John Retallack
Artistic Director

John is the founder and director of Company of Angels. He has written and directed a number of plays in recent years including Risk (2007), Virgins (2006), Ballroom (2004), Sweetpeter (2004), Common Ground (2003), The Foundling (2003), Club Asylum (2002), The Wild Girl (2002), and Hannah and Hanna (2001), which has toured widely and been translated into several languages. He was a director at Performing Arts Labs where he ran the Playwrights labs (1996 – 2000). Company of Angels was awarded core funding by the Arts Council in 2004.
John was director of Oxford Stage Company (1989 – 1999) where his adaptation of Melvyn Burgess’ Junk won the TMA Young People’s Award in 1998. His Shakespeare productions for Oxford Stage Company toured internationally and won widespread critical acclaim over a period of ten years. He was the founding director of Actors Touring Company (ATC) (1977 – 85). His work has been awarded a number of prizes, including a SWET award in 1983 and a Herald Angel at the 2001 Edinburgh Festival. He has toured and worked in many countries including Europe, India, Japan and America. The National Theatre commissioned John to adapt Henning Mankell’s novel A Bridge To The Stars for the Connections programme in July 2007.
He is currently writing a new play for Company of Angels and adapting Henning Mankell’s I Die But the Memory Lives On for Croydon Clocktower.

back to people