Mark Dornford-May was born on his Grandfathers farm near Eastoft in Yorkshire. His paternal Grandfather was a miner on the Yorkshire coalfields. His Mother worked as a school teacher and his Father was Drama Adviser for Chesire County Council and was awarded an MBE for services to theatre in the 1980s. Dornford-May is the eldest of three brothers.
In 2002 he married South African actress and singer Pauline Malefane. Together they have three children. Dornford-May also has a child from a previous relationship. In 2004 he became a permanent resident of South Africa and in 2007 he was officially inducted into the Sotho clan of his wife’s family.
After reading Drama at the Bristol University, Dornford-May was offered an Assistant Directorship with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He worked mainly with Terry Hands on the acclaimed productions of “Coriolanus” and “The Duchess of Malfi” as well as directing “The Invisible Man” and coordinating “The Plays Banned” by Television Season… read more
Mark Dornford-May was born on his Grandfathers farm near Eastoft in Yorkshire. His paternal Grandfather was a miner on the Yorkshire coalfields. His Mother worked as a school teacher and his Father was Drama Adviser for Chesire County Council and was awarded an MBE for services to theatre in the 1980s. Dornford-May is the eldest of three brothers.
In 2002 he married South African actress and singer Pauline Malefane. Together they have three children. Dornford-May also has a child from a previous relationship. In 2004 he became a permanent resident of South Africa and in 2007 he was officially inducted into the Sotho clan of his wife’s family.
After reading Drama at the Bristol University, Dornford-May was offered an Assistant Directorship with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He worked mainly with Terry Hands on the acclaimed productions of “Coriolanus” and “The Duchess of Malfi” as well as directing “The Invisible Man” and coordinating “The Plays Banned” by Television Season at the then RSC Workhouse Theatre. He the left the RSC to found The Playwrights Company at Bristol Old Vic, specialising in the creation of new work and supported and funded by Tom Stoppard. In 1981 he was appointed Artistic Director of Solent Peoples Theatre commissioning Peter Tersen’s, “We were all heros then”, and Steve Gooch’s, “Fast One”. He moved to Stoke on Trent to work at the Victoria Theatre with Peter Cheesman. The artistic emphasis placed on music and the skills of the actor were central to the work at Stoke and began to form the central focus of Dornford-May’s work. It is also at Stoke that his deep passionate commitment to theatre as a vehicle for social change began to become central to all his work. Together with Peter Cheesman he helped to oversee the rebuilding of the New Vic in Stoke.
Following Stoke, Dornford-May went into training of actors for a number of years working at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and mainly at The Central School of Speech and Drama where he worked alongside Mark Wing Davey running the acting course.
In the mid-1990s Dornford-May formed Broomhill Opera with Music Director Charles Hazlewood. This company restored and revived Wilton’s Music Hall in the East End of London. The Music Hall had been derelict for many years but through Dornford-May the first phase of its restoration was undertaken allowing it to become a public space once more. Simon Callow, Sir Jonathan Miller, Rory Bremner, Harold Pinter and ir John Gielgud all worked in the Music Hall once it was semi-restored.
In 2000, Dornford-May and Charles Hazlewood travelled to South Africa where they held auditions across the country, auditioning over 2000 individuals to form the lyric theatre company Dimpho Di Kopane (DDK). Their theatre productions of The Mysteries – Yiimimangaliso, Carmen, The Snow Queen and Ibali looTsotsi – The Beggar’s Opera, toured the world to sold out houses and great critical acclaim.
Dornford-May and the company adapted the stage production of Carmen, to create the film U-Carmen eKhayelitsha, starring Pauline Malefane in the title role. The film garnered a number of awards, including the Golden Bear for Best Film at the Berlin Film Festival in 2005.
The company’s second feature film, Son of Man, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in the US in 2005.
In 2006, Dornford-May co-founded the theatre company Isango Ensemble. Their first productions of The Magic Flute – Impempe Yomlingo and A Christmas Carol – iKrismas Kherol premiered at the Baxter Theatre, Cape Town, before going on to a sold-out run at the Young Vic Theatre. Both productions were awarded the Whatsonstage Theatre Goers Choice Award for Best Off-West End Production. The Magic Flute – Impempe Yomlingo transferred to the Duke of York’s Theatre in the West End where it was awarded the Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival. The Magic Flute – Impempe Yomlingo continues to tour the world and has performed in London, Chichester and Canterbury in the UK, Dublin, Tokyo, Singapore, Johannesburg, Paris and Holland. In Paris the production had a sold-out run at the Chatelet du Theatre and was awarded the Globes de Cristal for Best Opera.
In 2007, Dornford-May and Isango Ensemble reworked The Mysteries – Yiimimangaliso which premiered at the Baxter Theatre, Cape Town, and had a critically acclaimed West End season at the Garrick Theatre, London.
From June 2009 to Jan 2010, Dornford-May oversaw the design and development of the Fugard Theatre, Cape Town. The theatre opened to great acclaim on 12 February 2010 with a performance of The Magic Flute – Impempe Yomlingo in front of guests including the Deputy President of South Africa. The Isango Ensemble company was the company in residence in 2010 and premiered two new productions, Aesop’s Fables, an adaptation of Peter Terson’s script, and The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists – Izigwili Ezidlakazelayo, a new version of which was written by Stephen Lowe for the company.
In 2011, Dornford-May and Isango Ensemble have announced that they will develop their own theatre in the townships surrounding Cape Town. They have also announced Ian McKellen as patron of the company. They plan to premiere two new productions in 2011. —wikipedia
