
Directing
Richard Eyre
Born
1943-03-28 (83)
Place of birth
Barnstaple, Devon, England
Known for
Directing
Credits
49 titles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre CBE (born 28 March 1943) is an English director of film, theatre, television, and opera. Description above from the Wikipedia article Richard Eyre, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known for
7.5What are the secrets of our favourite TV shows? Famous names from both sides of the camera reflect on making some of the most popular and influential programs of all time.
Remembers…
2022
7.1A veteran high school teacher befriends a younger art teacher, who is having an affair with one of her 15-year-old students. However, her intentions with this new "friend" also go well beyond platonic friendship.
Notes on a Scandal
2006
5.4The story of a husband who suspects his wife of adultery, and sets out to track down the other man in her life.
The Other Man
2008
6.6In the midst of a marital crisis, a High Court judge must decide if she should order a life-saving blood transfusion for a teen with cancer despite his family's refusal to accept medical treatment for religious reasons.
The Children Act
2018
6.0An aging King invites disaster, when he abdicates to his corrupt, toadying daughters, and rejects his loving and honest one.
King Lear
2018
6.2One fateful night in a small English regional theatre during World War II a troupe of touring actors stage a production of Shakespeares King Lear. Bombs are falling, sirens are wailing, the curtain is up in an hour but the actor/manager Sir who is playing Lear is nowhere to be seen. His dresser Norman must scramble to keep the production alive but will Sir turn up in time and if he does will he be able to perform that night? The Dresser is a wickedly funny and deeply moving story of friendship and loyalty as Sir reflects on his lifelong accomplishments and seeks to reconcile his turbulent friendships with those in his employ before the final curtain.
The Dresser
2015
Film credits
2020s · 2 titles
NRArchival footage provides a glimpse into the life of Cameron Mackintosh; the storied producer famous for Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, Cats and many more.
Cameron Mackintosh - The First 50 Years
2021
NRMarking Play for Today’s 50th anniversary, Drama Out of a Crisis is a compelling exploration of the series, its origins, achievements, controversies and legacies. Featuring a rich and surprising range of archive extracts and original interviews with many who created the series, including producers Kenith Trodd, Margaret Matheson and Richard Eyre, and directors Mike Leigh, David Hare and Ken Loach.
Drama Out of a Crisis: A Celebration of Play for Today
2020
2000s · 3 titles
7.7An exclusive featurette in which directors and fellow actors speaks about Maggie Smith's career and her way of working.
Maggie Smith at the BBC: a portrait
2008
Richard Eyre talks to Judi Dench about her art, her career and views on acting.
Judi Dench Talks to Richard Eyre
2002
NRWe follow Henrik Ibsen throughout his life. From early shame over his father's bankruptcy, via bitterness over the then conservative public life, to his older years as a national institution that tourists gathered to watch on their way to their very punctual, daily lunch at the Grand Café in Oslo.
Løven - Henrik Ibsen
2006
Series credits
7.5What are the secrets of our favourite TV shows? Famous names from both sides of the camera reflect on making some of the most popular and influential programs of all time.
Remembers…
2022
7.5What are the secrets of our favourite TV shows? Famous names from both sides of the camera reflect on making some of the most popular and influential programs of all time.
Remembers…
2022
NRLondon itself takes the starring role in this series of plays from the BBC – a role which varies between hero and villain, enchantress and harpy. The series features extensive location filming, ranging from Soho to the Law Courts, Wembley to the docks. Of the twelve episodes, eleven are believed to be lost.
Londoners
1965
Behind the camera
7.1A veteran high school teacher befriends a younger art teacher, who is having an affair with one of her 15-year-old students. However, her intentions with this new "friend" also go well beyond platonic friendship.
Notes on a Scandal
2006
5.4The story of a husband who suspects his wife of adultery, and sets out to track down the other man in her life.
The Other Man
2008
5.4The story of a husband who suspects his wife of adultery, and sets out to track down the other man in her life.
The Other Man
2008
6.6In the midst of a marital crisis, a High Court judge must decide if she should order a life-saving blood transfusion for a teen with cancer despite his family's refusal to accept medical treatment for religious reasons.
The Children Act
2018
6.0An aging King invites disaster, when he abdicates to his corrupt, toadying daughters, and rejects his loving and honest one.
King Lear
2018
6.0An aging King invites disaster, when he abdicates to his corrupt, toadying daughters, and rejects his loving and honest one.
King Lear
2018
6.2One fateful night in a small English regional theatre during World War II a troupe of touring actors stage a production of Shakespeares King Lear. Bombs are falling, sirens are wailing, the curtain is up in an hour but the actor/manager Sir who is playing Lear is nowhere to be seen. His dresser Norman must scramble to keep the production alive but will Sir turn up in time and if he does will he be able to perform that night? The Dresser is a wickedly funny and deeply moving story of friendship and loyalty as Sir reflects on his lifelong accomplishments and seeks to reconcile his turbulent friendships with those in his employ before the final curtain.
The Dresser
2015
6.4True story of the lifelong romance between novelist Iris Murdoch and her husband John Bayley, from their student days through her battle with Alzheimer's disease.
Iris
2001
6.4True story of the lifelong romance between novelist Iris Murdoch and her husband John Bayley, from their student days through her battle with Alzheimer's disease.
Iris
2001
6.6Humble Maria, who outfits top London theater star Ned Kynaston, takes none of the credit for the male actor's success at playing women. And because this is the 17th century, Maria, like other females, is prohibited from pursuing her dream of acting. But when powerful people support her, King Charles II lifts the ban on female stage performers. And just as Maria aided Ned, she needs his help to learn her new profession.
Stage Beauty
2004
5.4When news of the closure of a small hospital's geriatric ward begins to reach the community, the hospital invites a local news crew to document their planning of a concert in honor of the hospital's most celebrated nurse. But there might be something more threatening to the hospital itself, more deadly than the politicians ready to shut down the place at a moment's notice.
Allelujah
2023
4.8As the UK begins its military engagement in the Falklands, a BBC news journalist attempts to climb up from his working-class roots, at any cost, lying to those around him to get what he wants, only to discover that he is the recipient of a deception far more clever than his own.
The Ploughman's Lunch
1983
NROne man's view of the British Army in Germany - the social life, discipline, drink, women and, occasionally, the defence of the West.
Soldiers Talking, Cleanly
1978
7.0Madame Ranevsky and her daughter Anya return home from Paris to find their beloved family estate and cherry orchard are to be auctioned off to pay debts. Lopahin, a former serf on the estate who is now a wealthy landowner, proposes razing the home and cherry orchard and dividing the estate into plots that could be leased at great profit. The family, however, continues to hold out hope that their beloved home can somehow be saved from destruction.
The Cherry Orchard
1981
2.0Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London Live showing of Verdi's Traviata with subsequent re-screenings Violetta, a Parisian courtesan suffering from tuberculosis, is throwing a party to celebrate her recovery. A young nobleman, Alfredo, plans to attend, and has long been in love with Violetta. Before long, Violetta has fallen for him as well, but Alfredo's father disapproves of their relationship. He convinces Violetta to leave Alfredo for the sake of his family's image, not realising how ill she really is. Richard Eyre's production of 'La Traviata' immerses the audience in the indulgence of 19th Century Paris, a vivid setting for Verdi's famous score.
The ROH Live: La Traviata
2016
7.0Alfredo Germont and the courtesan Violetta Valéry fall in love at a party in Violetta's Paris salon. Alfredo is determined to cure Violetta of her tuberculosis, and the couple leave Paris and begin a contented life in the country. But Violetta's happiness is destroyed when Alfredo's father Giorgio Germont pays her a visit. Richard Eyre's stunning naturalistic production contrasts the superficial glamour of 19th-century Parisian high life with intimate scenes for Violetta with Alfredo and Giorgio Germont, culminating in the heart-breaking final act.
Royal Opera House: La Traviata
2019
7.0Kristine Opolais is the young woman whose conflicting desires for love and luxury lead to her tragic end, and Roberto Alagna plays the man who falls for her in Puccini’s early hit. Richard Eyre’s elegant production, which sets the action in 1940s occupied France, was one of the highlights of the Met’s 2015–16 season. Massimo Cavalletti as Manon’s brother and Brindley Sherratt as her aging admirer co-star, and Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi is on the podium.
Manon Lescaut - Metropolitan Opera
2016
7.0Kristine Opolais is the young woman whose conflicting desires for love and luxury lead to her tragic end, and Roberto Alagna plays the man who falls for her in Puccini’s early hit. Richard Eyre’s elegant production, which sets the action in 1940s occupied France, was one of the highlights of the Met’s 2015–16 season. Massimo Cavalletti as Manon’s brother and Brindley Sherratt as her aging admirer co-star, and Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi is on the podium.
Manon Lescaut - Metropolitan Opera
2016
Set in the mystic, brooding, and wild landscape of Cornwall, the rugged Atlantic foot of England, Danni, a housekeeper at Manderville Hall—a grand and historic house owned by the wealthy and widowed Lord DeWithers—falls prey to the glance of a young and beautiful visitor, the novelist Daphne Du Maurier. For one, their affair is an all-consuming love, for the other, an intoxicating realisation of her secret longings.
The Housekeeper
—
5.7The film centers on the experiences of Robert Lawrence MC, an officer of the Scots Guards during the Falklands War of 1982. While fighting at the Battle of Mount Tumbledown, Lawrence is shot in the head by an Argentine sniper and left paralyzed on his left side. He then must learn to adjust to his new disability.
Tumbledown
1988
NRMezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine reprises her remarkable portrayal of opera’s ultimate seductress, a triumph in her 2017 debut performances, with impassioned tenors Yonghoon Lee and Roberto Alagna as her lover, Don José. Omer Meir Wellber and Louis Langrée share conducting duties for Sir Richard Eyre’s powerful production, a Met favorite since its 2009 premiere.
The Metropolitan Opera: Carmen
2019
9.0Star tenor Jonas Kaufmann brings aching intensity and vocal charisma to the tortured title hero of Massenet’s Goethe adaptation. Sophie Koch, in her Met debut, is an appealing and elegant Charlotte, the object of Werther’s passionate affection that will lead to tragedy. Lisette Oropesa as Sophie, David Bižić as Albert, and Jonathan Summers as Le Bailli co-star. Richard Eyre’s atmospheric production is conducted by rising maestro Alain Altinoglu.
The Metropolitan Opera: Werther
2014
NRDeveloped by Paul Copley from his own 1977 stage play, Pillion tells the story of motorbike enthusiast Fenton and his friends, meeting in a rural shed. Recorded in the first half of 1979 for the BBC's Play for Today, the finished play was never broadcast.
Pillion
1979
6.5Political drama written by David Hare and starring John Thaw and based on Labour's disastrous 1992 election campaign. Labour leader George Jones battles with his party on the campaign trail of a general election.
The Absence of War
1995
9.0Jake lives in the shadow of his dying grandfather, who was once the town's toughest hard man. Despite their hatred of each other, Jake's sole aim is to be as tough as the old man was. One day in Jake's life, as he drifts, drinks and fights, leads to a bleak realisation.
Just a Boys' Game
1979
7.9Second World War drama - A young woman decides against working in a munitions factory, and lands a post with the signals corps attempting to crack the Enigma code.
The Imitation Game
1980
10.0Play For Today written by and starring Neville Smith. Christian Harvey , a local radio DJ and ageing rocker, is an obsessive fan of Elvis and the news of Elvis's death is for him a personal tragedy as well as the end of an era.
Long Distance Information
1979
5.9Franz, a young man, works in a dye factory in Prague. One day he notices a rash-like eczema, growing on his hands. All attempts to treat it with ointment fail, and the rash gradually spreads over his body. After complaining to the management he is laid off work; his relationship with his fiancee is affected. In an attempt to get compensation from his former employers he looks to insurance firm Assicurazion Generali, where he encounters an enigmatic clerk called Kafka.
The Insurance Man
1986
6.4The only son of wealthy widow Violet Venable dies while on vacation with his cousin Catherine. What the girl saw was so horrible that she went insane; now Mrs. Venable wants Catherine lobotomized to cover up the truth.
Suddenly, Last Summer
1993
NRRichard Eyre’s elegant production, which opened the Met’s 2014–15 season, sets the action of Mozart’s timeless social comedy in a manor house in 1930s Seville. Ildar Abdrazakov leads the cast as the resourceful Figaro set on outwitting his master, the philandering Count Almaviva, played by Peter Mattei. Marlis Petersen sings Susanna, the object of the Count’s affection and Figaro’s bride-to-be, Amanda Majeski is the Countess, and Isabel Leonard gives a standout performance as the pageboy Cherubino. Music Director James Levine on the podium brings out all the humor, drama, and humanity of Mozart’s score.
The Metropolitan Opera: The Marriage of Figaro
2014
7.5Comedians is a TV movie/play by Trevor Griffiths, set in a Manchester evening class for aspiring working-class comedians.
Comedians
1979
NRGeorgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili gives a dynamic performance as Bizet’s iconic gypsy, the woman who lives by her own rules. Aleksandrs Antonenko is Don José, the soldier who falls under her spell, and Ildar Abdrazakov plays Escamillo, the swaggering bullfighter who takes Carmen away from Don José—an action that seals Carmen’s tragic fate. Anita Hartig is Micaëla, and Pablo Heras-Casado conducts Richard Eyre’s hit production, set in 1930s Spain.
Bizet: Carmen
2014
NR67 year-old Victor is forced to move into an old people's home but he prefers to grow old disgracefully.
Past Caring
1986
8.0In his further adventures Frank finds success and unhappiness.
The Adventures of Frank: Seeds of Ice
1980
7.5In 1945, the Carlions assemble at an English country house for a family gathering. During the event, they must determine who is to take over the family brewing empire, since the present head of the business, Sir Frederick, is getting old. The results of the 1945 general election causes a major stir, and some angry farmers occupy a barn.
Country
1981
3.8A woman enlists a man who claims he is gay to accompany her on a long drive to a feminist conference in Munich.
Loose Connections
1984
10.0Play by Robert Holman, about two brothers at a rural comprehensive in Teeside. The older brother, Gordon, joins the army and is killed by the IRA in Northern Ireland. The younger blames his father for letting Gordon join the army.
Chance of a Lifetime
1980
8.5An aging King invites disaster, when he abdicates to his corrupt, toadying daughters, and rejects his loving and honest one.
King Lear
1998
A young woman has a mental breakdown in a state institution.
The Ha-Ha
1969
NRAt one of her lavish parties, celebrated Parisan courtesan Violetta is introduced to Alfredo Germont. The two fall madly in love, and though hesitant to leave behind her life of luxury and freedom, Violetta follows her heart.
Royal Ballet & Opera 2025/26: La Traviata
2026

