John Burrell (theatre director) John Burrell (theatre director) John Percy Burrell (6 May 1910–28 September 1972) was an English theatre director. John Burrell was educated at Shrewsbury School in Shropshire, England and he led a successful theatre career afterwards. He was appointed as a co-director of the Old Vic Theatre in London, England, with Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson in 1948. He later moved to the USA and worked on Broadway, New York. "He was a founder of the American Shakespeare Festival Theatre and Academy at Stratford, Connecticut, where he also taught acting, and which opened its first season in July 1955. He was
The Old Vic already known as the "Old Vic". The "penny lectures" given in the hall led to the foundation of Morley College. An endowment from the estate of Samuel Morley led to the creation of the "Morley Memorial College for Working Men and Women" on the premises, which were shared; lectures were given back stage, and in the theatre dressing rooms. The adult education college moved to its own premises nearby in the 1920s. With Emma Cons's death in 1912 the theatre passed to her niece Lilian Baylis, who emphasised the Shakespearean repertoire. The Old Vic Company was established in 1929, led