Directing - A selection of recent productions

Doctor Faustus – Christopher Marlowe

Premiere Minerva Theatre/North Street/Cathedral Chichester September 2004
Conceived and co-directed with Martin Duncan, Steven Pimlott and Dale Rooks. Designer – Jane Heather, Lighting – Jon Buswell, Music – Jason Carr, Choreography – Steve Elias
Faustus – Samuel West, Mephistopheles – Michael Feast, Good Angel – Matt Costain, Bad Angel – Stephen Ventura, Helen of Troy – Victoria McManus, Old Man – Steven Beard and a hundred participants from the local community.

Notable acting, the swirl of the crowd and an astonishing setting make this occasion a triumph – Jeremy Kingston The Times

A piece of CFT history in the making – a production that will be talked about for years – Phil Hewitt Chichester Observer

The sudden arrival from a side-street of Emperor Charles V in his chariot gives one the kind of thrill that pageantry must have given the Elizabethans - John Gross Sunday Telegraph

This is a not to be missed experience and shows how effectively theatre can be the basis for community development – Michael Sell The Stage

Beautiful People – Neil Monaghan

Premiere Stephen Joseph Theatre Scarborough October 2002
Design – Jane Heather, Lighting – Jon Buswell, Music – Mike Woolmans, Sound – Ben Vickers Cast – Stephen Beckett, Gina Bellman, Joseph Bennett, John Lightbody, Eleanor Tremain

an ultra-slick piece of designer theatre, delivering performances of such sang-froid that, if the characters became any cooler, they would stick to the floor - Alfred Hickling, The Guardian

Wild Orchids – translated from Jean Anouilh’s Leocadia by Timberlake Wertenbaker

Premiere Chichester Festival Theatre June 2002
Design – Poppy Mitchell, Lighting – Jon Buswell, Music – Gary Yershon, Sound – John Leonard, Choreography – Sue Nash Amanda – Catherine Walker, Prince – Andrew Scarborough, Duchess – Patricia Routledge, Hector – Michael Jayston, Head Waiter – David Timson, Butler/Inn Proprietor – Timothy Bateson, Taxi Driver/Gamekeeper – Edward Clayton, Ice Cream Vendor – Roland McLeod, Cloak room Lady - Sheila Shand Gibbs, Waitress – Rosanna Mason, Waiter - Timothy Wright, Gypsy Band - Kit Benjamin, Lewis Hancock, Helmut Scholz and Katherine Toy

… this magical, multi-layered and elegiac production is a potent reminder of why Anouilh deserves far greater popularity in British theatre … Edward Kemp’s production trades beautifully on the blurring between reality and unreality essential to the spirit of the play  Rachel Halliburton, Evening Standard

Profoundly stirring -  Michael Billington, The Guardian

I found myself strangely gripped and even moved … there is real pleasure to be had here … the piece's boulevard charms prove both potent and poignant … Great fun. -  Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph

Romance and humour intertwine beguilingly … A show that proves to be vaut le detour - Paul Taylor, The Independent

… an enchanting romance with a gypsy band and a shaft of moonlight -  Michael Coveney, Daily Mail

The Accrington Pals – Peter Whelan

Premiere Minerva Theatre, Chichester January 2002
Design – Jane Heather, Lighting – Jon Buswell, Sound – Gareth Fry
May – Amy Robbins, Tom – Richard Glaves, Ralph - Luke Jardine, Eva – Katherine Kelly, Sarah - Jane Cameron, Bertha – Megan Whelan, Annie – Karen Henthorn, Arthur - Bruce McGregor, Reggie – Samuel Barnett, Rivers – Joe Alessi

a beautifully judged and acted production - Paul Taylor, Independent

Peter Whelan’s play is proudly, confidently, gloriously old-fashioned, but, as directed by Edward Kemp, it is also a post-Brechtian epic history play ... The brief, superbly staged war scenes provide a background ... Whelan’s writing has an unostentatious eloquence and Kemp’s direction, observant, generous and unsentimental, allows it to flower vigorously ... The 10 young actors play with a thrilling, heart-stopping but fiercely disciplined eloquence.  A wonderful evening. - John Peter, Sunday Times

Edward Kemp’s sure-footed and superbly measured production aches with its realistic portrayal of an era when unbearable loss was balanced with a determined need for normality at home.  With his own company, The Table Show, Kemp has proved himself more than capable of creating works that embody the elusive and fantastical, yet here his determined and often humorous realism is grounded in details ... Universally high-quality acting seals a potent theatrical experience - Rachel Halliburton, Evening Standard

... sings with humanity, the sensual delight of body upon body, and the hurt of knowing you will have to learn to live without love -  Lyn Gardner, The Guardian

There’s no mistaking the poignant power of Edward Kemp’s production, in which all the characters come to life and the drained sense of loss at the end is devastating ... fine and hugely welcome revival - Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph

As I Lay Dying – William Faulkner adapted by Edward Kemp

Premiere Swine Palace Productions, Louisiana September 1998
Set – EM Boudreaux, Costumes – Simone C Williams, Lighting – Louis Gagliano, Sound – Lewis Rhodes, Music – André DuBroc Addie – Diane Wagner, Anse – Mark McLaughlin, Cash – JP DeLaHoussaye, Darl – Bill McDonald, Jewel – Tony Marble, Dewey Dell – Jessica Ketcham, Vardaman – Preston Lorio, Tull/Moseley – Tony Molina, Cora – Cristin Cunningham, Peabody/Samson – Jerry Lee Leighton, Whitfield – Stephen Trent Thomas, Armstid/Gillespie – Andre DuBroc, Skeet McGowan – Jorge Ponjuan, Fiddler – Robert Chaney