- Michael Grandage
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Michael Grandage Born 2 May 1962
Yorkshire, EnglandOccupation theatre director, producer Michael Grandage CBE (born 2 May 1962) is a British theatre director and producer, and current Artistic Director at the Donmar Warehouse, London. Grandage won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for Red.
Contents
Early years
Grandage was born in Yorkshire, England, and raised in Penzance, Cornwall where his parents ran a family business. He was educated at the Humphry Davy Grammar School before training as an actor at Central School of Speech and Drama through 1984. He worked as an actor for twelve years before turning to directing in 1996.[1] His partner is award-winning British theatre designer Christopher Oram.[2]
Career
He made his directorial debut in 1996 with a production of The Last Yankee at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester.
From 2000 to 2005 he served as artistic director of Sheffield Theatres where his high profile productions included Edward II with Joseph Fiennes, Richard III with Kenneth Branagh, Suddenly Last Summer with Diana Rigg and Victoria Hamilton, The Tempest with Derek Jacobi and Don Carlos with Derek Jacobi. He produced over forty plays with predominantly young directors and designers. The Crucible was awarded Theatrical Management Association Theatre of the Year in 2001.
In 2002 he was announced as the successor to Sam Mendes at the Donmar Warehouse where he expanded the theatre's repertoire to include European work, touring productions and an extensive education programme as well as taking the new Donmar brand to the West End and overseas.
His work has won Olivier, Evening Standard, Critics' Circle and South Bank Awards. He was nominated for his first Laurence Olivier Award in 2001 for Best Director for Peter Nichols' Passion Play at the Donmar Warehouse before winning in 2004 for David Greig’s Caligula. Two of his musical productions for the Donmar have won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production and a third won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical. He has also won Evening Standard Awards for Best Director for his productions of As You Like It, Passion Play, Merrily We Roll Along, Grand Hotel, Don Carlos, Ivanov, The Chalk Garden and Othello.
In August 2006, two Grandage-directed musical revivals were playing side-by-side in the West End; Guys and Dolls at the Piccadilly Theatre (Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production) and Evita (Adelphi Theatre).
In September 2008 he launched a one-year Donmar West End season of four plays (with Donmar Warehouse ticket prices) when the company extended its repertory to the newly refurbished Wyndham's Theatre. Grandage directed all productions: Kenneth Branagh in Ivanov, Derek Jacobi in Twelfth Night, Judi Dench in Madame de Sade and Jude Law in Hamlet.
Grandage has been awarded Honorary Doctorates by both Sheffield Hallam University and Sheffield University as well as an Honorary Fellowship by Central School of Speech and Drama. He was awarded the 2006 Award for Excellence in International Theatre by the International Theatre Institute. In 2009 he became a Visiting Professor of University College Falmouth and became President of Central School in 2010.
Grandage announced in October 2010 that he would be stepping down as artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse to pursue other ventures outside of the subsidised sector.[3]
Grandage will direct a new production of Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Metropolitan Opera starring baritone Mariusz Kwiecien in the title role for the 2011-2012 Season.
He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours for services to drama.[4][5]
Stage productions
- Theatre (U.K.)
- 2011: Luise Miller - Donmar
- 2011: King Lear - Donmar
- 2010: Danton's Death - National Theatre
- 2009: Red - Donmar
- 2009: Hamlet - Donmar at Wyndham's
- 2009: Madame de Sade - Donmar at Wyndham's
- 2008: Twelfth Night - Donmar at Wyndham's
- 2008: Ivanov - Donmar at Wyndham's
- 2008: The Chalk Garden - Donmar
- 2008: Othello - Donmar
- 2007: John Gabriel Borkman - Donmar
- 2006: The Cut - Donmar
- 2006: Evita - Adelphi Theatre, London
- 2006: Frost/Nixon - Donmar & Gielgud Theatre, London
- 2006: Don Juan in Soho - Donmar
- 2005: The Wild Duck - Donmar
- 2005: Guys and Dolls - Piccadilly Theatre, London
- 2004: Don Carlos - Sheffield & Gielgud Theatre, London
- 2004: Suddenly Last Summer - Sheffield & Noel Coward Theatre, London
- 2004: Pirandello’s Henry IV - Donmar
- 2004: Grand Hotel - Donmar
- 2003: A Midsummer Night's Dream - Sheffield
- 2003: Caligula - Donmar
- 2003: After Miss Julie - Donmar
- 2002: The Tempest - Sheffield & Old Vic Theatre, London
- 2002: Richard III - Sheffield
- 2002: The Vortex - Donmar
- 2001: Don Juan - Sheffield
- 2001: Privates on Parade - Donmar
- 2001: Edward II - Sheffield
- 2000: The Country Wife - Sheffield
- 2000: Passion Play - Donmar
- 2000: As You Like It - Sheffield & Lyric Hammersmith
- 2000: Merrily We Roll Along - Donmar
- 1999: The Jew of Malta - Almeida & national tour
- 1999: Good - Donmar
- 1998: The Doctor's Dilemma - Almeida & national tour
- 1998: Twelfth Night - Sheffield
- 1998: What The Butler Saw - Sheffield
- 1997: The Deep Blue Sea - Mercury Theatre, Colchester
- 1996: The Last Yankee - Mercury Theatre, Colchester
- Theatre (U.S.)
- 2011: King Lear - Brooklyn Academy of Music, NY
- 2010: Red - Golden Theater, NY
- 2009: Hamlet - Broadhurst Theater, NY
- 2007: Frost/Nixon - National tour, U.S.
- 2006: Frost/Nixon - Jacobs Theater, NY
- Opera
- 2011: Don Giovanni - Metropolitan Opera, New York
- 2010: Madama Butterfly - Houston Grand Opera
- 2010: Billy Budd - Glyndebourne
Awards and nominations
- Awards
- 2011 Critics' Circle Award for Best Director - King Lear
- 2010 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play - Red
- 2010 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Direction of a Play - Red
- 2009 Critics' Circle Award for Best Director - Ivanov/The Chalk Garden
- 2009 Theatregoers' Choice Award for Best Director - Ivanov/The Chalk Garden/Othello
- 2008 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Director - Ivanov/The Chalk Garden/Othello
- 2005 Critics' Circle Award for Best Director - The Wild Duck
- 2005 TMA Award for Best Director - Don Carlos
- 2005 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Director - Grand Hotel/Don Carlos
- 2004 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director – Caligula
- 2000 Critics' Circle Award for Best Director – Merrily We Roll Along/Passion Play/As You Like It
- 2000 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Director – Merrily We Roll Along/Passion Play/As You Like It
- Nominations
- 2011 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director - King Lear
- 2010 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director - Hamlet
- 2010 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Direction of a Play - Hamlet
- 2007 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play – Frost/Nixon
- 2007 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play – Frost/Nixon
- 2006 London Evening Standard Award for Best Director - Frost/Nixon, Don Juan in Soho, Evita
- 2005 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director - Don Carlos
- 2001 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director - Passion Play
References
- ^ Mark Kennedy (28 April 2007). "Director Michael Grandage Hits Broadway". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070428/theater-michael-grandage/. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
- ^ Maddy Costa (28 January 2008). "People thought I was insane". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2008/jan/28/theatre1. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
- ^ Michael Grandage, award-winning artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse, is to leave late next year. | http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23883970-donmar-warehouse-chief-to-stand-down.do
- ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59808. p. 7. 11 June 2011.
- ^ "Main list of the 2011 Queen's birthday honours recipients". BBC News UK. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/11_06_11honours_mainlist.pdf. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
External links
- Official website: www.michaelgrandage.com
- Michael Grandage at the Internet Broadway Database
- Michael Grandage at the Internet Movie Database
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play (2001–2025) Jack O'Brien (2001) · Mary Zimmerman (2002) · Robert Falls (2003) · Jack O'Brien (2004) · Doug Hughes (2005) · Nicholas Hytner (2006) · Jack O'Brien (2007) · Anna D. Shapiro (2008) · Matthew Warchus (2009) · Michael Grandage (2010) · Joel Grey / George C. Wolfe (2011)
Complete list · (1975–2000) · (2001–2025) Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director (2001–2025) Howard Davies (2001) · Michael Boyd (2002) · Sam Mendes (2003) · Michael Grandage (2004) · Nicholas Hytner (2005) · Richard Eyre (2006) · Dominic Cooke (2007) · Rupert Goold (2008) · John Tiffany (2009) · Rupert Goold (2010) · Howard Davies (2011)
Complete list · (1976–2000) · (2001–2025) Separate awards for play and musical between 1991 and 1995 depicted by (p) and (m)Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play (2001–2025) Daniel J. Sullivan (2001) · Mary Zimmerman (2002) · Joe Mantello (2003) · Jack O'Brien (2004) · Doug Hughes (2005) · Nicholas Hytner (2006) · Jack O'Brien (2007) · Anna D. Shapiro (2008) · Matthew Warchus (2009) · Michael Grandage (2010)
Complete list · (1947–1975) · (1976–2000) · (2001–2025) Categories:- 1962 births
- Living people
- Alumni of the Central School of Speech and Drama
- English theatre directors
- LGBT directors
- People from Penzance
- People from Yorkshire
- LGBT people from England
- Tony Award winners
- Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
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