Oliver Bayldon | |
|---|---|
| Born | Richard Oliver Maxwell Bayldon (1938-09-12)12 September 1938[1] |
| Died | 23 December 2019(2019-12-23) (aged 81)[1] |
| Education | Leicester College of Art |
| Occupation | Production designer |
| Years active | 1961–1997 |
| Employers | |
| Awards | Full list |
Oliver BayldonFRSA,FCSD (12 September 1938 – 23 December 2019) was a London-based, award-winning Britishproduction designer who worked with theNorthampton Repertory Theatre, theBBC, and theRoyal Academy of Music. Between 1966 and 1997, he designed over 220 TV drama episodes and films.
He is best known for designing sets for TV shows such as:Meet the Wife (1966),Till Death Us Do Part (1968),The Railway Children (1968),Dad's Army (1968),Z-Cars (1970–1971),The Onedin Line (1971–1972),Poldark (1975–1976),When the Boat Comes In (1976–1977),Happy Ever After (1978),Shakespeare's first tetralogy (theHenry VI plays andRichard III) directed byJane Howell (1983),Strangers and Brothers (1984),On the Up (1990),Memento Mori (1992), andWokenwell (1997). For the Royal Academy of Music, he created costumes or sets for four operas:Belisario (1972),The Fairy Queen Act IV: The Masque of the Seasons,Tobermory, andTrial by Jury (all 1977). His design work was the subject of five exhibitions held between 1959 and 1996.
Bayldon also wrote poetry, essays and fiction published in newspapers and books, and some of his poems and short stories were broadcast on radio. He is a cousin of the actorGeoffrey Bayldon.
Oliver Bayldon was born inLeicester[2] and brought up inRutland[3] where, aged five, he decided he wanted to be a theatre designer after attending his first pantomime and being more impressed by the sets than by the acting.[4]
At the age of five, I was taken to seeWhere the Rainbow Ends at the theatre as a Christmas treat and was wildly impressed by the décor. When I got home I started making model stages of cardboard and Plasticine and announced I was going to become a theatre designer!
In August 1943, Bayldon took part in a Child Artists' competition organised at theLeicester Museum, where painting and plasticine modelling competitions had been arranged during a holiday-at-home programme. Prizes were presented by the Leicester Lord Mayor, and Bayldon was one of the winners.[6]
In 1946, Bayldon joinedStamford School for eleven years, where he began to develop his design and production skills.[2]In December 1953, aged 15, he participated in the presentation of Shakespeare'sCoriolanus by the school's Dramatic Society, for which he also designed and stencilled the soldiers' and crowd's costumes.[7] A few weeks later, he organised a variety show calledTo-night's the Night with ballet, sketches and songs, in aid of one of his witty schemes: the "Morcott Dustbin Society".Morcott is a village nearBarrowden—his family home—and was devoid of dustbins at the time. During an interview with theStamford Mercury on 15 January 1954, Bayldon explained: "I was about to put on a show anyway, so I thought it would be a good idea to do one for a litter basket". The show was a success and raised £2 8s. towards a dustbin. Prior to the show, Bayldon had paid a visit to theTheatre Royal, Covent Garden, and secured a batch of costumes which were no longer used.[8]
At the end of 1954, the school producedNikolai Gogol'sThe Government Inspector, for which Bayldon designed and painted the Victorian décor, as well as acting in the leading female part "with fine control of voice and features."[9] In the spring of 1955, Bayldon designed the costumes for the school's production ofChristopher Fry'sThe Boy with a Cart,[10] a story ofSt Cuthman, written as a legend of miracles and faith in the style of themystery plays. In December 1955, the boys presented the first part of Shakespeare'sHenry IV to a limited number of parents and friends; in addition to designing and painting the scenery, Bayldon played the role of theArchbishop of York.[11]
In November 1956, a group of masters from the school, aided by wives and friends, produced an amusing version ofBrandon Thomas'sCharley's Aunt to raise money for new stage equipment; Bayldon was responsible for designing the scenery.[12] For their end-of-term play in December 1957, the boys gave a public performance—the first to useDudley Fitts's new translation—ofAristophanes'sThe Frogs, a Greek comedy produced at Athens in 405 B.C.. The play, for which Bayldon had painted thegateway, was produced under the scholarly guidance of Mr. Chapman, senior classics master.[13]
In 1958, Bayldon enrolled on a course of studies inFine Arts andTextile Design atLeicester College of Art and Technology.[2] He soon discovered that no amateur drama society existed, despite there being a fine stage. TheLeicester Evening Mail would later quote him saying: "Attempts have often been made to get one going, but one or two people have been left to do all the work. So many students are committed to evening study that it is hard to organise a group."[14] In July, he was awarded the Sir Jonathan North Endowment Scheme gold medal for his designs of costumes and set for the musicalMy Fair Lady, which he created specially for this art competition.[15] At the time, the production had not yet come to Britain, and he had never even seen a photograph of it. So he set to work in his spare time to study the Edwardian era and relied extensively on his knowledge of the play. Upon receiving the prize, he told the Leicester Mercury: "I had to imagine what Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion would be like as a musical. But I enjoyed the whole thing tremendously. I hope to take up stage or television design as a career."[16][17] The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Dr. C. H. Wilson, who had been on the awards committee for six years, said: "In presenting Mr. Richard O. M. Bayldon, of the Leicester College of Art, with the gold medal, we found he had remarkable sympathy with the Edwardian era".[18]
In August 1959, he launched his first exhibition, entitledPaintings and Stage Designs, at the Bookshop in King Street, Leicester.[19] In December, he organised the college's Arts Ball at Leicester Palais on a "Medieval" theme, and led the ball—attended by 800—in a knight's mailed armour, with plumed helmet.[20] In March 1960, he was 'Commended' in the "Stage and Television Settings" section of a design contest organised by theRoyal Society of Arts industrial art bursaries, for which 653 young designers had entered.[21] In May, St Anthony Press, a private book publisher in Leicester, published one of Bayldon's poems, entitled "Morning", illustrated by Chris Shorten. The reviewer from theLeicester Evening Mail, stated that: "Mr. Bayldon is a young Leicester student who has had poems broadcast on theBBC Third Programme, and who is likely to have a successful career as a stage designer."[22] In August, he wrote an article in the first issue ofCrescent, one of Leicester's two privately published magazines.[23] TheLeicester Evening Mail reviewer wrote: "Oliver Bayldon, an articulate and perceptive writer, whose work has found favour with the BBC, tries to define art and says society must come to terms with it."[24] At the end of September 1960, theMalvern Drama Club presentedNorman Ginsbury's English language version of Ibsen'sPeer Gynt, with sets designed by Bayldon.[25]
Later in 1960, Bayldon was invited by a local furniture store to attend the Furniture Exhibition in Manchester. The store manager was so impressed with Bayldon's comments that he commissioned him to assemble and decorate a living room and bedroom to his individual taste, a project he completed in November.[note 1][26] The same month, Bayldon was among the students who plotted a hoax to publicise their year-end Arts Ball, as they began digging trenches in a bogus search for antiquities from an Egyptian mercenary camp site on the demolition plot where the new college was going to be built. After unearthing a medieval wall, bones, and pieces of ancient pottery, they alerted officials ofLeicester Museum who became interested, and Bayldon decided to call off the hoax and continue with serious excavations.[27][28]
In March 1961, he was awarded £150 in another design contest organised by the Royal Society of Arts industrial art bursaries, again in the "Stage and Television" section.[29] On the strength of this RSA design award, he won anArts Council New Designers trainee scheme, which would lead to his appointment as an assistant designer at theNorthampton Repertory Theatre.[3] In June, he was electedFellow of the RSA.[30] In August, Bayldon was one of the college's 39 students graduating with a National Diploma in Design.[31] From August to November, he spent his RSA bursary undertaking a 14-weeks study tour to the United States, travelling through 13 states to study arts and design.[32] On his return, he relayed his experiences in four articles published in theStamford Mercury on successive Fridays, from 15 December 1961.[32][33][34][35]
Shortly after returning from his US study tour in November 1961, 22-year-old Bayldon began a one-year apprenticeship[36] on an Arts Council Scholarship at the Northampton Repertory Theatre, as an assistant to the long-serving regular designer Thomas Osborne Robinson.[37] The design team included John Page, also 22, who had joined Robinson in 1959.[38] In early 1962, Bayldon designed and producedbanners for St Mary's Church, inGlenfield, a village to the west of Leicester.[39]
In September 1962,[38] Page and Bayldon—who was about to start his second year at the Repertory, now as a designer[36]—stood in for Robinson when he took asabbatical to teach atVanderbilt University until late 1963.[40] They maintained Robinson's high design standards,[note 2] and Bayldon was credited, for costumes or settings, on the playbills of:Guilty Party[42] andMurder at Quay Cottage[43] (both 1962),Babes in the Wood (1962–1963),[44][45]The Shiny Surface,[46]Write Me a Murder,[47] andGo Back For Murder[48] (all 1963). Bayldon would also act for the Repertory Theatre; he played one of the "Gentlemen, Dancers and Guests" in the 1961 Christmas season pantomime ofCinderella,[49] and "Ranjit, Fielding's servant" during the run ofA Passage to India (17–29 September 1962) which includedKen Loach as "Mr Burton-Fletcher, a Civil Servant".[50] It was Loach—on a trainee director's course backed by an ITV company at the time—who turned Bayldon's attention towards television.[3]
On 23 February 1963,[51] Bayldon launched a month-long exhibition, entitledCostume and Theatre Designs, at theMuseum and Art Gallery, Northampton.[52]
When Bayldon's second year at the Northampton Repertory Theatre was coming to an end, he received an advertisement from BBC Television to apply for a design assistant post for the forthcoming opening of a second BBC channel,BBC Two,[3] a post he secured.[36] By early December 1963, he had already worked on programmes such asCompact,Dr. Finlay's Casebook, and other drama presentations.[36] On 4 December, one of his poems, "A man in a crowd", was broadcast onBBC radio (Midland Region) in the programmeMidland Poets. During an interview with theStamford Mercury on 6 December, Bayldon commented on his appointment at the BBC: "Looking back, I think I was very fortunate in getting the right sort of grounding from Mr. Walter Douglas at Stamford School."[36]
On 20 March 1964, another of his poems was read in theBBC Home Service'sMidland Poets, at 9 pm.[53] In December of that year,The Stage announced that Durwell Productions Ltd. were planning a March or April 1965 presentation of a new musical,Cupid & Psyche, with book and lyrics byGlyn Idris Jones and music byKenny Clayton, and that Bayldon was scheduled to be the designer.[54] He drew up sets and costumes for this show,[55] which was never staged.[56] In March 1965, Bayldon released his first book of verse,The Paper Makers Craft, published by Twelve by Eight Paper Mill & Private Press in Leicester, the only place in England where paper was still made by hand. The collection included his own free translation[note 3] of a 17th-century Latin poem, "Papyrus", by Father Imberdis S.J. ofAmbert, the papermaking district of the Auvergne in France.[58][note 4]
In 1966, Bayldon stage designed four episodes in the BBC television seriesQuick Before They Catch Us, which aired in September. He also designed episodes 99 and 100 ofThe Newcomers, and seven episodes ofMeet the Wife.[59][60] The following year, he designedthree episodes each forThirty-Minute Theatre andRoom at the Bottom,one episode, "Hughie", forComedy Playhouse (Series 6), andone episode, "Bohuslav Martinů 1890–1959", for BBC2'sWorkshop programme (replayed on BBC1'sOmnibus programme the following year).[60] In 1968, he designedfive episodes forTill Death Us Do Part,three forBeggar My Neighbour,seven forThe Railway Children, andone episode onSir Tyrone Guthrie forAn Evening with....[60]
In 1969, he designed one episode, "These Men Are Dangerous: Mussolini", for theThirty-Minute Theatre programme,three episodes each forThe Troubleshooters andDad's Army,all six episodes ofThe Gnomes of Dulwich[61]—for which he and his colleaguePeter Brachacki had to create giant-size scenery to surround the two garden gnomes portrayed byTerry Scott andHugh Lloyd[62][63]—andthree episodes ofThe Battle of St. George Without.[60] In 1970, Bayldon designedone episode ofNot in Front of the Children,four episodes each forOh Brother! andThe Troubleshooters, andtwo episodes each ofComedy Playhouse (Series 10) andZ-Cars.[60] In 1971, he designedone episode, "Waugh Plays Cops and Robbers", forThirty-Minute Theatre, andeight more episodes ofZ-Cars.[60]
In October 1971, the BBC began broadcasting the first series ofThe Onedin Line, for which Bayldon had designed six episodes,[60] as well as another six episodes for the second series, aired in 1972.[60] The filming inExeter andDartmouth involved many dramatic incidents at sea, for one of which he created a specially constructedsteam pinnace, a period steamship complete with a 13-foot high funnel and a large boiler.[64][note 5] Other scenes included a storm at sea and a ship on fire.[64] The creation of bustling Victorian markets and docks presented many problems for the designer because any modern additions had either to be removed or hidden. This meant the complete removal of street signs, the covering of shop fronts, and even, on one occasion, the repainting of an entire house façade.[64]
In February 1972, Bayldon was nominated in a short list of four television designers for theBAFTA award of Best Design of the Year for his work onThe Onedin Line series.[66][67] During this time, Bayldon also designed 17 individual costumes (plus nine design studies, each with several costume sketches)[68] for the Goths and Bulgars inDonizetti'sBelisario,[69] which was produced by theRoyal Academy of Music on the occasion of its 150th anniversary celebrations and performed at theSadler's Wells Theatre, on 8 to 11 March.[70] From 25 August to 17 September, he presented illustrations of his set and costume designs—including stage sets forIl Trovatore andThe Magic Flute—in an exhibition entitledStage and Television Designs at theHerbert Art Gallery,Coventry.[71][55][72] In February 1973, Bayldon and the entire BBC Design Team were nominated for a secondBAFTA Television Design Award forThe Onedin Line.[73][74][75] In June, the BBC broadcast one episode, "Three's One", with Bayldon's design for the programmePlay for Today, followed, in September and October, by four episodes ofThe Dragon's Opponent.[60]
In early 1974, the BBC broadcast four episodes ofThe Liver Birds, with sets designed by Bayldon.[60] In March and April 1975, BBC2 airedThe Fight Against Slavery, a six-part dramatised documentary co-produced withTime Life, written byEvan Jones and directed by Christopher Ralling,[76] with sets designed by Bayldon.[60] This series was filmed on location in theWest Country,West Africa andJamaica.[note 6][3] Between October 1975 and January 1976,[60] BBC1 showed the first series ofPoldark, based on the novels byWinston Graham and starringAngharad Rees andRobin Ellis, for which Bayldon designed all sixteen episodes.[77] Over fifty sets had to be built for the programme, and a large section of copper mine had to be constructed in the film studios for scenes which occur in later episodes.[77] Bayldon also designed sets for the television film version ofD. H. Lawrence'sThe Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd, shown on 5 May 1976.[60] In late 1976, he produced designs for four episodes in the second series ofWhen the Boat Comes In,[60] for which he was once again nominated for a BAFTA award.[78][note 7]
In 1977, Bayldon worked on theVelvet Glove series of dramatised biographies and designed those ofEdith Cavell,Elizabeth Fry and the play onLilian Baylis.[78][60] In an interview with theLeicester Daily Mercury on 14 March 1977, Bayldon stated: "The research for these is often almost as interesting as the programmes themselves. It was somehow strange to be poring through boxes of Edith Cavell's private possessions or to search through treasured photographs at Lilian Baylis' original desk. The greatest challenge in these plays was to build a complete theatre in the studios, and also to recreate the horrors ofNewgate prison in the 1800s."[78] In April 1977, he produced designs for "A Choice of Evils",[79] as part ofPlay for Today, followed, in October, by "Able's Will", forBBC2 Play of the Week.[60] On 2 October,Gordon Burn interviewed Bayldon in an article for theSunday Times Magazine entitled "All his own work – Ollie's living room sets the scene for the TV viewers", which explained Bayldon's approach to designing a living room for "Able's Will".[80] During this period, he also designed costumes and sets for three short operas produced by the Royal Academy of Music for the Gala Opera Performance organised for the opening of theSir Jack Lyons Theatre on 26 October 1977, inaugurated by HRHPrincess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, President of the RAM.[81] These three pieces were:Henry Purcell'sThe Fairy Queen Act IV: The Masque of the Seasons,[82]Gavin Ewart &John Gardner'sTobermory,[83] andGilbert & Sullivan'sTrial by Jury,[84] the latter after an interval.[81] This performance was repeated on 28 and 31 October, and 1 November.[81] At the end of the year, Bayldon created designs for all five episodes of the BBC's adaptation ofFrederick Marryat'sThe Children of the New Forest, which aired in November and December.[60]
In 1978, Bayldon made designs for "The Legion Hall Bombing", which aired in August forPlay for Today, and worked on three episodes ofHappy Ever After, starringTerry Scott andJune Whitfield, shown in September and October.[60] He designedThe Dancing Princesses, broadcast in December, as a significantly modified television adaptation of theBrothers Grimm's fairy tale, directed by Ben Rea and featuringJim Dale,Freddie Jones, andGloria Grahame.[60] During the latter part of 1978, Bayldon designed sets for the serialised TV adaptation ofGeorge Eliot'sThe Mill on the Floss, directed by Ronald Wilson and starringChristopher Blake,Pippa Guard,Judy Cornwell,Ray Smith andAnton Lesser; these eight episodes were broadcast from December 1978 to February 1979.[60] In her review forThe Stage on 4 January 1979, Jennifer Lovelace stated: "(...) So far,The Mill On The Floss is well up to standard. The quality of design (Oliver Bayldon) and costume (Caroline Maxwell) is sound and a little quickening of pace in future episodes will ensure that the traditions of the BBC Classic Serial are maintained."[85]
On 22 March 1980,BBC2 Playhouse broadcastRottingdean, with designs by Bayldon. It was written by Richard Crane, produced by Anne Head, and directed by Mark Cullingham, starringPat Heywood,Trevor Peacock andRoger Brierley.[60] From March to June 1980,[60] BBC2 aired the TV seriesA Question of Guilt, with two cases set in the 1800s, "Constance Kent" and "Adelaide Bartlett" (eight episodes each), for which Bayldon designed Victorian sets. During an interview with theStamford Mercury on 16 May 1980, he said: "It was a problem to recreate locations which either no longer existed, or had been totally changed in the name of redevelopment. We took immense pains to be as accurate as possible even to reconstructing an 1860 railway compartment in a gutted carriage, and building a realistic Victorianearth privy among the bushes. I believe we have been faithful to the facts as they were recorded".[86] He also designed the production of Shakespeare'sThe Merchant of Venice, directed byJack Gold and produced byJonathan Miller, which BBC2 aired on 17 December.[60][87]
On 20 March 1981,BBC2 Playhouse broadcastUnity, a play byJohn Mortimer depictingUnity Mitford's time in Berlin, based on the biography byDavid Pryce-Jones. Produced by Louis Marks, directed by James Cellan Jones, and designed by Bayldon, it starredLesley-Anne Down in the role of Mitford.[60] Later in 1981, Bayldon produced designs for the TV serial adaptation ofRudyard Kipling'sStalky & Co., directed byRodney Bennett and produced byBarry Letts. StarringRobert Addie andDavid Parfitt, it was broadcast on BBC1 in a series of six weekly episodes from 31 January to 7 March 1982.[60] On 12 February 1982,BBC2 Playhouse broadcastA Shilling Life, written by Guy Meredith, produced by Rosemary Hill, directed by Michael Heffernan, and designed by Bayldon. It starredEric Porter andJulie Covington.[60]
Bayldon contributed elaborate sets[note 8] for Shakespeare's first tetralogy (theHenry VI plays andRichard III) directed byJane Howell and produced by Jonathan Miller, with costumes by John Peacock.[89] Among the well-known television actors featured were:Julia Foster,Annette Crosbie,Frank Middlemass,Tenniel Evans,Trevor Peacock, andBernard Hill.[90] This project delivered four films aired on BBC2 as part of theBBC Television Shakespeare series, on successive Sundays throughout January 1983.[90][60] About his decision to use a modern parquet floor as a deliberate violation of illusionist representation, Bayldon explained: "It stops the set from literally representing; it reminds us we are in a modern television studio."Stanley Wells commended this aspect of the production: "Jane Howell has dared to encourage us to remember that the action is taking place in a studio."[91] In May 1983, Bayldon designed the BBC's TV adaptation ofJ.B. Priestley'sDangerous Corner for the programmePlay of the Month.[60]
In February and March 1984, Bayldon was the designer for the last seven (of thirteen) episodes of the TV adaptation ofC. P. Snow'sStrangers and Brothers.[60] Later that year, he designed the set for BBC1'sReview of the Year 1984, presented byFrank Bough andSelina Scott on 27 December.[60] In March 1985, Bayldon designed the three-part adaptation ofOscar, starringMichael Gambon asOscar Wilde during his trials and time in prison.[60] Bayldon designed episode 9, "Windfall", for the second series ofBig Deal, which aired in October,[92] and also worked on the adaptation ofNoël Coward'sStar Quality: Me and the Girls, directed byJack Gold and starringTom Courtenay andNichola McAuliffe, broadcast on 1 December 1985.[93][60]
In 1986, Bayldon was made a Fellow of theChartered Society of Designers.[5] That year, he designed two consecutive episodes for the programmeScreenPlay: "The Mozart Inquest" and "The Marlowe Inquest", directed byAnthony Garner, which aired on 27 August and 3 September.[60] In 1987, he designed the second of three episodes ofGaudy Night,[note 9] starringEdward Petherbridge,Harriet Walter, andRichard Morant, and directed by Michael Simpson from Philip Broadley's adaptation ofDorothy L. Sayers'sLord Peter Wimsey novelof the same name; this second episode was broadcast on 20 May 1987.[60]
In January 1989, BBC2 airedThe Dark Angel, a three-part television adaptation ofJ. Sheridan Le Fanu'sUncle Silas, starringPeter O'Toole,Beatie Edney,Simon Shepherd, andJane Lapotaire.[60] In an article forVariety Television Reviews (1991–92), the reviewer—"Tone"— wrote: "Oliver Bayldon's rich design gives the production substance and finality."[96] Writing aboutThe Dark Angel for theLos Angeles Times, Ray Loynd wrote: "Don Macpherson's script is wafer-thin, genre period melodrama. But the nightmare is salvaged by O'Toole and production designer Oliver Bayldon's sickly rich decay."[97]
In 1990, Bayldon designed sets forNever Come Back, a three-partcrime drama created byDavid Pirie and starringNathaniel Parker,James Fox,Jonathan Coy,Suzanna Hamilton, andIngrid Lacey, aired on BBC2 over three successive Wednesdays from 21 March 1990.[60][98] On 20 September, BBC2'sArena showed "Agatha Christie – Unfinished Portrait" for which Bayldon had designed and illustrated dramatic inserts highlighting incidents in Christie's childhood, including a nightmare sequence and a drawing of the novelist reading to her grandmother from a newspaper in the 1890s.[99] On 12 October,[100] Bayldon won aRoyal Television Society Design Award for his work onNever Come Back, and was presented with his award by news presenterSue Lawley at theLondon Hilton Hotel.[101] Also in 1990, Bayldon produced sets for all seven episodes of the first series ofOn the Up, asituation comedy written byBob Larbey and starringDennis Waterman,Sam Kelly,Joan Sims,Jenna Russell, andJudy Buxton. The first series was shown on successive Tuesdays from 4 September to 16 October 1990.[102]
In 1991, Bayldon created designs for "Do Not Disturb", an episode aired on 17 March 1991 in series seven of the BBC2 programmeScreen Two, produced by Simon Passmore and directed by Nicholas Renton, and starringFrances Barber,Peter Capaldi, andÉva Darlan.[103][60] In 1992, Bayldon was production designer for the BBC's adaptation ofMuriel Spark's novelMemento Mori, directed byJack Clayton and starring DameMaggie Smith, DameThora Hird, SirMichael Hordern,Stephanie Cole, andZoë Wanamaker.[102][60] This TV film was first broadcast on BBC2'sScreen Two on 19 April 1992,[102] and was awarded six nominations for the BAFTA Awards, with Bayldon winning in the Best TV Production Design category.[104][105][106]
On 15 September 1992, BBC1'sOmnibus programme broadcast "Angela Carter's Curious Room", a profile of the novelist and writerAngela Carter, filmed in the last months before her death. Bayldon was the designer, and his drawing of Carter's 1950 living room inBalham was published in the September 1992 edition ofHouse & Garden.[107][4] The following month, Bayldon was the production designer for "Seconds Out", an episode about the world of unlicensed boxing, broadcast on 4 October as part of series four of the BBC'sScreen One anthology drama series.[108][109]
In 1993, Bayldon created sets for two episodes of BBC2'sScene series for teenagers; the first,Dear Life, written bySue Glover and directed by Jane Howell, was broadcast on 19 March;[110] the second was a play byTom Stoppard,A Separate Peace, which aired a week later.[111] Later that year, Bayldon was production designer for "The Maitlands", the first episode in the third series of BBC2'sPerformance programme. It was directed byLindsay Posner and produced bySimon Curtis, and aired on 13 November 1993, starringEileen Atkins,Jennifer Ehle,Bill Nighy,Edward Fox, andSamuel West.[112][113] In 1994, Bayldon designed sets for "Return to Blood River", the seventh episode in the tenth series of BBC2'sScreen Two programme. It was directed byJane Howell and produced byPeter Goodchild, and aired on 13 April 1994, starringKevin McNally,Warren Clarke,Frances Barber, andSamantha Bond.[114][115]
In January 1995, Bayldon was credited as production designer onThe Plant,[116][117] ascience fiction film shown on BBC1, about an alien visitor to a London suburb; it was written and directed by Jonathan Lewis, and starredJoanna Roth,Valentine Pelka, andEoin McCarthy.[118] Later that year, Bayldon held his fourth exhibition on design visuals and illustrations for television and film at the British Academy of Film & Television Arts, 195 Piccadilly, London, from 9 October to 11 November.[119][120]
After going freelance when the BBC downsized,[note 10] Bayldon returned as production designer forInto the Fire, a three-part televisionthriller drama mini-series first shown on BBC1 on 14 February 1996 for three consecutive nights; it was written byTony Marchant, directed by Jane Howell, and starredDonal McCann,David Morrissey,Sharon Duce, andSue Johnston.[121][122] Two months later, Bayldon held his fifth exhibition, entitledArts in the Vaults, at the Royal Society of Arts, 8 John Adam Street, London WC2, from 26 April until 26 July.[123]
Bayldon's final project as a production designer wasWokenwell,[124] a six-part televisioncrime drama series, broadcast onITV from 18 May to 22 June 1997. The series was created by screenwriter Bill Gallagher and produced byLWT, starringIan McElhinney,Celia Imrie,Nicholas Gleaves,Lesley Dunlop,Jason Done andNicola Stephenson.[3]
Bayldon retired from designing in 1997, and continued to write.[3]Between 1987 and 1991, some of his short stories had already been read on theBBC Radio 4 programme,Morning Story: "Moya" (1987), "Model Responses New York Style" (1988), "Introductions à la Mode" (1988), "City Column" (1989), "Away from It All" (1989), "Sideways Promotion" (1989), and "Home from Home" (1991).[125]
In addition to the two books already published in the 1960s,The Paper Makers Craft (1965)[126][127] andEnigma I (1969),[128] he wrote two more books:Acts of Defiance (2013)[129] andDarkly Blows the Harmattan: Short Stories (2015).[130] In 2013, he contributed illustrations to Mike Sharland'sThe Digby Stories.[131]
Bayldon also wrote articles for magazines, following on from the four articles published in theStamford Mercury (1961), in which he had related his experiences during a 14-weeks study tour in the US.[32][33][34][35] In retirement, he wrote two articles forThe Veteran, summarising his professional experiences:Creating a Visual Style (2013),[3][5] andFilming in Perspective (2014).[132] He also wrote three articles inProspero:Memories: Ealing Studios remembered (2015),[133] as well as obituaries for his colleaguesPeter Hammond, actor and director (2011),[134] and John Hurst, Senior TV production designer (2016).[135]
While at Stamford School, Bayldon designed sets for plays performed at the School Hall:
While at Leicester College of Art, Bayldon designed sets or costumes for:
In the 1960s, Bayldon designed costumes and sets for the Northampton Repertory Theatre:
In the 1970s, Bayldon designed costumes and sets for four operas produced by the Royal Academy of Music:
Bayldon was production designer for the following television programmes (except where indicated):
Bayldon wrote the following short stories, read on theBBC Radio 4 programme,Morning Story:[125]
He is related to the actorGeoffrey Bayldon.
I don't really have a theatrical background, although I have a cousin Geoffrey Bayldon who's a well-known actor — but somehow the whole concept of creating sets appealed to me.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)(...) Five Poems by John Cotton; Two Typograms by Patrick Bridgewater; Three Drawings by John Minton; Two Screen Prints by Margaret McCord; Four Poems by Oliver Bayldon;Priapus the Growth of a Magazine by John Cotton; and (...)T. E. Lawrence & the Seizin Press of Robert Graves, by Rigby Graham.
Crescent / edited by R. Brian de L'Troath. Leicester: [Crescent], Vol. 1 no. 1 (Nov. 1959)-no. 3 (Summer 1960). The first issue's subtitle, "A Leicester magazine devoted to the arts and matters of topical interest", illustrates the locus of interest here. In the first issue there's a memoir of W. H. Davies by Samuel J. Looker, an article on the patronising nature of the Soviet Union's alleged implementation of arts programmes, short stories, a review of Leicester-born Colin Wilson'sAge of Defeat, artwork from local artists, an "abstract" poem by R. O. M. Bayldon, and a free verse poem by the editor. Production values went up a notch from a typed stencil to commercial vari-typing with the last issue. BL: P.P.488ud.
FILM, STAGE AND TELEVISION SETTINGS.Bursaries: Richard Bayldon (Leicester College of Art: age 22).
Oliver Bayldon [at] BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, London W1. 9 October – 11 November 1995. Design visuals and illustrations for television and film.
12 September 1938 to 23 December 2019
Oliver Bayldon
Oliver Bayldon and the Design Team
Richard Morris, Bernard Lloyd-Jones, Sue Spence, Oliver Bayldon, Peter Brachacki
Production Design: 1989 Oliver Bayldon, BBC forNever Come Back.
Oliver Bayldon
Oliver Bayldon FCSD, a Fellow of the Society since 1986
Results 1 to 7 of 7 for Oliver Bayldon
Richard Oliver Maxwell Bayldon: Fellow since 1961
1219. (Twelve By Eight Press) Bayldon, Oliver. PAPER MAKERS CRAFT. Leicester: Twelve By Eight Paper Mill & Private Press, 1965, small 8vo., hand-made self-paper wrappers. (4) pages. Prospectus about a new book from the Twelve by Eight Press. The verse by Oliver Bayldon and the illustrations by Rigby Graham. Printed on Mason's handmade paper.
Designer: Oliver Bayldon[dead link]
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Production Designer Oliver Bayldon
Designer: Oliver Bayldon
Production Designer: Oliver Bayldon
Production Designer: Oliver Bayldon
NB: Visuals 1,2, 6, 8, 9 and 10 are on display at the King Richard III Visitor Centre.
Costumes designed by R. O. M. Bayldon
Settings designed by Oliver Bayldon
Gentlemen, Dancers and Guests: (...) Oliver Bayldon (...)
Setting by Oliver Bayldon
Characters in order of appearance: (...) Ranjit, Fielding's servant ... Oliver Bayldon (...) Mr Burton-Fletcher, a Civil Servant ...Kenneth Loach (...)
Setting by Oliver Bayldon
Setting by Oliver Bayldon
Settings by Oliver Bayldon
Costumes: Oliver Bayldon
Official Opening by HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, President of the RAM. Wednesday 26th October 1977 at 8.0 p.m. Further performances on Friday 28th October, Monday 31st October, and Tuesday 1st November, at 7.30 p.m.
Set: Oliver Bayldon
Set and Costumes: Oliver Bayldon
Set and Costumes: Oliver Bayldon
Designer – Oliver Bayldon
Designer – Oliver Bayldon
Production Designer – Oliver Bayldon
Production Designer – Oliver Bayldon
Production Designer Oliver Bayldon
Oliver Bayldon:Poldark (MS) BBC, Lionheart Television Int'l (1977);Memento Mori (TF) BBC 1992
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