To celebrate the premier of Ubu Roi this week at Warwick Arts Centre, there will be a FREE foyer talk with the production's acclaimed director Declan Donnellan on Thursday 31 January at 6.45pm in the Theatre Bar at Warwick Arts Centre. Declan is an acclaimed director, playwright and co-founder of 'Cheek by Jowl'.

About Declan Donnellan

Declan Donnellan is joint founder and joint Artistic Director of 'Cheek by Jowl'.

Declan was born in England of Irish parents in 1953. He grew up in London and read English and Law at Queens' College, Cambridge. He was called to the Bar at Middle Temple in 1978. He and his partner, Nick Ormerod, formed 'Cheek by Jowl' in 1981. Since then, Declan has directed 30 productions for the company.

In 1989 he was made Associate Director of the Royal National Theatre in London where his productions have included Fuenteovenjuna, Sweeney Todd, The Mandate and both parts of Angels in America.

For the Royal Shakespeare Company he has directed The School for Scandal, King Lear (Academy 2002) and Great Expectations. He has also directed Le Cid for the Avignon Festival, Falstaff for the Salzburg Festival and the ballet of Romeo and Juliet for the Bolshoi in Moscow. Other work in Russia includes The Winter's Tale for the Maly Drama Theatre of St Petersburg.

In 2000, Declan formed a company of actors in Moscow, under the auspices of The Chekhov International Theatre Festival, whose productions include Boris Godunov, Twelfth Night, Three Sisters, and The Tempest. These productions have already been seen in 48 cities across 25 countries. Declan has also written a play, Lady Betty, about Ireland's notorious hangwoman, which was performed by 'Cheek by Jowl' in 1989, and has also adapted Don't Fool with Love by de Musset, Antigone by Sophocles, The Mandate by Erdman and Masquerade by Lermontov.

His book, The Actor and the Target, originally published in Russian (2001), has since appeared in French, Spanish, Italian, German, Romanian and Mandarin. The second English edition was published in 2005.

He has received awards in Moscow, Paris, New York and London, including three Laurence Olivier Awards - Director of the Year (1987), Best Director of a Play (1995) and the Olivier for Outstanding Achievement (1990). His first feature film, Bel-Ami, co-directed with Nick Ormerod, was released in 2012.

Find out more on the Cheek by Jowl website.