Paul Richard Bentley (born 25 July 1942) is a British stage, film and television actor, perhaps best known for playing the High Septon in the television series Game of Thrones. He is also a writer.
After university Bentley moved to Munich, hoping to become an opera director. He began acting in English programmes on the Bavarian radio station Bayerischer Rundfunk. He also appeared in the film The Last Escape, in which he played a British spy in Bavaria in World War Two.[2]
In 1973 Bentley wrote the book and lyrics for Shylock, a musical version of The Merchant of Venice, performed at the 1974 Edinburgh Festival. He played the title role; the composer and director was Roger Haines.[3]Shylock won a Scotsman Fringe First Award.[4] In 1977 an updated version called Fire Angel,[5] set in a 20th century New York City Mafia nightclub, appeared at Her Majesty's Theatre, London.[6] Bentley was the alternate leading man, his first West End part. A revised version of the original Shylock was produced at the Leicester Haymarket Studio Theatre in 1981[7] and at the Manchester Library Theatre in 1982.[8] Bentley again played the title role and Haines directed both productions.
In 1994 Bentley was asked by the Danish composer Poul Ruders to write the libretto for his opera The Handmaid's Tale based on Margaret Atwood's novel,[15] which won a Cannes Classical Award and Reumert Prize.[16][17] In A Handmaid's Diary, Bentley tells the story of the opera from the first phone call to the first night (directed by Phyllida Lloyd).[18] Ruders' and Bentley's second opera was Kafka's Trial.[19][20] Librettos for three other composers followed: Ana Sokolovic's The Midnight Court,[21] Dominique Le Gendre's Bird of Night[22] and James Rolfe's Inês.[23]
Bentley has also written a novel, The Man Who Came After Hyacinth Bobo, about the Fourth Crusade and the Siege of Constantinople, published in Greek[24] and English,[25] plus occasional newspaper and magazine articles. Bentley's latest works include Inquisition, a play about the famous Jesuit scientist Teilhard de Chardin, and a radio play in which Jane Austen meets Lord Byron.
Personal life
Paul Bentley married Annie Healey in 1979. They met at the Byre Theatre, St. Andrews, where Annie was an assistant stage manager. They have two daughters, Emma and Rebecca, who both work in the theatre. Bentley's sister, the novelist Ursula Bentley, died in 2004.[26]
Bentley took part in Mastermind on BBC TV (15 March 1992) where his specialist subject was The Life and Works of King Ludwig II of Bavaria.[27] He lost in this first round with a score of 29.
The Handmaid's Tale - composer Poul Ruders, director John Fulljames – San Francisco Opera, 2024
The Handmaid's Tale – composer Poul Ruders, director Peter Carp – Theater Freiburg, Freiburg, 2024
The Handmaid's Tale – composer Poul Ruders, director John Fulljames – Royal Danish Opera, Copenhagen, 2022
The Handmaid's Tale – composer Poul Ruders, director Annilese Miskimmon – English National Opera, London, 2022
The Handmaid’s Tale – composer Poul Ruders, director Anne Bogart – Boston Lyric Opera, Boston, 2019
The Handmaid’s Tale – composer Poul Ruders, director Linda Thompson – Gertrude Opera, Yarra Valley Opera Festival, Melbourne, 2018
Ines – composer James Rolfe, director Jennifer Tarver – Queen of Puddings Music Theatre, Enwave Theatre, Toronto, 2009
Bird of Night – composer Dominique Le Gendre, director Irina Brown – Royal Opera Covent Garden, Linbury Studio, London, 2006
The Midnight Court – composer Ana Sokolovic, director Michael Cavanagh – Queen of Puddings Music Theatre, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto 2005; Royal Opera Covent Garden, Linbury Studio, London, 2006
Kafka's Trial – composer Poul Ruders, director Francisco Negrin – Opera House, Copenhagen, 2005
The Handmaid's Tale – composer Poul Ruders, director Eric Simonson – Minnesota Opera, Minneapolis, 2003
The Handmaid's Tale – composer Poul Ruders, director Phyllida Lloyd – Royal Danish Opera, Copenhagen, 2000; English National Opera, London, 2003; Canadian Opera Company, Toronto, 2004
Bibliography
A playwright's quest for a missing Pierre Teilhard de Chardin file, The Christian Century, 10 July 2018
The Sixth Proposition, The Tablet, 2 June 2018
Teilhard de Chardin, Original Sin, and The Six Propositions, with David Grumett, Zygon, 16 April 2018
The Mosaicing of Westminster Cathedral, in New Light on Old Glass, British Museum 2013
The Man Who Came After Hyacinth Bobo, Fourth Crusade novel, Amazon 2011
Ines, libretto based on the Inês de Castro legend, 2009
Bird of Night, libretto set in Trinidad, 2006
Thrills not theology, article on The Da Vinci Code for the Daily Telegraph, 6 May 2006
Kafka the comedian, article for the Daily Telegraph, 28 February 2005
The Midnight Court, libretto based on the poem by Brian Merriman, 2005
What Islam took from Byzantium, article for the Catholic Herald, 14 May 2004
A Handmaid's Diary, how The Handmaid's Tale became an opera, Wilhelm Hansen 2004
Ο άνθρωπος που διαδέχθηκε τον Υάκινθο Βωβό, Fourth Crusade novel, Enalios 2004
Lost for Words, article on Berlioz and Wagner, Opera Now, Jan/Feb 2003
The Handmaid's Tale vocal score, Wilhelm Hansen 2002
Time to cover a ton of bricks, article for the Daily Telegraph, 24 July 1999
