Matthew Wild
South African theatre and opera director Matthew Wild made his operatic directing debut with the Swedish premiere of Philippe Boesmans’ chamber opera Julie for NorrlandsOperan and Malmö Opera in 2009. In the years since, his productions of Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims, Puccini’s Suor Angelica, Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress and Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors have established him as one of the leading South African directors of his generation. He is a two-time Fleur du Cap winner, and was featured in the Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans list for 2012.
Matthew made his debut as writer and director at the age of 21 with the cult youth drama More at Artscape in 2000. After completing his studies in English and Drama at the University of Cape Town, he acted in many plays, notably The Bacchae, King Lear, Cry, the Beloved Country, Jocasta Rising, Much Ado about Nothing and Romeo and Juliet. As a drama director, his credits include New Day (a multi-disciplinary celebration of South Africa’s first decade of democracy), Brett Goldin’s Bad Apple, Brent Palmer’s Witnesses, Transitory, Nhlanhla Mavundla’s A Man and a Dog, John van der Ruit’s Crooked, David Hare's Berlin/Wall, Myer Taub's Interrupting Henry and Neil LaBute’s The Mercy Seat. His production of Pieter Jacobs’ Dalliances premiered in Dublin in 2008, winning him the Hilton Edwards Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Production.
Early 2012 marked his Shakespearean debut at the Maynardville Open-Air Theatre. In August he launched a new Mozart-Da Ponte cycle for Cape Town Opera with Così fan tutte, and in November 2012 he directed the unanimously praised premiere of Nicholas Spagnoletti’s Special Thanks to Guests from Afar.
Matthew made his debut as writer and director at the age of 21 with the cult youth drama More at Artscape in 2000. After completing his studies in English and Drama at the University of Cape Town, he acted in many plays, notably The Bacchae, King Lear, Cry, the Beloved Country, Jocasta Rising, Much Ado about Nothing and Romeo and Juliet. As a drama director, his credits include New Day (a multi-disciplinary celebration of South Africa’s first decade of democracy), Brett Goldin’s Bad Apple, Brent Palmer’s Witnesses, Transitory, Nhlanhla Mavundla’s A Man and a Dog, John van der Ruit’s Crooked, David Hare's Berlin/Wall, Myer Taub's Interrupting Henry and Neil LaBute’s The Mercy Seat. His production of Pieter Jacobs’ Dalliances premiered in Dublin in 2008, winning him the Hilton Edwards Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Production.
Early 2012 marked his Shakespearean debut at the Maynardville Open-Air Theatre. In August he launched a new Mozart-Da Ponte cycle for Cape Town Opera with Così fan tutte, and in November 2012 he directed the unanimously praised premiere of Nicholas Spagnoletti’s Special Thanks to Guests from Afar.
