Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes CBE (born 1 August 1965) is an English film and stage director, producer and screenwriter. In theatre, he is known for his dark re-inventions of the stage musicals Cabaret (1994), Oliver! (1994), Company (1995), and Gypsy (2003). He directed an original West End stage musical for the first time with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2013).
For directing the play The Ferryman, Mendes was awarded the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play in 2019.
Avalon, the U.K.-based management and production company whose credits include Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, Catastrophe, and the recent Sky/FX comedy Breeders, has bolstered its creative force, acquiring a majority stake in The Agency, the British agency whose clients represent some of the leading writers and directors in U.K.
TV, film and theater. Among those on The Agency's books are 1917 director Sam Mendes, alongside Happy Valley and Gentleman Jack creator/writer Sally Wainwright, the Old Vic Theatre's current artistic head and Matilda The Musical director Matthew Warchus, Years and Yearscreator/writer Russell T.
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