Toby Sedgwick

Toby Sedgwick
Born (1958-08-16) 16 August 1958
England
OccupationsMovement director, actor,[1] theatre choreographer
Years active1981–present
Known forWar Horse
The 39 Steps

Toby Sedgwick (born 16 August 1958) is a British movement director, actor and theatre choreographer. He is best known for devising the "horse choreography" for the life-size puppets in War Horse (2007). The production played at the New London Theatre in the West End, the Vivian Beaumont Theater on Broadway, and Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre.[2][3][4] The work earned Sedgwick the 2008 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer[5] and the 2012 Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Choreography in a Play or Musical.[6]

Early life and training

Sedgwick was born in England in 1958 and attended Bryanston School in Dorset. He trained on the drama course at Arts Educational. He later studied for two years at L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris.[7] He co-founded The Moving Picture Mime Show in London.[8]

Career

Early work and subsequent career

Sedgwick made his directorial debut with Pidgin Macbeth (1998) at the National Theatre in London.[1] In 2006, he choreographed Hergé's Adventures of Tintin at the Playhouse Theatre and Dick Whittington and His Cat at the Barbican. He also directed a Manchester production of The Taming of the Shrew.[7]

Among Sedgwick's early major credits was co-direction for The 39 Steps at the Criterion Theatre in the West End in 2006.[9] His acting credits include Earfull at the Battersea Arts Centre in 2007. Other credits include The Tempest (2007), His Dark Materials (2009), and Looking for Yoghurt (2009).[1] Sedgwick played the Professor, the character associated with Harpo Marx, in the 1999 West End production of Animal Crackers at the Lyric Theatre.[10]

Sedgwick has served as movement director for British productions of The Nativity, Cinderella, King Lear, The Government Inspector, Marat/Sade, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.[7]

Other work

Sedgwick's work subsequently reached New York through the Broadway transfer of War Horse and his movement direction for The 39 Steps, produced by the Roundabout Theatre Company beginning in 2008.[11][12] Billed as Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps, it opened at the American Airlines Theatre on Broadway before transferring to the Cort Theatre and later the Helen Hayes Theatre for an extended run.[13]

Sedgwick assisted Danny Boyle with the choreography for the London 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony.[8]

Film and television

Sedgwick's screen work has combined acting with movement direction. His acting roles include an infected priest in 28 Days Later (2002), Black Brother in Shrooms (2007), and an enemy pilot in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010).[14] As a movement director and choreographer, he collaborated with Danny Boyle on 28 Days Later and the television series Pistol.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Toby Sedgwick Credits, London, England". London Theatre Database.
  2. ↑ "War Horse". London Theatre Database. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  3. ↑ Hetrick, Adam (20 December 2010). "Seth Numrich to Lead 'War Horse' on Broadway; 35-Member Cast Announced". Playbill. Archived from the original on 23 February 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  4. ↑ "War Horse". Mirvish Productions. Archived from the original on 11 August 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  5. ↑ "Hairspray Wins Four 2008 Laurence Olivier Awards Including Best Musical". Playbill. 9 March 2008. Archived from the original on 24 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "Black Canadian theatre company cleans house at Dora awards". The Globe and Mail. 25 June 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 "Toby Sedgwick", Who's Who, Playbill, accessed 28 February 2011.
  8. 1 2 3 "Rhinoceros". Almeida Theatre. Toby Sedgwick biography. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  9. ↑ Logan, Brian (23 September 2006). "The 39 Steps (Criterion, London)". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 March 2008.
  10. ↑ "Marx and sparks". Evening Standard. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  11. ↑ Rees, Jasper (18 August 2007). "The 39 Steps from Leeds to Broadway". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 May 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2008.
  12. ↑ Brantley, Ben (16 January 2008). "Spies, Blonde and a Guy Go North by Northwest". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 March 2008.
  13. ↑ Jones, Kenneth (21 January 2009). "The Chase Is Back On! 39 Steps Begins at Broadway's Helen Hayes". Playbill. Archived from the original on 6 February 2009.
  14. ↑ "Toby Sedgwick". Metacritic. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
Credits
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