Barrie Rutter

Rutter was born and brought up in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, attending Newton Hall, part of Greatfield High School.

He participated in school plays, joining the National Youth Theatre and at the age of 17 in 1964, he left Hull to live with his aunt in Kennington, London. He later studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, but left early before finishing the course to go on a European tour with the NYT.

Rutter was passed over for the 1967 production of Peter Terson's football play Zigger Zagger, but Terson wrote a role for him in The Apprentices. He was with the Nottingham Playhouse in 1968, then freelanced until joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1975.[https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2012/mar/09/barrie-rutter-life-in-theatre A life in theatre: Barrie Rutter] The Guardian, 9 March 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2020Barrie Rutter (2016), Theatre Programme: The Merry Wives, Northern Broadsides and New Vic Theatre joint production.{{unreliable source?|date=February 2016}}

In the 1980s he performed in three adaptations by the poet Tony Harrison.

Rutter founded Northern Broadsides in 1992 and the company performs at its Halifax base and on tour. Rutter has played major parts in many of its productions.{{cite web

| title =About us – Barrie

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| accessdate =2 October 2007

| archiveurl =https://web.archive.org/web/20070928033044/http://www.northern-broadsides.co.uk/PAGES/ABOUT_US/aboutus_barrie.htm

| archivedate =28 September 2007

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}}

He has appeared in many films and television programmes, including Countdown to War, Queenie's Castle, Minder ("The Beer Hunter"), and a regular role in the early 1980s ITV sitcom Astronauts and as armed robber Oakes in the 1979 film version of the BBC sitcom Porridge. He appeared in The Bill "Suspects" in 1992. He appeared in 5 episodes of the television series Fat Friends in 2004–05, playing Douglas Simpson.{{cite web

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In 2009 Rutter directed Lenny Henry in a production of Othello.{{cite news

| title =Lenny just a jealous guy... and it's no joke

| newspaper =Yorkshire Evening Post

| date =10 April 2008

| url = http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Lenny-just-a-jealous-guy.4559128.jp

| accessdate =10 April 2008 }} He said of the decision to cast the comedian, "knives might be out at me or at Lenny. I don't care. This has come about from a completely genuine desire to do a piece of theatrical work. Bloody hell, how long has the Donmar had Hollywood stars going there for £200? He's six-foot five. He's beautifully black. And he's Othello."{{cite news

| last =Brown

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| title =A new Moor for West Yorkshire

| newspaper =The Guardian

| date =10 February 2008

| url = https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2008/oct/02/lenny.henry.othello

| accessdate =10 February 2008

| location=London}}

After setting up the run of Othello in London, Rutter was invited to direct Richard III for the 'Vanemuine' Theatre Company in Tartu, Estonia. Though he suffered a heart attack, he completed the rehearsals for the first night at the Samadateater in Tartu on 17 October 2009. In the third quarter of 2010, Rutter also became a patron for the newly opened ALRA North.{{citation needed|date=February 2016}}

In June 2016 Rutter was the subject of BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. His eight musical choices were works by Frank Sinatra, Kay Starr, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, César Franck, Eliza Carthy with Norma Waterson, Tina Turner and The Band. Tina Turner's Proud Mary was his track to "rescue from the waves". He declined to take The Bible but accepted the complete works of Shakespeare; his chosen book was a collection of Tony Harrison's poems and his luxury a pair of swimming flippers so that "at the first sign of madness" he could swim out to sea and battle with a shark. In the programme he discussed his childhood and family and professional life, including the loss of a son by cot death at 14 weeks.{{cite web|title=Barrie Rutter|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07gcvms|website=Desert Island Discs|publisher=BBC iPlayer|accessdate=21 June 2016}}

In July 2017 Rutter announced that he would step down from the post of artistic director at Northern Broadsides in April 2018 after frustration at what he saw as inadequate Arts Council funding for the company.{{cite news|last1=Wiegand|first1=Chris|title=Barrie Rutter resigns from Northern Broadsides due to stagnant funding|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/jul/20/barrie-rutter-resigns-from-northern-broadsides-25-years|accessdate=4 March 2018|work=The Guardian|date=20 July 2017}}

His final production with the company was The Captive Queen, an adaptation of John Dryden's Aureng-zebe, at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in February and March 2018; as well as directing, he played the part of the emperor.{{cite news|last1=Billington|first1=Michael|title=The Captive Queen review – Rutter bows out with rhyming couplets and marital spats|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/feb/08/the-captive-queen-review-sam-wanamaker-playhouse|work=The Guardian|date=8 February 2018}}{{cite web|title=The Captive Queen|url=http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/whats-on-2018/the-captive-queen|publisher=Shakespeare's Globe|accessdate=4 March 2018}}

In April 2023 he performed a one-man one-night show titled Shakespeare's Royals in Halifax.{{cite news |last1=Wilkinson |first1=Sue |title=Barrie Rutter returns with a new, very fitting, one-man, one-night show, Shakespeare's Royals, to the Viaduct, Halifax, later this month. |url=https://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/arts-and-culture/theatre-and-stage/northern-broadsides-founder-barrie-rutter-returns-to-halifaxs-viaduct-for-night-of-shakespeare-4108400 |access-date=15 July 2023 |work=Halifax Courier |date=18 April 2023}} He toured the same show in 2024 to venues including The Dukes in Lancaster,{{cite news |last1=Blade |first1=Michelle |title=The Dukes in Lancaster announces new season in 2024 to include two week family festival |url=https://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/news/national/the-dukes-in-lancaster-announces-new-season-in-2024-to-include-two-week-family-festival-4454301 |access-date=25 February 2024 |work=Lancaster Guardian |date=21 December 2023}} Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough,{{cite news |last1=Wild |first1=Stephi |title=Barrie Rutter OBE Brings One-Man Show Shakespeare's Royals to Scarborough's Stephen Joseph Theatre |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/uk-regional/article/Barrie-Rutter-OBE-Brings-One-Man-Show-SHAKESPEARES-ROYALS-to-Scarboroughs-Stephen-Joseph-Theatre-20240206 |access-date=25 February 2024 |work=BroadwayWorld.com |date=6 February 2024 |language=en}} and the Georgian Theatre Royal in Richmond, North Yorkshire.{{cite news |last1=Willis |first1=Joe |title=Tickets on sale for Georgian Theatre Royal's spring/summer season |url=https://www.richmondshiretoday.co.uk/tickets-on-sale-for-georgian-theatre-royal-spring-summer-season/ |access-date=25 February 2024 |work=Richmondshire Today |date=18 January 2024}} In October 2024 he had a role in long-running radio series The Archers.{{cite web |title=BBC Radio 4 - The Archers, 01/11/2024 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0024fnp |website=BBC |access-date=29 October 2024 |date=1 November 2024}}

He married American Carol Chillington in 1978, and moved near to Stratford-on-Avon when Chillington got a job at Warwick University. They have two daughters, and were divorced before 2009.{{cite news |last1=Arnot |first1=Chris |title=Her heart upon her sleeve |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2009/jan/27/professor-carol-rutter |access-date=25 February 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=27 January 2009}} Carol Chillington Rutter is Professor of Shakespeare and Performance Studies at Warwick and was director of the CAPITAL Centre from 2006 to 2011.[https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/english/people/rutterprofcarol/ Professor Carol Chillington Rutter] Warwick University, Retrieved 3 January 2020

In January 2020 The Yorkshire Post said that Rutter had been diagnosed with throat cancer.{{cite news |last1=Ahad |first1=Nick |title=Stage star Barrie Rutter faces cancer fight |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/people/stage-star-barrie-rutter-faces-cancer-fight-1-10228326 |accessdate=30 January 2020 |work=Yorkshire Post |date=30 January 2020}} By October 2020 he reported "Well, they don't call it the 'all-clear', they call it fully tested, but yes, I am back to normal" and was planning a performance of An Evening with Barrie Rutter at The Holbeck in Leeds.{{cite news |last1=Ahad |first1=Nick |title=Barrie Rutter: "As soon as I got the all-clear, I bought £600 of wine" |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/barrie-rutter-as-soon-as-i-got-the-all-clear-i-bought-ps600-of-wine-3005424 |access-date=25 February 2024 |date=18 October 2020}}

In 2000 he won the title 'Creative Briton 2000', with a cheque for £100,000.{{cite news

| title =Theatre pioneer receives welcome broadside

| work =BBC News

| date =29 June 2000

| url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/811818.stm

| accessdate =2 October 2007}} He was nominated for it by, amongst others, John Prescott, then Deputy Prime Minister, who said "Barrie's northern accent, fast action, factory floor Shakespeare is as far from elitism as can be, though it has never, never dumbed Shakespeare down."{{cite news

| title =Top prize for 'factory floor Shakespeare'

| work =BBC News

| date =28 July 2000

| url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/810139.stm

| accessdate =2 October 2007}} In 2003 he received the Sam Wanamaker Award jointly with Stephen Unwin for their work promoting Shakespeare in the regions.{{cite web|url=http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/information/samwanamakeraward/|title=The Sam Wanamaker Award|work=Shakespeare's Globe|accessdate=22 May 2008|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511181353/http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/information/samwanamakeraward/|archivedate=11 May 2008|url-status=dead}}

In 2005 he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of Bradford,{{cite web

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| accessdate =2 October 2007

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| archive-url =https://archive.today/20070923011238/http://www.bradford.ac.uk/admin/pr/pressreleases/2005/hon-grads-july-2005.php

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}} and in 2018 the same degree from Lancaster University.{{cite web |title=Honorary Graduates |url=http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/about-us/ourpeople/honorary-degrees/#twentyten |publisher=Lancaster University |accessdate=10 November 2018 |date=2018}}

Rutter was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to drama.{{London Gazette|issue=61092|supp=y|page=N14|date=31 December 2014}}[https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/391413/New_Year_Honours_List_2015.pdf 2015 New Year Honours List]

{{Reflist|2}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080725044235/http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/otherresources/interviews/BarrieRutter.htm Interview with The British Theatre Guide]
• [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7650432.stm Interview alongside Lenny Henry on BBC News]
• {{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/actors/barrie-rutter-theres-still-the-feeling-that-all-these-bloody-nor/ | title=Barrie Rutter: "There's still the feeling that all these bloody northerners should just shut up": interview | last=Cavendish | first=Dominic | work=The Telegraph | date=11 September 2016}}
• {{IMDb name|0752149}}

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Category:English male stage actors

Category:English theatre directors

Category:English male television actors

Category:1946 births

Category:Living people

Category:Male actors from Kingston upon Hull

Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire

Category:National Youth Theatre members