Alan Simpson (theatre director)

Alan Simpson (1920–1980) was an Irish theatre director.

Simpson was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Walter Simpson, a Church of Ireland clergyman. He was called-up to the army in 1941. In 1945 he transferred onto the army reserve and joined the Gate Theatre, Dublin as stage manager. With his wife Carolyn Swift he opened the Dublin Pike Theatre in 1953. The first production was The Quare Fellow by Brendan Behan.^[1] The most controversial production was The Rose Tattoo for the Dublin Theatre Festival. He subsequently worked at the Abbey Theatre.^[2]

Simpson divorced his first wife, Carolyn Swift.^[3] He then married Irish actress, Eileen Colgan.^[3] Simpson and Colgan remained together until his death in 1980.^[3]

References

1. Christopher Murray - Twentieth-Century Irish Drama: Mirror Up to Nation 2000 - Page 153 "Alan Simpson, a young director who with his wife, Carolyn Swift, had opened the Pike Theatre towards the end of 1953, obtained a copy of The Quare Fellow from Behan and decided to stage it."
2. Colin Murphy "Alan Simpson subsequently rejuvenated his career as a theatre director in the Abbey. He died in 1980, in his 50s. Carolyn Swift joined RTE, where she forged a successful and varied career that included devising and writing Wanderley Wagon."
3. O'Kelly, Emer (2014-03-16). "Eileen Colgan, Fair City actress, her career on stage and screen ranged from roles in Ulysses to Strumpet City". RTÉ News. Retrieved 2014-04-08.