Michael Grandage | |
|---|---|
 Grandage in 2018 | |
| Born | (1962-05-02)2 May 1962 (age 63) Yorkshire, England |
| Education | Royal Central School of Speech & Drama |
| Occupation(s) | Theatre director, producer |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Partner | Christopher Oram |
Michael GrandageCBE (born 2 May 1962) is a Britishtheatre director and producer. He is currentlyartistic director of the Michael Grandage Company.[1] From 2002 to 2012 he was artistic director of theDonmar Warehouse in London[2] and from 2000 to 2005 he was artistic director of Sheffield Theatres.[3]
Grandage was born inYorkshire, England, and raised inPenzance,Cornwall, where his parents ran a family business. He was educated at theHumphry Davy Grammar School before training as an actor at theRoyal Central School of Speech & Drama through 1984. He spent twelve years working as an actor for companies such as theRoyal Exchange and theRoyal Shakespeare Company and was also a member ofNational Youth Theatre before turning to directing. He made his directorial debut in 1996 with a production of Arthur Miller'sThe Last Yankee at theMercury Theatre, Colchester. In 1998 he was invited bySheffield Theatres to directTwelfth Night, his first Shakespeare production.[4] In the same year he made his London directorial debut at theAlmeida Theatre with a production of Shaw'sThe Doctor's Dilemma.
From 2000 to 2005 he was artistic director of Sheffield Theatres where his high-profile productions includedEdward II withJoseph Fiennes,Richard III withKenneth Branagh,Suddenly Last Summer withDiana Rigg andVictoria Hamilton,The Tempest withDerek Jacobi andDon Carlos with Derek Jacobi. He produced over forty plays with predominantly young directors and designers. He is credited with delivering consistently high quality work as well as bringing in new audiences and in 2001, Sheffield Theatres won the TMA Theatre of the Year.[5]
From 2002 to 2012, he was artistic director of theDonmar Warehouse, where he succeededSam Mendes. During his tenure, 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 international audiences in America, Australia, Argentina and Europe.
In September 2008, he launched a one-year DonmarWest End "access for all" season of four plays with affordable ticket prices when the company extended its repertory to the newly refurbishedWyndham's Theatre. Grandage directed all four productions: Kenneth Branagh inIvanov, Derek Jacobi inTwelfth Night,Judi Dench inMadame de Sade and Jude Law inHamlet.[6]
In 2010, he launched a three-year West End season at theTrafalgar Studios to highlight the work of young directors who emerged from the Donmar's training scheme during his tenure.[7]
During his decade at the Donmar, he produced sixty-six productions, directing twenty-five of them himself. His contributions to the Donmar included the purchase of the theatre site in Earlham Street, and the purchase of office and rehearsal space in nearby Dryden Street in 2011. These were made possible through commercial activity that Grandage engaged in on behalf of the Donmar during his tenure, particularly transferring productions to the West End andBroadway.[8]
His work at the Donmar won Tony, Olivier, Evening Standard, Critics' Circle and South Bank Awards. He was first nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award in 2001 for Best Director for Peter Nichols'Passion Play at the Donmar Warehouse before winning in 2004 forDavid Greig'sCaligula. Two of his musical productions for the Donmar have also won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production and a third won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical. He has won four Evening Standard Awards for his Donmar work including productions ofPassion Play,Merrily We Roll Along,Grand Hotel,Ivanov,The Chalk Garden andOthello. In 2010, his production ofRed by John Logan won six Tony Awards includingBest Play andBest Director.
In June 2012,Constable & Robinson publishedA Decade At The Donmar by Michael Grandage, a photographic record of his tenure.
In 2010, Grandage started to work inopera, making his debut atGlyndebourne with a production ofBilly Budd.[9] This production has also played at theBrooklyn Academy of Music in New York City in 2014, and theSan Francisco Opera in 2019.[10][11] He returned to Glyndebourne in 2012 to directLe nozze di Figaro, a production that was revived for the following ten years.[1] In the US, his work has included new productions ofMadama Butterfly andDon Giovanni for theMetropolitan Opera,[12]Chicago Lyric Opera andHouston Grand Opera.[13]
At the end of 2011, Grandage set up the Michael Grandage Company[1] to produce work in theatre, film and TV.
In June 2012 he announced a fifteen-month season of work at theNoël Coward Theatre in London's West End aimed at reaching out to a new generation of theatre-goers through pricing and access with over 100,000 seats going on sale at £10.[14] James Bierman joined the company as Executive Producer.
Between December 2012 and February 2014, they producedPrivates on Parade withSimon Russell Beale;John Logan's new playPeter and Alice withJudi Dench andBen Whishaw;Daniel Radcliffe inThe Cripple of Inishmaan byMartin McDonagh; and two plays by Shakespeare,A Midsummer Night's Dream withSheridan Smith andDavid Walliams, followed byHenry V withJude Law. Grandage directed all five productions and the season was nominated for six Olivier Awards.[15]
In 2014,The Cripple of Inishmaan transferred to Broadway where it was nominated for six Tony Awards.[16][17][18]
In 2015, the company returned to the West End withPhotograph 51, a new play byAnna Ziegler starring Nicole Kidman. The production continued their commitment to greater access with twenty-five percent of every performance at £10. Kidman went on to win the Evening Standard Best Actress Award, as well as receiving an Olivier nomination for Best Actress.[19][20]
Further theatre work in 2015/16 included a co-production with Emily Dobbs of Richard Greenberg'sThe Dazzle starring Andrew Scott and David Dawson, directed by Simon Evans at Found 111[21] and a co-production with Phil McIntyre of30 Million Minutes, a one-woman show starring Dawn French, directed by Michael Grandage. This toured the UK and played in the West End twice, before being broadcast on BBC Four.[22]
In 2016, MGC produced Eugene O'Neill'sHughie on Broadway starringForest Whitaker.[23] Following this, MGC expanded its activities while producer James Bierman left the company and producer Nick Frankfort joined alongside Stella McCabe as Executive.[24] In addition to producing work in all media, MGC now offers a General Management service as well as looking after a select group of creative practitioners.[25][26]
In 2017, the company producedLabour of Love, a new play byJames Graham in a co-production withHeadlong. Directed byJeremy Herrin and starringMartin Freeman andTamsin Greig, this critically acclaimed production went on to win the 2017 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy.[27]
In 2018, they continued their commitment to quality work at affordable prices in the West End presentingRed by John Logan andThe Lieutenant of Inishmore byMartin McDonagh – both directed by Grandage. Also in 2018, MGC announced a new film in development based on David Pitts' bookJack and Lem: The Untold Story of an Extraordinary Friendship.[28]
In 2021, MGC producedIan McDiarmid inThe Lemon Table - a short story byJulian Barnes adapted for the stage and presented in a tour of the UK by Wiltshire Creative,Malvern Theatres,Sheffield Theatres and HOME.[29]
In 2022, MGC producedDawn French Is A Huge Twat, a one-woman show starring Dawn French[30] that toured the UK from September and played The London Palladium before touring Australia and New Zealand in 2024. It was also filmed for the BBC.[31]
In 2023 MGC producedOrlando from the novel by Virginia Woolf in a new adaptation by Neil Bartlett, starring Emma Corrin and directed by Michael Grandage at the Garrick Theatre.[32]
In 2024 MGC producedBackstairs Billy, a new play byMarcelo Dos Santos starring Penelope Wilton and Luke Evans. It played a twelve week run at the Duke of York’s Theatre, directed by Michael Grandage and earning Dos Santos a Critics' Circle Award.[33]
In 2016, MGC released their first feature filmGenius, about the relationship between authorThomas Wolfe and his editorMax Perkins. The film, which was based on A. Scott Berg’s biographyMax Perkins: Editor of Genius, had a screenplay byJohn Logan and was directed by Grandage. It starredColin Firth,Jude Law,Nicole Kidman,Guy Pearce,Dominic West andLaura Linney and premiered at the Berlin Film Festival before a release on 16 June 2016 in the US.
In 2022, MGC produced its second film,My Policeman for Amazon Studios, alongside Berlanti/Schecter Films and Independent Film Company. This film was written byRon Nyswaner, based ona book by Bethan Roberts and directed by Grandage. The cast includesHarry Styles,Emma Corrin,David Dawson,Gina McKee,Linus Roache andRupert Everett. It received its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and went on general release on 21 October 2022.[34]
Theatre (U.K.)
Theatre (U.S.)
Opera
In 2013, Grandage formed his charity MGCfutures, dedicated to supporting the work of young theatre makers and theatre audiences of the future. Initially, its educational work ran alongside the activities of MGC's work in the West End including the formation of a Youth Theatre. In 2014, when it acquired registered charity status, its reach became much wider. Since 2016 it has offered annual bursaries to young theatre makers including directors, producers, designers, writers, performers and all creative artists. In 2017 it piloted a new scheme, Theatregoers for Life, designed to encourage young people to start a meaningful relationship with live performance by supporting and encouraging independent theatre-going to regional theatres.[35] In 2021, the bursary scheme celebrated its first five years with a record number of 33 recipients receiving over £118,000 to help the industry back to work following the Covid pandemic.[36] By 2024, the scheme had awarded more than £500,000 to over 140 theatre makers.[37] The charity's patrons include Dame Judi Dench, Dawn French, Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, Daniel Radcliffe, Sir Simon Russell Beale,[38] Aidan Turner and David Walliams.
Grandage was awarded the 2006 Award for Excellence in International Theatre by theInternational Theatre Institute.[39]
He was appointedCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the2011 Birthday Honours for Services to Drama.[40]
He has been awardedhonorary doctorates by theUniversity of London,Sheffield University,[41] andSheffield Hallam University.[42] He has been given honorary fellowships byThe Royal Central School of Speech and Drama,[43]The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama,[44] andFalmouth University.[45]
Grandage served as president ofThe Royal Central School of Speech and Drama from 2010 to 2022.[46] As of November 2024[update] he is chair of theJosephine Hart Poetry Foundation[47] and president of theMorrab Library in Cornwall (since 2018).[48]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Evening Standard Theatre Award | Best Director | Merrily We Roll Along,Passion Play andAs You Like It | Won |
| Critics' Circle Theatre Award[49] | Best Director | Won | ||
| 2001 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Director | Passion Play | Nominated |
| 2004 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Director | Caligula | Won |
| 2005 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Director | Don Carlos | Nominated |
| TMA Award | Best Director | Won | ||
| Evening Standard Theatre Award | Best Director | Don Carlos andGrand Hotel | Won | |
| Critics' Circle Theatre Award[50] | Best Director | The Wild Duck | Won | |
| 2006 | Evening Standard Theatre Award | Best Director | Evita,Don Juan in Soho andFrost/Nixon | Nominated |
| 2007 | Tony Award | Best Direction of a Play | Frost/Nixon | Nominated |
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Director of a Play | Nominated | ||
| 2008 | Evening Standard Theatre Award | Best Director | The Chalk Garden,Ivanov andOthello | Won |
| WhatsOnStage Award | Best Director | Won | ||
| Critics' Circle Theatre Award[51] | Best Director | The Chalk Garden andIvanov | Won | |
| 2010 | Tony Award | Best Direction of a Play | Red | Won |
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Director of a Play | Won | ||
| Hamlet | Nominated | |||
| Laurence Olivier Award | Best Director | Nominated | ||
| Critics' Circle Theatre Award[52] | Best Director | King Lear | Won | |
| 2011 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Director | Nominated | |
| 2011 | Evening Standard Theatre Award | Editor's Award | Honouree | |
| 2014 | Tony Award | Best Direction of a Play | The Cripple of Inishmaan | Nominated |
| Outer Critics' Circle Award | Outstanding Director of a Play | Nominated | ||
| WhatsOnStage Award | Best Director | The Michael Grandage Season at theNoël Coward Theatre | Won | |
| 2019 | WhatsOnStage Award | Equity Award for Services to Theatre | Honouree | |
| 2022 | WhatsOnStage Award | Best Director | Frozen | Won |
Michael Grandage has lived in London and Cornwall with his partner, the award-winning British Theatre designerChristopher Oram,[53] since 1995. They entered a civil partnership in 2012.
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