40-554: Sean Gerard Mathias (born 14 March 1956) is a Welsh actor, director, and writer. He is known for directing the film Bent and for directing highly acclaimed theatre productions in London , New York City , Cape Town , Los Angeles and Sydney . He was included in the 2006 list of the 101 most influential gay and lesbian people in Britain in the Independent on Sunday 's Pink List . Mathias
80-714: A benefit, that performance featured McKellen, Richard E Grant , Ian Charleson and Ralph Fiennes . After receiving critical acclaim, Mathias directed a full run in 1990 at the National Theatre with McKellen alongside Paul Rhys and Christopher Eccleston , winning the City Limits Award for Revival of the Year. Mathias went on to direct theatrical plays both in London and on Broadway, including Pam Gems ' adaptation of Chekhov 's Uncle Vanya with McKellen and Antony Sher in 1992 at
120-954: A home in South Africa since 1997 after visiting the country with the National Theatre in 1994 for a series of workshops. He made his South African directing debut in July 2004 with Jean Anouilh 's Antigone at the Rhodes Theatre at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival, starring the South African actor John Kani . "I had fallen out of love with London," he told the Financial Times in October 2004. "I felt I had exhausted my life in London. I couldn't invent myself any more. My life
160-510: A production of King Lear . He later fictionalised the experience in the play My Perfect Mind , co-written with Paul Hunter. His book, Slim Chances and Unscheduled Appearances was published in 2011 and launched with a sell-out Platform at the National Theatre. At the same time he held his first art exhibition at Burgh House in Hampstead . With his friend Kathleen Riley, he is writing a history of West Hampstead, NW6 and All That . Petherbridge
200-713: A second run the following Christmas, with Frances Barber in the cast. In 2005, Mathias directed Rebecca Lenkiewicz 's Shoreditch Madonna at the Soho Theatre in London, starring Francesca Annis and Leigh Lawson . He returned to the US to direct Anton Chekhov 's The Cherry Orchard , with Annette Bening , Alfred Molina and Lothaire Bluteau , which opened at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in February 2006. Mathias has had
240-435: Is a Jew rather than a homosexual, because he believes his chances for survival in the camp will be better if he is not assigned the pink triangle . Max later confesses, to the same prisoner from the train, that the guards then forced him to have intercourse with the body of a dead pre-teen girl to "prove" he was not homosexual. That prisoner reveals their name is Horst. In the camp, Max makes friends with Horst, who shows him
280-608: Is a 1979 British-American play by Martin Sherman . It revolves around the persecution of gays in Nazi Germany , and takes place during and after the Night of the Long Knives . The title of the play refers to the slang word "bent" used in some European countries to refer to homosexuals . When the play was first performed, there was only a trickle of historical research or even awareness about
320-625: Is a winner of the Olivier and London Theatre Critics' Awards (for his role as Charlie Marsden in Strange Interlude ), and has twice been nominated for a Tony Award (for Nicholas Nickleby and Strange Interlude ). He has also been a recipient of the Sony Award for Best Actor in a Radio Drama. In 1989, Petherbridge was awarded an Honorary D.Litt. by the University of Bradford . Petherbridge married
360-455: Is beaten within an inch of his life, all the while Max tries to ignore his screams. Another prisoner on the train, wearing a pink triangle patch, explains the patch system during the Holocaust to Max and tells Max that he must show no sentiment towards Rudy. The officer has Rudy taken back to Max and coerces Max to beat Rudy to death. Max is taken by the guards and lies to them, telling them that he
400-414: Is co-owner of The Grapes, Limehouse pub along with business partners Ian McKellen and Evgeny Lebedev , since September 2011. Mathias began his acting career by appearing on the television screen in a small role on an episode of the cult BBC TV series Survivors , in 1977. Also in 1977, he played an Irish Guards lieutenant in the film A Bridge Too Far . In 1978, Mathias appeared in a production at
440-451: Is legal, but Max refuses to leave Rudy behind. As a result, Max and Rudy are found in a forest tent-colony and arrested by the Gestapo . They are forced to board a train headed for Dachau concentration camp . On the train, Rudy is spotted wearing glasses by an officer. The officer makes Rudy crush his glasses, and then orders Rudy to be taken, presumably to be killed for his poor eyesight. Rudy
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#1733085873451480-563: Is the night that Hitler orders the assassination of the upper echelon of the Sturmabteilung corps , to consolidate his power. Wolf is discovered the next morning and killed by SS men in Max and Rudy's apartment, and the two have to flee their home. They seek counsel from Rudy's boss Greta. Greta is a drag queen; she ran her own gay club, which is newly shut down (implicitly due to, at the time, new Paragraph 175 enforcements). Greta explains that
520-617: The Cannes film festival . Mathias has been planning to direct a new film set in South Africa and titled The Colossus , which he has adapted from the Ann Harries novel Manly Pursuits . Actors lined up for roles have included Rachel Weisz , Susan Sarandon , Colin Firth and Ian McKellen . As of 2010, this film project was still in its pre-production stage. Mathias, as of 2014, is also set to direct
560-651: The Comedy Theatre . Mathias' career then moved to New York, where, in October 2001, he directed McKellen and Helen Mirren in August Strindberg 's Dance of Death on Broadway. He went on to direct this in London and Sydney in 2003. Also, in March 2001, he directed an Off-Broadway production of Servicemen by Evan Smith. He followed this in April 2002 with a Broadway revival of The Elephant Man starring Billy Crudup at
600-592: The Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1985 before transferring to London's Donmar Warehouse . In 1987, A Prayer For Wings , directed by Joan Plowright , was produced in Edinburgh and, after winning a Fringe First awards, transferred to the Bush Theatre in London. Later plays include Poor Nanny in 1989, and Swansea Boys in 1990. His writing also includes a novel, Manhattan Mourning , published in 1988, and
640-431: The Edinburgh Festival Fringe , during which time he met actor Ian McKellen who subsequently became his lover of about nine years. Mathias' acting career continued into the 1980s with minor appearances on TV and in films such as Priest of Love (1981), which starred McKellen as D. H. Lawrence , and The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982), starring Anthony Andrews , Jane Seymour and McKellen. He made one notable appearance in
680-662: The Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway in April 1995 as Indiscretions , with Law joined by Kathleen Turner , Eileen Atkins , Roger Rees and Cynthia Nixon . It earned nine Tony Award nominations including Best Director of a Play. Mathias directed his first Stephen Sondheim musical, A Little Night Music , at the West End National Theatre in October 1995, with Judi Dench and Siân Phillips . He had worked with Phillips before, directing her in another Pam Gems adaptation, Henrik Ibsen 's Ghosts at
720-765: The Royale Theatre . In 2002, he returned to Sondheim to direct Company at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater in Washington, D.C. in 2002, as part of its Sondheim Celebration, with a cast including John Barrowman and Lynn Redgrave . Speaking to the Stephen Sondheim Society at the time, he said: "I always wanted to do Company ; it's the first musical I ever fell in love with." As a youngster in South Wales, Mathias said, he used to listen to
760-646: The Theatre Royal Haymarket , London in May 2009. It was his first production as 2009 artistic director of the Theatre Royal Haymarket. His second play at the Theatre Royal Haymarket was a stage version of Truman Capote 's Breakfast at Tiffany's , adapted for the stage by British playwright Samuel Adamson and starring Anna Friel , which opened in September 2009, with some critics commenting negatively on
800-487: The West End . Ian McKellen played Max and Tom Bell played Horst. In 1997, Sherman adapted Bent into a film of the same name , directed by Sean Mathias . The film featured Clive Owen as Max, Lothaire Bluteau as Horst, and Ian McKellen as Freddie. Edward Petherbridge Edward Petherbridge (born 3 August 1936) is an English actor, writer and artist. Among his many roles, he portrayed Lord Peter Wimsey in
840-990: The 1987 BBC television adaptations of Dorothy L. Sayers ' novels, and Guildenstern in Tom Stoppard 's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead . At the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1980, he was a memorable Newman Noggs in the company's adaptation of Dickens 's The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby . Petherbridge was born in West Bowling , Bradford , the younger son of William and Hannah Petherbridge. He attended Newby Primary school in West Bowling, Bradford, before later attending Grange Grammar School in Little Horton, Bradford, where his favourite subjects were Art and English Literature. The composer Herbert Howells wrote of Petherbridge's boy soprano rendition, at
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#1733085873451880-630: The 1988 film White Mischief as Gerald Portman. Another notable TV appearance was on the TV show Minder in 1982. The episode was entitled "Broken Arrow" and, in it, Mathias played the part of a young darts player named Dafydd. Mathias's play Cowardice was produced at the Ambassadors Theatre in London in August 1983, starring Ian McKellen, Janet Suzman and Nigel Davenport and received poor reviews. He followed it with Infidelities , which premiered at
920-618: The BBC TV film The Lost Language of Cranes , broadcast in 1992. A friend of Ian Charleson , whom he also directed in Bent , Mathias contributed a chapter to the 1990 book, For Ian Charleson: A Tribute . Mathias' career as a theatre director began in 1988 with Exceptions . In 1989, he directed a revival of Bent at the Adelphi Theatre, the award-winning play by Martin Sherman that had opened on Broadway in 1979 starring McKellen. Performed as
960-718: The Moon , Christopher Fry 's adaption of Jean Anouilh 's comedy, L'Invitation au Château , starring Angela Thorne at the West End Playhouse Theatre (opening in February 2008). He followed this with the UK production of Triptych at the London Southwark Playhouse in April 2008. He directed McKellen and Patrick Stewart in Samuel Beckett 's Waiting for Godot , which toured the UK in early 2009 before opening at
1000-489: The Nazi persecution of homosexuals. In some regards, the play helped increase that historical research and education in the 1980s and 1990s. Maximilian Berber (Max), a promiscuous gay man in 1930s Berlin , is at odds with his wealthy family because of his homosexuality. One evening, much to the resentment of his boyfriend Rudolph Hennings (Rudy), he brings home a handsome Sturmabteilung man, Wolfgang Granz (Wolf). Unfortunately, it
1040-645: The Royal National Theatre; Alan Bennett 's Talking Heads (again with McKellen), and Noel and Gertie starring Patricia Hodge and Edward Petherbridge . In 1994, Mathias won the London Critics Circle Theatre Award for Best Director for Noël Coward 's Design for Living (with Rachel Weisz , Clive Owen , Paul Rhys and Rupert Graves ) and Jean Cocteau 's Les Parents terribles , starring Sheila Gish , Frances de la Tour , Alan Howard and Jude Law . The latter transferred to
1080-451: The SS approached her for information about Wolf, and that she took them to Max and Rudy's apartment. She officially fires Rudy and hands Max the finder's fee she earned from the SS. They leave the club and Berlin behind. Max's uncle Freddie, who is also gay, but lives a more discreet life with rent boys to satisfy his desires, has organized new papers for Max to flee to France where homosexuality
1120-593: The Sherman Theatre in Cardiff in 1993. Mathias worked with Siân Phillips again in 1997, directing her as Marlene Dietrich in Marlene , which transferred to Broadway in 1999 and received two Tony Award nominations. Other London directorial credits include Antony and Cleopatra , starring Alan Rickman and Helen Mirren , in 1998, and Tennessee Williams ' Suddenly Last Summer with Sheila Gish in April to July 1999 at
1160-914: The Top (1972), The Ash Tree (1975), Casting the Runes (1979), Maigret , No Strings , Dead of Night , The Brief , Midsomer Murders (a role he took on after Ian Richardson died a few days before production was to begin), The Land Girls and Doctors . His film roles include Richard St Ives in Mike Newell 's An Awfully Big Adventure (1995), Lord Peter Wimsey, Dr. Pritchard in Gulliver's Travels (1996), Foster in A Christmas Carol (1999), Dom Vladimir in The Statement (2003), and Aesculapius in Pope Joan (2009), directed by Sonke Wortmann . Petherbridge
1200-580: The Wharfedale Festival, of Schubert 's 'Trout': "A fine young musician with a fine gift of word delivery." Petherbridge trained as an actor at Esme Church's Northern Theatre School. At the time of national service in the 1950s, he was a conscientious objector . He made his professional stage debut at the Ludlow Festival in 1956, playing Gaveston in Marlowe 's Edward II . His first London appearance
1240-597: The actress Emily Richard who died in 2024. They appeared together several times on stage. Petherbridge and Richard lived in West Hampstead in North London. The couple had two children, Dora (b. 1983) and Arthur (b. 1986). He has a son, David (b. 1965), by his first marriage to the New Zealand actress and director Louise Petherbridge (née Harris). In 2007, Petherbridge suffered two strokes while preparing to star in
Sean Mathias - Misplaced Pages Continue
1280-479: The adaptation though noting the actors' "good performances" and the play's "fluent staging". Mathias directed Waiting For Godot and No Man's Land in repertory on Broadway at the Cort Theatre again starring Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart. The plays ran from November 2013 to 30 March 2014 to rave reviews – with Ben Brantley of The New York Times calling them "Absurdly Enjoyable" and "...these productions find
1320-521: The dignity that lies in acknowledging what one is. They fall in love and become lovers through their imagination and through their words. After Horst is shot by camp guards, Max puts on Horst's jacket with the pink triangle and commits suicide by grabbing an electric fence . Bent premiered in London in 1979 at the Royal Court Theatre in Sloane Square, London, the production later transferring to
1360-415: The film Somewhat Dead , a horror- adventure- comedy film set in present-day England with a high profile cast. Mathias was in a relationship with actor Ian McKellen from 1978 to 1988. He married his partner Paul de Lange in South Africa in 2007. Mathias is the co-owner of "The Grapes" with Ian McKellen and Evgeny Lebedev . Source: Dollee Bent (play) Bent (sometimes stylised as BENT )
1400-470: The original Broadway recording of the show and sing "The Ladies Who Lunch" with friends: "I couldn't believe the songs, the cynicism, the sexuality." For the 2004 Christmas season, Mathias directed the pantomime Aladdin at the Old Vic in London, with McKellen as Widow Twankey alongside Maureen Lipman , Roger Allam and Joe McFadden . Due to its huge success, Mathias reunited with McKellen and Allam for
1440-447: The pure entertainment value in existential emptiness." Although his focus is on theatre direction, Mathias is also known as a film director because of his first feature film, Bent , based on the play that propelled him to success. Released in 1997, it starred Clive Owen alongside McKellen, Mick Jagger , Rupert Graves , Jude Law and Lothaire Bluteau . It won the Prix de la Jeunesse at
1480-731: The title role in 'Cyrano de Bergerac'; Krapp in Samuel Beckett 's Krapp's Last Tape ; Donner in Tom Stoppard's Artist Descending a Staircase ; and Tiresias in Sophocles ' Antigone . Petherbridge has performed in stage musicals, including The Woman in White , Lost in the Stars , The Fantasticks , Coco , and, most recently, a musical version of The Importance of Being Earnest . On television, he has made appearances in Journey's End , Man at
1520-645: Was a founding member of the Actors' Company in 1972; and with Ian McKellen established the McKellen-Petherbridge Group at the RNT in 1985. He has been praised for both tragic and comic parts, interpreting roles from Feydeau to Euripides . His major roles on stage include Newman Noggs in Nicholas Nickleby ; Charlie Marsden in Strange Interlude ; Gaev in The Cherry Orchard ; the Cardinal in The Duchess of Malfi ; Alceste in The Misanthrope ; Frank Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor ; Malvolio in Twelfth Night , King Cymbeline in Cymbeline ; Dr Dorn in The Seagull ; Sir Anthony Blunt in Single Spies ;
1560-436: Was at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park in 1962 as Demetrius in A Midsummer Night's Dream . Petherbridge began his tenure as part of Laurence Olivier 's National Theatre Company in the 1960s, walking on in Olivier's Othello and later creating the role of Guildenstern in Tom Stoppard 's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead . He has been a leading actor in the Royal Shakespeare Company and Royal National Theatre;
1600-406: Was frenetic and there was never time to absorb experiences. Then I had a series of deaths of people close to me, my mother died and a long-term relationship broke up. After that, right then, I felt I had failed." In 2007, he directed novelist Edna O'Brien 's play, Triptych , in Johannesburg, starring leading South African actor Dorothy-Anne Gould. He began 2008 by directing a revival of Ring Round
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