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Matthew Francis |
From 1990 to 1998, Matthew Francis was Artistic Director of the Greenwich Theatre. His work there included his own adaptations of
Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, The
Prisoner of Zenda, Northanger Abbey and Huckleberry
Finn, (all of which have been published) as well as productions of
Cyrano De Bergerac (with Edward Petherbridge), The
Government Inspector
(with Timothy Spall), The Corn Is Green (with Patricia
Routledge), Side By Side By Sondheim, (with Dawn French)
Caesar and Cleopatra (with Alec McCowan) and many others.
He directed
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead for the Royal National Theatre, and his work in opera includes
Fidelio for Opera Northern Ireland. He has directed for The National Youth Theatre, at the University of South Florida (workshops of the Stiles/Raby musical
Three Musketeers in 1999, his own adaptation of The
Old Curiosity Shop in 2000, and The Comedy of
Errors in 2002).
He has worked extensively in repertory theatres across the UK. He was Associate Director at the Chichester Festival Theatre - where his work included
The Relapse, The Tempest, Twelfth Night
and Pinero's The Schoolmistress. He directed Noel
and Gertie (1999) and Shaws Candida (2000) for Alan Ayckbourn at Scarborough. In 2001 he directed Dawn French as Bottom in a West End production of
A Midsummer Nights Dream, and in 2003 Michael Richards (Kramer from Seinfeld) starred in his London revival of
Arsenic and Old Lace at the Strand Theatre.
His credits as television producer include the BBC success
Office Gossip and Gimme Gimme Gimme (the UK inspiration for WILL & GRACE) - for which he has been nominated for both a BAFTA award and the Golden Rose of Montreux. After working on the second series of the successful comedy
My Dad's The Prime Minister, Matthew produced the third series of the BBCs most successful drama
New Tricks.
At present, Matthew is collaborating on a music theatre adaptation of the movie
It's A Wonderful Life. He has also adapted Rose Tremains novel
Restoration for the Ambassadors Theatre Group. His adaptation of Carl Hiaasens
Lucky You goes into production in the US later this year. Matthew began his career as an actor - when, between theatre and TV appearances, he spent three happy months as front man for the Swedish pop group
ABBA.
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