Garry Hynes

Garry Hynes (born 10 June 1953) is an Irish theatre director. She was the first woman to win the prestigious Tony Award for direction of a play.

Biography

Hynes was born in Ballaghaderreen, County Roscommon, and educated at St. Louis Convent at Monaghan, the Dominican Convent at Galway, and UCG.^[1]

She is a co-founder of the Druid Theatre Company with Mick Lally and Marie Mullen in 1975 after meeting through the drama society of U.C.G. where they studied. She was Druid's artistic director from 1975 to 1991, and again from 1995 to date. Hynes directed for the Abbey Theatre from 1984 and was its artistic director from 1991 to 1994,^[1] and also the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Exchange, Manchester, the Kennedy Center and the Royal Court Theatre, London.

She is the civil partner of film producer Martha O'Neill.^[2]

Stage productions

Druid Theatre Company

The Cripple of Inishmaan, (Galway, Irish & UK tour, New York)
My Brilliant Divorce, (Galway and Irish Tour)
Long Day's Journey into Night, (Galway and Dublin Theatre Festival)
Leaves, (Galway and Royal Court Theatre, London)
The Playboy of the Western World, (Tokyo International Arts Festival)
Empress of India, (Galway and Dublin Theatre Festival)
The Year of the Hiker,(Galway and National Tour)
DruidSynge, (Galway Arts Festival, Dublin, Edinburgh International Festival and Inis Meáin 2005; Minneapolis and Lincoln Center Festival, New York 2006)
Sharon's Grave (Royal Court Co-Production)
Sive (Royal Court Co-Production)
On Raftery's Hill (Royal Court Co-Production)
The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Royal Court Co-Production)
The Leenane Trilogy (Royal Court Co-Productions)
Lovers Meeting
Conversations on a Homecoming
Bailegangaire
The Shaughran
Wood of the Whispering

Abbey Theatre

King of the Castle
The Plough and the Stars
The Power of Darkness
Famine
A Whistle in the Dark
Portia Coughlan

Other

The Weir (Gate Theatre, Dublin) (2008)
Juno (Encores! New York City Center) (2008)^[3]
Translations (McCarter Theatre/Manhattan Theater Club, New Jersey) (2006)^[4]
Mr. Peters' Connections (Signature Theatre Company, Off-Broadway) (1998)
Crimes of the Heart (Second Stage Theatre, Off-Broadway) (2001)^[5]
My Brilliant Divorce (West End)
Crestfall (Gate Theatre, Dublin) (2003)^[6]
16 Wounded (Broadway) (2004)^[7]
A Streetcar Named Desire (Kennedy Center, Washington) (2004)^[8]

Portrait in National Gallery of Ireland

In 2017, award-winning artist Vera Klute was commissioned by the National Gallery of Ireland to create a portrait of Hynes as part of the 2015 Hennessey Portrait Prize. The bust, made of porcelain, concrete and timber (with a dimension of 164 cm x 54 cm x 45 cm), was unveiled to the public in April 2017 and is currently on display as part of the Gallery's National Portrait Collection.^[9]

DruidSynge

Hynes directed DruidSynge, the company's critically acclaimed production of all six of John Millington Synge's plays that premièred at the Galway Arts Festival in 2005 and has since toured to Dublin, Edinburgh, Inis Meáin, Minneapolis and New York. DruidSynge has been described by Charles Isherwood of The New York Times as "the highlight not just of my theatre going year but of my theatre going life" and by The Irish Times as "one of the greatest achievements in the history of Irish theatre."^[10]^[11]^[12]

Awards and honours

Hynes has received honorary Doctorates from the University of Dublin (2004), The National University of Ireland, Galway (1998) and the National Council for Education Awards (1988).

In 1998 she won the Tony Award for Direction for The Beauty Queen of Leenane,^[13] the first woman to receive the award.

She is a recipient of many other Theatre Awards, including The Irish Times/ESB Irish Theatre Award for Best Director (2002) and a The Irish Times Special Tribute Award for her contribution to Irish Theatre in February 2005.^[14]

On 15 June 2006 she was awarded the Freedom of the City of Galway, its highest bestowed honour.^[15]

On 30 November 2022 Hynes was named a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.^[16]

References

^ ^a ^b Fay, Stephen. "theatre: How she broke the Abbey habit" Independent, 5 September 1992
^ Siggins, Lorna (19 December 2014). "Druid artistic director Garry Hynes and producer Martha O'Neill become civil partners: Private ceremony took place in Druid's Mick Lally Theatre". The Irish Times.
^ Bacalzo, Dan. "Full Cast Announced for Encores! 'Juno'" theatermania.com, 4 March 2008
^ " Translations McCarter Theatre" mccarter.org. Retrieved 7 April 2016
^ Gutman, Les."Review. 'Crimes of the Heart' curtainup.com, 2001. Retrieved 7 April 2016
^ Fricker, Karen. "Review. 'Crestfall'" The Guardian, 23 May 2003
^ 16 Wounded ibdb.com. Retrieved 7 April 2016
^ Marks, Peters. "Uneven 'Streetcar' Still Something To Be Desired" The Washington Post, 15 May 2004
^ "Press release 3/4/2017". National Gallery of Ireland. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
^ Isherwood, Charles. "Review" The New York Times, 12 July 2006
^ [1] druidsynge.com
^ McGee, Celia. "Garry Hynes, an Irish Director, Arrives With 8½ Hours of Her Countryman" The New York Times, 2 July 2006
^ Lefkowitz, David; Viagas, Robert. "RRRROOAARRRR!!! It's 'The Lion King' for Best Musical; 'Art' for Play Tonys" Playbill, 7 June 1998
^ McGarry, Patsy. "'Distinctive and powerful record' of Garry Hynes' work recognised" The Irish Times, 15 February 2005
^ "Freedom of the City for Garry Hynes Saoirse na Cathrach do Ghearóidín Ní Eidhin". Galway City Council. 16 June 2006. Archived from the original on 6 December 2007. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
^ "Gary Hynes named a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres". Retrieved 1 December 2022.

External links

Garry Hynes at the Internet Broadway Database
Irish Playography Profile
Druid Theatre
Dublin Theatre Festival Bio Archived 9 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine

[fay-1] Fay, Stephen. "theatre: How she broke the Abbey habit" Independent, 5 September 1992

[2] Siggins, Lorna (19 December 2014). "Druid artistic director Garry Hynes and producer Martha O'Neill become civil partners: Private ceremony took place in Druid's Mick Lally Theatre". The Irish Times.

[3] Bacalzo, Dan. "Full Cast Announced for Encores! 'Juno'" theatermania.com, 4 March 2008

[4] " Translations McCarter Theatre" mccarter.org. Retrieved 7 April 2016

[5] Gutman, Les."Review. 'Crimes of the Heart' curtainup.com, 2001. Retrieved 7 April 2016

[6] Fricker, Karen. "Review. 'Crestfall'" The Guardian, 23 May 2003

[7] 16 Wounded ibdb.com. Retrieved 7 April 2016

[8] Marks, Peters. "Uneven 'Streetcar' Still Something To Be Desired" The Washington Post, 15 May 2004

[9] "Press release 3/4/2017". National Gallery of Ireland. Retrieved 8 March 2018.

[10] Isherwood, Charles. "Review" The New York Times, 12 July 2006

[11] [1] druidsynge.com

[12] McGee, Celia. "Garry Hynes, an Irish Director, Arrives With 8½ Hours of Her Countryman" The New York Times, 2 July 2006

[13] Lefkowitz, David; Viagas, Robert. "RRRROOAARRRR!!! It's 'The Lion King' for Best Musical; 'Art' for Play Tonys" Playbill, 7 June 1998

[14] McGarry, Patsy. "'Distinctive and powerful record' of Garry Hynes' work recognised" The Irish Times, 15 February 2005

[15] "Freedom of the City for Garry Hynes Saoirse na Cathrach do Ghearóidín Ní Eidhin". Galway City Council. 16 June 2006. Archived from the original on 6 December 2007. Retrieved 28 May 2008.

[16] "Gary Hynes named a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres". Retrieved 1 December 2022.

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