Michael Blakemore
Michael Blakemore | |
---|---|
Born | Michael Howell Blakemore 18 June 1928 Sydney |
Died | 10 December 2023 | (aged 95)
Years active | 1951–2023 |
Awards |
Michael Howell Blakemore
Biography
Early life and career
Michael Howell Blakemore was born in Sydney, the son of Conrad Howell Blakemore, an eye surgeon, and his wife, Una Mary Litchfield. He married English actress Shirley Bush. Blakemore was educated at
Blakemore's first job in the theatre was as a press agent for
Blakemore then worked for several years in repertory including
Turns to directing
Blakemore appeared in two seasons at the
National Theatre
In 1969 Blakemore joined the
But in 1973 the Board of the National Theatre appointed
"It was a little like a putsch, and people were separated from one another by private concerns: what did the future hold and would they still keep their jobs?"[3]
Blakemore and Hall had been rivals during the 1959 season at the Royal Shakespeare Company when Hall had directed Blakemore as an actor and both had had romantic ideas about Vanessa Redgrave.[4] Blakemore became one of ten associate directors forming what was called a planning committee.[5] Blakemore and Hall's rivalry was dramatised when Blakemore presented a formal manifesto to the committee recommending reform.[6] The committee refused to discuss the manifesto and Blakemore was eventually forced to resign when his salary was stopped without warning or explanation.[7] His other productions included Tyger by Adrian Mitchell, co-directed with John Dexter (1971), The Front Page by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur (1972), Macbeth (1972), The Cherry Orchard (translated by Ronald Hingley, 1973), Grand Manoeuvres (1974), Engaged by W. S. Gilbert (1975), and Plunder by Ben Travers (1976).
Later career
In 1977 he joined the
His association with playwright Michael Frayn, which began at the Lyric Hammersmith with Make and Break (1980) and Noises Off (1982), continued with Frayn's Benefactors (Vaudeville, 1984), Frayn's translation of Uncle Vanya (Vaudeville, 1988), and his original plays, Here (Donmar Warehouse, 1993) and Now You Know (Hampstead, 1995). In 1980, Blakemore was invited to direct a series of four plays at the newly reconstructed Lyric Theatre (Hammersmith) by Artistic Director Bill Thomley. The Board made it known that they were looking for a new Artistic Director, and Blakemore decided to put his name forward. However, the job went to Peter James.[8]
After an absence of many years, Blakemore returned to the National to direct Frayn's play Copenhagen in May 1998, before its transfer to the Duchess Theatre in February 1999. This was followed by Alarms and Excursions (Gielgud, September 1998), Democracy (National, Cottesloe, September 2003; Wyndham's, April 2004)[1], and Afterlife (National, Lyttelton, June 2008)[2][permanent dead link].
In addition to his work in the subsidised theatre, Blakemore has directed many productions in the West End and on Broadway, including Noël Coward's
In 1995 he directed the off-Broadway production of Death Defying Acts, composed of three one-act plays (Central Park West by Woody Allen, The Interview by David Mamet and Hotline by Elaine May). Also Coleman's The Life (1997), the revival of Kiss Me, Kate (1999), Embers by Christopher Hampton, with Jeremy Irons at the Duke of York's Theatre in London (March 2006) [3] and, on Broadway, Deuce by Terrence McNally (April 2007) starring Angela Lansbury and Marian Seldes [4]. Blakemore's production of Is He Dead?, a comic play by Mark Twain, never previously produced, opened on Broadway in November 2007 with a run of 105 performances [5]. In 2014 Blakemore directed Angela Lansbury once more, in the critically acclaimed West End production of "Blithe Spirit". His most recent production was the London premiere of 'The Life', staged at the Southwark Playhouse in 2017, starring Sharon D Clarke.
Film
Blakemore directed and scripted the documentary, A Personal History of the Australian Surf: The Confessions of a Straight Poofter (1981), in which he appeared as himself. Tom Milne, reviewing it for the Time Out Film Guide, described the film as, "basically a home movie in which theatre director Blakemore traces his graduation from Bondi Beach to National Theatre."[9] He followed with the film version of Privates on Parade (1982) featuring Denis Quilley and John Cleese. In 1994, Blakemore wrote and directed Country Life. In this adaptation of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, transferred to an Australian setting, he also played the role of Alexander who has left the London literary scene to return to his roots. The film received five nominations from the Australian Film Institute and was entered into the 19th Moscow International Film Festival.[10]
Death
Michael Blakemore died on 10 December 2023 at the age of 95 following a short illness.[11]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1959 | The Captain's Table | Steward | Uncredited |
Operation Amsterdam | British Officer | Uncredited | |
The Heart of a Man | Man | Uncredited | |
A Midsummer Night's Dream | Tom Snout | TV film | |
1965 | Catch Us If You Can | Officer | |
1981 | A Personal History of the Australian Surf | Self | Autobiographical documentary |
1994 | Country Life | Alexander Voysey |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1956 | The Adventures of Sir Lancelot | Cedric | Episode: "The Black Castle" |
1958 | Armchair Theatre | Bradley | Episode: "The Pillars of Midnight" |
ITV Playhouse
|
Peter Gilbert | Episode: "The Browning Version" | |
1959 | The Larkins | Shop Manager | Episode: "Gift Horse Power" |
ITV Play of the Week
|
Makepeace 'Pym' Lovell | Episode: "No Time for Comedy" | |
1960 | Walter Clavering | Episode: "Vitriol" | |
Armchair Mystery Theatre | Newscaster | Episode: "Free Fall" | |
1961 | The Skewbald | Mr. Blair | Episode: "Surprise Encounters" |
Our Mister Ambler | Episode: "The Old Master" | ||
ITV Playhouse
|
Lewis | Episode: "The Reception" | |
ITV Play of the Week
|
Public Relations Officer | Episode: "Countdown at Woomera" | |
1963 | Suspense | Stephen | Episode: "The Man on the Bicycle" |
1964 | Redcap | Captain Jameson | Episode: "Misfire" |
Dixon of Dock Green | Matthews | Episode: "Routine" | |
1984 | The Last Bastion | John Curtin | Mini-series |
Honours, awards and nominations
- Honours
- 2003 – Officer of the Order of Australia[12]
- 2003 – Officer of the Order of the British Empire[13]
- Awards
- 1967 – Evening Standard Award Best Play– A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
- 1971 – Variety Magazine London Drama Critics Best Director – Forget-Me-Not Lane
- 1972 – Plays and PlayersAward for Best Director – Long Day's Journey into Night
- 1972 – Plays and Players Award for Best Director – The Front Page
- 2000 – Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Play – Copenhagen
- 2000 – Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play – Copenhagen
- 2000 – Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Musical – Kiss Me, Kate
- 2000 – Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical – Kiss Me, Kate
- 2003 – Helpmann Award for Best Direction of a Play – Copenhagen
- 2010 – Inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.[14]
- Nominations
- 1968 – Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play – A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
- 1984 – Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play – Noises Off
- 1984 – Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Play – Noises Off
- 1990 – Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play – Lettice and Lovage
- 1990 – Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical – City of Angels
- 1990 – Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Musical – City of Angels
- 1997 – Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical – The Life
- 1997 – Drama Desk Award Outstanding Direction of a Musical – The Life
- 2002 – Laurence Olivier AwardBest Director – Kiss Me, Kate
- 2003 – London Evening Standard Sydney Edwards Award– Democracy
- 2005 – Helpmann Award for Best Direction of a Play – Democracy
Bibliography
- Blakemore, Michael (1969). Next Season. New York: Simon and Schuster. OCLC 438604.
- Blakemore, Michael (2004). Arguments with England. London: Faber. ISBN 0-571-22445-8.
- Blakemore, Michael (2013). Stage Blood. London: Faber & Faber. p. 368. ISBN 978-0571241378.
- Herbert, Ian; Baxter, Christine; Finlay, Robert E (1981). Who's Who in the Theatre (17th ed.). Detroit: Gale. ISBN 0-8103-0234-9.
- Callow, Simon (1997). The National Theatre and its Work 1963–1997. Nick Hern Books. ISBN 1-85459-323-4.
- Ziegler, Philip (2014). Olivier. MacLehose Press. p. 352. ISBN 978-1623650421.
References
- ^ Blakemore (2013) p.1. The other A.D. was to be Ronald Eyre, but he dropped out and was replaced by John Dexter.
- ^ Ziegler, pp. 316,343
- ^ Blakemore (2013) p.121
- ^ Blakemore (2013) p.147. Neither of their passions was requited, but Hall did not renew Blakemore's contract. Tom Chester, a character in Blakemore's novel Next Season – a devious and aloof theatre director – is recognisable as Peter Hall.
- ^ The others were John Schlesinger, Harold Pinter, John Bury, Michael Birkett, Peter Stevens, Bill Bryden, John Russell Brown, Mike Kustow and Harrison Birtwistle
- ^ Blakemore (2013) pp.275–286. Perhaps his most insubordinate suggestion was that Peter Hall should no longer draw a full salary from the National during his frequent absences directing elsewhere (Glyndebourne, Bayreuth e.g.) All the other directors had their incomes from the National suspended while guest-directing.
- ^ Blakemore (2013) p.309 et seq.
- ^ Blakemore (2013) p.326-7
- ^ John Pym Time Out Film Guide 2009, London: Time Out Guides, 2008, p. 821
- ^ "19th Moscow International Film Festival (1995)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 22 March 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
- ^ "Michael Blakemore, OBE, AO – 18th June 1928 – 10th December 2023". www.unitedagents.co.uk. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ Order of Australia
- ^ The Guardian
- ^ Playbill.com Archived 22 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Michael Blakemore at the Internet Broadway Database
- Michael Blakemore at IMDb