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David Lan is an English playwright, filmmaker, and social anthropologist. Born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1952, he emigrated to London in 1972. Since 2000 he has been artistic director of the Young Vic theatre in London's South Bank. He lead the campaign to rebuild the theatre which reopened to much aclaim in October 2006. At the Young Vic, he has initiated the Genesis Directors' Project, the Jerwood Directors Award and the Young Vic Award. In the recent survey in The Stage of the 100 most influential people in the UK theatre, he was ranked 15.

In addition to his many plays' libretti and films, he is the author of the non-fiction work Guns and Rain: Guerrillas & Spirit Mediums in Zimbabwe[1], on Zimbabwe's struggle for independence from colonial rule. Some of his stage works reflect his academic interest in aspects of African religion, including spiritual possession and cargo cults. He was also written and drected a number of documentaries for the BBC, mostly set in Africa.

He was writer in residence at the Royal Court Theatre from 1995 to 1997. He has received the John Whiting Award and the George Orwell Award, and in 2004 the Young Vic received an Olivier Award for 'a provocative season under the artistic leadership of David Lan'.

• Ion, libretto for the opera by Param Vir, (2000)
• Tobias and the Angel, libretto for the opera by Jonathan Dove, (1999)
• The Ends Of The Earth (1996)
• Desire (1990)
• A Mouthful of Birds, with Caryl Churchill (1986)
• Flight (1986)
• Sergeant Ola And His Followers (1979)
• Red Earth (1978)
• The Winter Dancers (1977)
• Not In Norwich (1977)
• Paradise (1975)
• Homage To Bean Soup (1975)
• Painting A Wall (1974)
• Bird Child (1974)

• The Cherry Orchard, translation of the play by Anton Chekov (2001)
• La Lupa (The She-Wolf), translation of the play by Giovanni Verga (2000)
• Uncle Vanya, translation of the play by Anton Chekov (1998)
• Ion, translation of the play by Euripides (1994)
• Hippolytos, translation of the play by Euripides (1991)
• Ghetto, translation of the musical by Joshua Sobol with English lyrics by Jeremy Sams (1989)

• The Sunday Judge - Mozambique (1985)
• Dark City - South Africa (1990)
• Welcome Home Comrades - Namibia (1990)
• Artist Unknown (1995)
• Royal Court Diaries (1996)

• Biography at the Young Vic
• 2002 interview with the Guardian

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