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Celestino Coronado Romero

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Celestino Coronado Romero
Celestino Coronado in Brechin Place
Born(1944-11-20)20 November 1944
Died(2014-07-21)July 21, 2014
NationalitySpanish
Alma materThe Royal College of Art, London
Occupation(s)Theatre and film director

Celestino Coronado Romero (20 November 1944 - 21 July 2014), also known as Celestino Coronado was a Spanish film and theatre director[1], writer, also a flamboyant natural dancer and performer. He was artistic director of the Lindsay Kemp Company from 1973 to 1985[2]. He founded Cabochon Film Productions with David Meyer[3] and has also collaborated with The Incredible Orlando (aka blind actor Jack Birkett)[4] and with Chilean composer Carlos Miranda.[5].

Life and career

He was born in Puebla de Sancho Pérez, Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. He moved to Madrid in his early twenties and later settled in London in 1967 for the rest of his life, living in a rented flat in Brechin Place, South Kensington, which had become legendary for his many friends and collaborators[6].

He studied cinema at the Royal College of Art (School of Film and Television) and graduated Master of Arts in 1976. He studied mime with Lindsay Kemp and soon became a collaborator in his company as artistic director[7], contributing to the creation of the shows "Flowers" [8], "That's the Show", "Legends", Genet's "The Maids", "Salome", "Mr. Punch's Pantomime", "A Midsummer Night's Dream" , and "Duende, fantastic poem for Federico García Lorca" [9].

He also collaborated for the Rambert Dance Company with Lindsay Kemp and composer Carlos Miranda in the creation of the dance-theatre works "The Parades Gone By" (1976)[10] and "Cruel Garden" (with choreography by Christopher Bruce - 1977[11], also in the film version 1982 directed by Colin Nears which won the Prix Italia Musica-1982.[12]).

His RCA Diploma film "Hamlet" (1976)[13] and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" [14] (1984, after the Lindsay Kemp stage production, produced by Television Española (TVE)), were both premiered at the London Film Festival. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" also had a cinema release and was shown in Channel 4[15]. He has produced and directed video productions and Super 8 films based on stage shows, happenings and events. Among these, his Super 8 film of "Nijinsky, the fool" (1982, produced by Teatro alla Scala, Milano) and a video production of the play "Goodbye G.O.D." by Carlos Miranda with Jack Birkett (The Incredible Orlando) in 1987.[16][17]In 1989 he directed a theatre production of the play "Smoking Mirror" by Chilean playwright Alfredo Cordal[18], and also directed a version on video[19].

Last years and death

Coronado continued writing and conceiving several projects that failed to materialize. He lived his last years having problems of mental health and his sometimes conflicting public behaviour caused contentions with the police[20]. He died in July 2014, affected by colorectal cancer.

Filmography

  • The Lindsay Kemp Circus (1973)
  • Miroirs (1974)
  • Le Bel Indiferent (1975)
  • Hamlet (1976)
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream (1984)
  • Smoking Mirror (1989)

Further reading

  • A History of Shakespeare on Screen: A Century of Film and Television by Kenneth S. Rothwell (p.192-195)

References

  1. ^ "Shakespeare Quarterly by Roy Strong". Folger Shakespeare Library, George Washington University.
  2. ^ "Entre el amor y la muerte (entrevista con Lindsay Kemp y Celestino Coronado)" (in Spanish).
  3. ^ "Cabochon Film Productions".
  4. ^ "'The Incredible Orlando' film treatment by Celestino Coronado". University of Exeter.
  5. ^ "Carlos Miranda, work in cinema".
  6. ^ "Carlos Miranda, friends and collaborators".
  7. ^ "Lindsay Kemp interview, 24 Ore - Nova" (in Italian).
  8. ^ "entry on Celestino Coronado, WorldCat Identities".
  9. ^ "Lorca e il su tempo di Celestino Coronado" (in Italian).
  10. ^ John Percival (19 May 2002). "The Parades Gone By, Sadler's Wells, London". The Independent.
  11. ^ Trader Faulkner (20 November 1998). "Classical: And his bird can sing". The Independent.
  12. ^ "Prix Italia Music Past Editions - Winners" (PDF).
  13. ^ "The Split 'I' in Celestino Coronado's Hamlet" (PDF).
  14. ^ Neil Forsyth. "Shakespeare and Méliès: Magic, Dream and the Supernatural".
  15. ^ "San Francisco International Film Festival".
  16. ^ "Goodbye G.O.D. film information at CITWF".
  17. ^ "Goodbye G.O.D."
  18. ^ "Hernán Cortés llega al teatro marginal británico con Celestino Coronado". El País (in Spanish). 2 October 1989.
  19. ^ "Smoking Mirror film". BFI Film Forever.
  20. ^ "FIlm-Maker Who Directed Dame Helen Mirren is in the Court's Spotlight - Again". Square Mile News. 29 June 2013.