Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes CBE (born 1 August 1965) is an English film and stage director, producer and screenwriter. In theatre, he is known for his dark re-inventions of the stage musicals Cabaret (1994), Oliver! (1994), Company (1995), and Gypsy (2003). He directed an original West End stage musical for the first time with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2013).
For directing the play The Ferryman, Mendes was awarded the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play in 2019.
Tony awards 2022: Company and The Lehman Trilogy lead big night for Brits
msn.comRelated: Tony awards 2022: Hugh Jackman, Angela Lansbury and MJ the Musical – in pictures It was a big night for British talent in New York, with the Broadway transfer of The Lehman Trilogy winning best play, best director and best actor in a play. “This play was written as a hymn to the city of New York but, like the Lehman brothers themselves, our show started thousands of miles away,” said playwright Ben Power, who adapted the show from Italian novelist and playwright Stefano Massini.
His version made its debut at London’s National Theatre in 2018. The play’s director, Sam Mendes, picked up his second Tony award, using his speech to herald “a season of such rampant creativity and diversity” and thanked his colleagues for “keeping this show alive during some pretty dark days”.
Simon Russell Beale was also named best actor in a play, saying he felt “a little sheepish” that he won over his two nominated co-stars, Adrian Lester and Adam Godley.
The Lehman Trilogy also won for scenic design and lighting of a play. The Broadway transfer of Company, which originated in London’s West End, was named best revival of a musical.
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