QUAD Derby

QUAD is delighted to announced that Derbyshire born actor John Hurt CBE has been confirmed as our new Patron.

John Hurt was born in Shirebrook, Derbyshire, studied at St. Martin's School of Art and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and has since gone on to become one of Britain's greatest acting talents winning numerous awards including three BAFTA's, a Golden Globe and two Oscar nominations. Hurt's film career stretches from the early sixties to the present day and includes celebrated roles in A Man for All Seasons, The Elephant Man, Midnight Express, Alien, Love & Death on Long Island, Shooting Dogs, Harry Potter & The Philosopher's Stone and the latest Indiana Jones film released in 2008.

Hurt continues to have a full and varied career with five feature films currently in production as well as the soon to be aired ITV production of An Englishman in New York in which he reprises the role of Quentin Crisp 33 years after The Naked Civil Servant. The new film, depicting Crisp's life in New York, opened to huge acclaim at the recent Berlin Film Festival where John received the inaugural Teddy Award for Best Performance, an award that was introduced to honour his outstanding performance in this film.

He further cemented his relationship with Derbyshire when he was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Derby in January 2002.

John Hurt's first official engagement for QUAD will be at a fundraising dinner to be held at the Cathedral Quarter Hotel on Friday 27th March.

New patron John Hurt said: “I was delighted when Keith Jeffrey asked me to be the patron of QUAD. It is thrilling to be involved in such an exciting venture in my old county town. I only wish that I had been able to avail myself of it's facilities when I was young. QUAD has already proved itself to be a world class centre for artistic endeavour and I hope that my involvement, in some small way, will help to spread that message."