Michael Blakemore, OBE, AO - 18th June 1928 – 10th December 2023

Michael Blakemore, one of the great stage directors of the last half century, died peacefully in hospital last Sunday after a short illness, at the age of 95. He is survived by his second wife, Tanya McCallin (separated), his three children, Conrad, Beatie and Clemmie and three grandchildren.

Born in Sydney in 1928, Blakemore came to England in 1950 to train as an actor at RADA. He worked in repertory theatre in the 1950s where he met his first wife Shirley Bush. His first production as a director was in 1966, at the Glasgow Citizens Theatre, where he was Artistic Director, and in 1967 he came to national prominence when his production of A DAY IN THE DEATH OF JOE EGG by Peter Nichols transferred to the West End and Broadway. In 1971 he became an associate director at the newly formed National Theatre under Laurence Olivier, where he directed a number of productions that won critical acclaim, including THE FRONT PAGE, LONG DAY’S JOURNEY, and THE NATIONAL HEALTH.

In 1980 he directed a production of Michael Frayn’s MAKE AND BREAK at the Lyric Hammersmith that transferred to the West End and was the beginning of a life-long friendship and collaboration. They did eighteen productions together, in London, New York, Sydney, and Paris, most of the London originals produced by Michael Codron. They included NOISES OFF, which opened in 1982 and ran for five years at the Savoy Theatre, then in 1983 repeated its success with Blakemore’s Broadway production; and COPENHAGEN, at the National Theatre in 1998 and on Broadway in 2000. Blakemore became the only director to win two Tony Awards in the same year, one for Best Director of a Play (COPENHAGEN) and one for Best Director of a Musical (KISS ME KATE). He also wrote a novel, NEXT SEASON, and two volumes of memoirs. In 2014 he did his last West End production, BLITHE SPIRIT, with Angela Lansbury. Three years later, at the age of 89, he did the London production of an American musical, THE LIFE, which he had first done in New York, and in the following year his last production of all, a revival of COPENHAGEN at the Chichester Festival Theatre.