Joe Vanek
Professional
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Biography
Joe Vanek trained for theatre design with an MA at Manchester University. He then worked as Head of Design at various British regional theatres in the 1970s and '80s. He first worked in Ireland with director Patrick Mason in 1984, moving to Dublin in 1994 to become Director of Design for Ireland's National Theatre, The Abbey. Since 1998 he has been working freelance.
In Ireland, he has designed world premières of many leading Irish playwrights; the most famous of which, "Dancing at Lughnasa" by Brian Friel, was subsequently presented at the Royal National Theatre in London, in the West End and on Broadway where he received two Tony Award nominations.
In the USA he has recently designed Marina Carr's "By the Bog of Cats" with Holly Hunter in San Jose. During the last fifteen years he has designed a wide range of operas including: "Don Pasquale" and "Ariane" and "Bluebeard" (Opera North); "Il Trittico" (English National Opera); "Rigoletto" (Welsh National Opera); and "The Love of Three Oranges" (Royal Danish Opera). In Ireland, his designs have been seen at the Wexford Festival in 1987 and 1989, and for major productions for Opera Theatre Company and Opera Ireland.
In 1997 he designed the national tour of Cliff Richard's "Heathcliff". In marked contrast he has recently worked with American film director, Neil Labute on his play "b.a.s.h." In 1998 he designed his first full length ballet, "Legs of Fire", based on the film of "The Red Shoes", for the Royal Danish Ballet and is currently re-united with its choreographer Flemming Flindt for "The Triumph of Death" which opens in Copenhagen in October 2002.
