David Lan
David Lan (born 1 June 1952) is a South African-born British playwright, theatre director and social anthropologist.
He was appointed artistic director of the Young Vic theatre in London in 2000.
Born in Cape Town, he trained as an actor and gained a BA at the University of Cape Town. He has lived in London since 1972, apart from two years in Zimbabwe 1980–1982. He was awarded a BSc first class (1976) and a PhD (1984) in Social Anthropology from LSE.
He was writer in residence at the Royal Court Theatre from 1995 to 1997.
At the Young Vic, he led the campaign to rebuild the theatre (architects Haworth Tompkins) which reopened to acclaim in October 2006, being named RIBA London Building of the Year and short-listed for the Stirling Prize as well as winning many other awards. He also led the 24 shows in 31 cities 'Walkabout' season during the 2-year rebuild.
He has produced more than 200 shows.
He initiated the Genesis Directors' Project, the Jerwood Directors Award and the Young Vic Award.
In addition to his many plays, libretti, and films, he published an anthropological study after two years of field research in the Zambezi Valley in the extreme north of Zimbabwe. Guns and Rain: Guerrillas & Spirit Mediums in Zimbabwe (1985) describes the influence of religious practice on Zimbabwe's struggle for independence from colonial rule. It has been described as 'a classic of modern anthropology' and is taught in universities all over the world. Some of his stage works reflect his interest in politics and religion, including spirit possession and cargo cults.
He has written, directed and produced documentaries for the BBC, mostly made in African countries, but also a 'fly on the wall' account of the redesign of the Royal Court Theatre which he filmed himself over the course of a year.
He was co-director of the 'Young Genius' season at the Barbican in 2005 and of 'World Stages London' at theatres across London in 2012.
He currently chairs the Belarus Free Theatre and is on the boards of the Motley Theatre Design School and Good Chance Theatre. He is co-chair of the International Council of Isango Ensemble and Patron of the theatre at Mulberry School.
Between 2013 and 2015 he was also Consulting Artistic Director of the soon to be built Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center in New York, where he is now an artistic associate.
On graduating from the LSE he received the Raymond Firth Award. For his writing he received the John Whiting Award and the George Orwell Award. He received an Olivier Award for the 2004 Young Vic season as well as other Olivier, Evening Standard, Critics' Circle, South Bank Show, Tony and Drama Desk Awards for his productions of plays, operas and musicals. In 2010 he was awarded an honorary D.Litt for services to theatre and community by the University of the South Bank. In the 2016 survey in The Stage of the 100 most influential people in the UK theatre he was ranked 6th.
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