees of Separation by John Guare with Lisa Eichhorn as Ouissa Kittredge, Phillip Bretherton as Flanders Kittredge and O-T Fagbenle (MEN Award) as Paul (May 2004)
- All the Ordinary Angels by Nick Leather. (Nov 2005)
- A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (MEN Award) with Ray Fearon as Walter Lee Younger, Starletta DuPois (MEN Award) as Lena Younger and Jenny Jules (MEN Award) as Ruth Younger (Feb 2010)
- Private Lives by Noël Coward with Imogen Stubbs as Amanda Prynne, Simon Robson as Elyot Chase, Joanna Page as Sibyl Chase and Clive Hayward as Victor Prynne (Mar 2011)
- All My Sons by Arthur Miller with Don Warrington as Joe Keller, Dona Croll as Kate Keller, Chike Okonkwo as Chris Keller, Kemi-Bo Jacobs as Ann Deever and Simon Coombs as George Deever. (October 2013)
- King Lear. Co-production with Talawa Theatre Company with Don Warrington in the title role. (April 2016)
- Guys and Dolls. Co-production with Talawa Theatre Company with Ray Fearon as Nathan Detroit, Lucay Vandi as Miss Adeleide, Ashley Zhamghazha as Sky Mssterson, and Abiona Omonua as Sarah Brown. (December 2017)
References
- ^ a b Allfree, Claire (18 May 2016). "Don Warrington's King Lear is a heartbreaking tour de force" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ a b Hickling, Alfred (7 April 2016). "King Lear review – as close to definitive as can be". the Guardian.
- ^ a b "All My Sons (Tour) - 'Michael Buffong ratchets up the tension'".
- ^ Hickling, Alfred (8 February 2012). "Waiting for Godot – review". the Guardian.
- ^ "Denis Lawson, Paulette Randall, Hossein Amini, Michael Buffong. Tricky, Jazz Morley, Sara Cox, Clive Anderson, Loose Ends - BBC Radio 4". BBC.
- ^ a b "Who We Are".
- ^ "Interview with Michael Buffong". thestage.co.uk. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
- ^ Thorpe, Vanessa (24 October 2015). "After a century of black British theatre, actors still struggle to take centre stage". the Guardian.
- ^ Gardner, Lyn (7 December 2017). "Guys and Dolls review – swaggering Harlem grit rocks the Broadway boat". the Guardian.
- ^ Treneman, Ann (8 December 2017). "Theatre review: Guys and Dolls at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
- ^ Brennan, Clare (10 December 2017). "Guys and Dolls review – larger than life, but with a core of grit". the Guardian.
- ^ "King Lear Reviewed".
- ^ Hickling, Alfred (2 October 2013). "All My Sons – review". the Guardian.
- ^ Edmonds, Richard (21 February 2014). "Review: Moon On A Rainbow Shawl at Birmingham Repertory Theatre".
- ^ "Theatre Review: Moon On A Rainbow Shawl @ National Theatre". 18 March 2012.
- ^ "Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, National, SE1 - review".
- ^ Billington, Michael (15 March 2012). "Moon on a Rainbow Shawl – review". the Guardian.
- ^ "Aversion therapy - The Spectator". 9 March 2013.
- ^ "The Serpent's Tooth - Exeunt Magazine". exeuntmagazine.com.
- ^ "Talawa Appoints Michael Buffong as New Artistic Director".
- ^ "All-black makeover for classic English tale".
- ^ "QUENTIN LETTS first night review of Educating Rita".
- ^ Brown, Mark (26 February 2015). "Lenny Henry to star in Educating Rita at Chichester". the Guardian.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Royal Exchange Production History". royalexchangetheatre.org.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2016.