Sir Trevor Nunn Profile

When Trevor Nunn told his parents that he wanted to be an actor, they could only laugh. The five year-old had never seen a live performance. No one in his family had ever been involved with the theater or show business in any way. His father was a poorly-paid furniture maker, and the family lived simply, in a neighborhood where few boys or girls considered the possibility of higher education or a professional career. But Trevor Nunn would not abandon his dreams of the theater.

Today, a list of Trevor Nunn's productions reads like an honor roll of the English-speaking theater. He has directed memorable performances of almost all of the major plays of Shakespeare (and many of the minor ones) as well as classics by Ibsen, Shaw, Chekhov and Brecht. He has worked with some of the best-know contemporary playwrights, including Robert Bolt and Tom Stoppard. In 1979, he made theatrical history with his eight-hour stage adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel, Nicholas Nickleby which was seen on both stage and television on both sides of the Atlantic.

Trevor Nunn's musical productions include the most successful theatrical ventures of our time, including Cats, Les Miserables, Starlight Express and Sunset Boulevard.