Jim Simpson
JIM SIMPSON is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Flea Theater (2004 Drama Desk cited for Downtown Adventurous Theater). Two-time OBIE-award winner, 2002 National Board of Review Excellence in Filmmaking, and cited for artistic leadership in Downtown New York by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council in 2002. Jim has directed over 70 works for the theater and has also directed for film and television. Venues include nine seasons at the Williamstown Theater Festival, Alley Theater, Hartford Stage, Yale Rep, Actor's Theater of Louisville, Eisenhower Theater at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Playwrights Horizons, EST, CSC, MCC, the London International Theater Festival and the Melbourne Fringe Festival. Jim was a child actor in his hometown of Honolulu, as a teenager worked with Jerzy Grotowski in Poland, and holds degrees from Boston University School for the Arts, and the Yale Drama School. Most recently, Jim directed A. R. Gurney's Crazy Mary at Playwrights Horizons, Will Eno's Oh, The Humanity..., the revival of Peter Handke's Offending The Audience, Addison's CATO, Thomas Bradshaw's Dawn, Gurney's A Light Lunch, Will Eno's UNUM as part of The Flea's The Great Recession, Jonathan Reynolds' Girls in Trouble, and Bathsheba Doran's Parents' Evening. (Oct 2010)
Reviews“VINTAGE GURNEY! SIGOURNEY WEAVER and KRISTINE NIELSEN serve their specialties with such gusto in CRAZY MARY, which features a breakout performance by the young MICHAEL ESPER. MS. WEAVER is expert in melding the airs of arrogance and apology while MS. NIELSEN touchingly signals the fear in her signature wild-eyed persona.”
— New York Times“WONDERFUL STUFF. SIGOURNEY WEAVER gives a priceless performance.”
— Journal News
“DELECTABLY ENTERTAINING. A CERTIFIABLE FUN TIME. A.R. Gurney has created five rich and juicy characters and all are played wonderfully under director JIM SIMPSON.”
— NY Daily News“KRISTINE NIELSEN delivers an affecting TOUR-DE-FORCE.”
— Hartford Courant