Jonathan Kent (director)

Jonathan Kent (born 1946, South Africa) is an English theatre director and opera director. He is best known as a director/producer partner of Ian McDiarmid at the Almeida Theatre from 1990 to 2002.

Early life

After an upbringing in South Africa, educated at the Diocesan College, he came to London in the 1970s and trained as an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Working under Giles Havergal and Philip Prowse at the Glasgow Citizens Theatre, he found that "acting taught him just how difficult it is to act .... acting is a valiant pursuit".The Observer (London), 27 January 2002

Career

By 1990 Kent had formed an association with the Scottish actor Ian McDiarmid, and between 1990 and 2002 as joint artistic directors, they turned the Almeida into a major producing theatre. The success of this venture - presenting a wide range of international plays - led to productions transferring to the West End (14 between 1990 and 2002 under Kent's tenure) and also to Broadway.

In 1995/6, he directed Mother Courage and Her Children at the Royal National Theatre, which helped Diana Rigg earn an Evening Standard Theatre Award for her performance in the title role. For the stage, Kent's most recent production of Brian Friel's Faith Healer was a success in both Dublin and on Broadway.

On 9 July 2007 it was announced that Kent had been invited to direct three plays at the Haymarket Theatre from September 2007 as a means of...
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