Donald is a writer, broadcaster and music impressario. His biography of Dahl – Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl has received tremendous critical reviews and is published by Harper Press. Donald grew up in England and South America and, after leaving Oxford University, joined BBC Television’s Music and Arts Department in 1983, where he worked as writer, producer and director.
He has made more than 30 documentaries, including biographical features about William Trevor, Robert Graves, Jennifer Johnston and Dahl.
Throughout the 1990s he continued to maintain a close relationship with Dahl’s work, the Dahl family and the Roald Dahl Estate. Since 1992, he has been the artistic director of the Roald Dahl Foundation, masterminding an ambitious project to create an international library of new orchestral works and operas for children, based on the stories of Roald Dahl.
In 1995 Sturrock directed an acclaimed BBC television version of his own adaptation of Roald Dahl’s LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD with Danny DeVito, Ian Holm and Julie Walters. And in 1998, at the Los Angeles Opera, Sturrock also directed the world premiere of FANTASTIC MR FOX, an opera based on Dahl’s book, adapted by Sturrock, and with designs by Gerald Scarfe. It was widely acclaimed for its sophisticated wit and comic invention. The Wall Street Journal praised the libretto’s ‘profound grasp of musical storytelling’, while the Frankfurter Algemeine described the production as ‘brilliant and flawless’. He is agented by Caroline Dawnay at United Agents.
For The Independent review of Donald’s biography click
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