Michael Grandage
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Michael Grandage is a British theatre director who is currently Artistic Director at the Donmar Warehouse in London, England.
He made his directorial debut in 1996 with a production of Last Yankee at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester.
From 2000 – 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 and The Tempest with Derek Jacobi. He produced over forty plays with predominantly young directors and designers. The Crucible was awarded TMA Theatre of the Year in 2001.
In 2002 he was announced as the successor to Sam Mendes at the Donmar. His work has won Olivier, Evening Standard, Critics' Circle and South Bank Awards. He was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 2001 for Best Director for Peter Nichols' Passion Play at the Donmar Warehouse before winning in 2004 for Albert Camus’ Caligula. He also directed After Miss Julie at the Donmar Warehouse in 2004, starring Kelly Reilly. He has won Evening Standard Awards for Best Director for his productions of As You Like It, Passion Play, Merrily We Roll Along, Grand Hotel and Don Carlos.
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).
The Independent on Sunday 2006 Pink List ranked Grandage as the 21st most powerful gay man in the country in a list that featured other British theatre directors Gregory Doran and Nicholas Hytner.
In 2008/9, he will direct Penelope Wilton in The Chalk Garden at the Donmar. He will also launch a West End season at Donmar prices when the company expand their repertoire into the Wyndham's Theatre in 2008/9. Grandage will direct Kenneth Branagh in Ivanov, Derek Jacobi in Twelfth Night and Judi Dench in Madame de Sade.
[edit] Background
Born Beverly, Yorkshire, 2nd May 1962 but raised in Penzance, Cornwall where his parents owned a sweet shop. He was educated at the Humphry Davy Grammar School before training as an actor at Central School of Speech and Drama from 1981 - 1984. He worked as an actor for 12 years before turning to directing full-time in 1996. Since 1995 he has lived and worked with his partner, the designer Christopher Oram.
[edit] Career
Forthcoming
- The Chalk Garden - 2008 - Donmar Warehouse
- Ivanov - 2008 - Donmar at Wyndham's Theatre
- Twelfth Night – 2008 – Donmar at Wyndham's Theatre
- Madame de Sade – 2009 – Donmar at Wyndham's Theatre
- Billy Budd - 2010 - Glyndebourne
For the Donmar Warehouse
- Othello – 2007/08
- John Gabriel Borkman – 2007
- Don Juan in Soho - 2006
- Frost/Nixon – 2006 - also Gielgud Theatre and Broadway (Tony Award nomination Best Director)
- The Cut – 2006
- The Wild Duck – 2005/6 (Critics' Circle Award for Best Director)
- Grand Hotel – 2004/5 (Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production, Evening Standard Award for Best Director)
- Pirandello’s Henry IV – 2004 – also national tour
- After Miss Julie – 2003/4
- Caligula – 2003 (Olivier Award for Best Director)
- The Vortex – 2002/3
- Privates on Parade – 2001/2
- Merrily We Roll Along – 2000/1 (Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production, Critics' Circle Award for Best Director
- Passion Play – 2000 – also Comedy Theatre (Critics' Circle Award for Best Director)
- Good – 1999
West End
- Evita – 2006 – Adelphi
- Guys and Dolls – 2005 – Piccadilly (Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production)
For Sheffield Theatres
- Don Carlos – 2004/5 – also Gielgud (Evening Standard and TMA Award for Best Director)
- Suddenly Last Summer – 2004 – also tour and Albery
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream – 2003
- The Tempest – 2002/3 – also Old Vic
- Richard III – 2002
- Don Juan – 2001
- Edward II – 2001
- The Country Wife – 2000
- As You Like It – 2000 – also Lyric Hammersmith (Evening Standard and Critics' Circle Awards for Best Director, South Bank Award for Theatre)
- Twelfth Night – 1998
- What the Butler Saw - 1998
Other
- The Jew of Malta – 1999 – Almeida and national tour
- The Doctor’s Dilemma – 1998 – Almeida and national tour
- The Deep Blue Sea – 1996 – Mercury, Colchester
- The Last Yankee – 1995 – Mercury, Colchester
Other Awards He 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.
