Man of the Arts
William Tyrone Guthrie used his natural gift for theatre to build a famous career as a director. However, it was his passion for helping other artists to discover their talents which makes him really special.
Sir William Tyrone Guthrie
This portrait of Tyrone Guthrie was taken by McKague and is property of the Stratford Festival of Canada. Guthrie's 1953 productions of Shakespeare's Richard III and All's Well That Ends Well at the first Shakespeare Festival at Stratford, Ontario, Canada were considered outstanding achievements. He continued at Stratford for the next four seasons, strongly influencing the development of Canadian theatre. The Tyrone Guthrie Theater (1963) in Minneapolis, Minn., modeled after the Stratford Theatre, followed Guthrie's approach for creating effective drama as outlined in his two major publications: Theatre Prospect (1932) and A Life in the Theatre (1960).
property of the Stratford Festival of CanadaSir William Tyrone Guthrie
property of the Stratford Festival of Canada
property of the Stratford Festival of Canada
Sir William Tyrone Guthrie
This portrait of Tyrone Guthrie was taken by McKague and is property of the Stratford Festival of Canada. Guthrie's 1953 productions of Shakespeare's Richard III and All's Well That Ends Well at the first Shakespeare Festival at Stratford, Ontario, Canada were considered outstanding achievements. He continued at Stratford for the next four seasons, strongly influencing the development of Canadian theatre. The Tyrone Guthrie Theater (1963) in Minneapolis, Minn., modeled after the Stratford Theatre, followed Guthrie's approach for creating effective drama as outlined in his two major publications: Theatre Prospect (1932) and A Life in the Theatre (1960).
property of the Stratford Festival of CanadaHe was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, the son of Dr. Thomas Guthrie (a grandson of the Scottish preacher, Thomas Guthrie) and Norah Power (granddaughter of the Irish actor, Tyrone Power).
Soon after graduating from the University of Oxford, he made his professional debut as an actor in 1923.
However, writing and directing were his greatest interests. With this in mind, he joined the BBC where he became one of the first writers to create plays designed for radio performance.
Sir William believed in doing things his own way. He was happy to work outside the established methods and brought greater realism to his productions. This helped to inspire later generations of theatre directors in the 60s and 70s.
His achievements were recognised when he was knighted by the Queen of England in 1961.
Where there's a Will there's a way
After a very succesful career, Sir William spent the last years of his life in Annaghmakerrig, Co. Monaghan, living at the family home there. When he died in May 1971, Sir William's will read as follows:
"...my said dwelling-house, furniture, pictures and chattels and the income of my residuary estate are to be used for the purpose of providing a retreat for artists and other like persons... so as to enable them to do or facilitate them in doing creative work."
The Arts Councils of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland came together to put Sir William's wishes into action and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre was opened in 1981.
Sir William gave of his land freely but did lay down one condition: all residents would sit down to dinner together each evening! This was to create a sociable atmosphere in the house so artists could find inspiration in their surroundings and in each other.