Michael Boyd
Encyclopedia
Michael Boyd is a British theatre director, and current artistic director
of the Royal Shakespeare Company
. He has regularly collaborated with stage designer Tom Piper
since they first worked together on a pantomime for the Tron Theatre
in Glasgow.
, Northern Ireland
, and educated at Latymer Upper School
in London, Daniel Stewart's College
, Edinburgh, and at the University of Edinburgh
where he gained an M.A.
in English Literature.
, and in 1979 took up his first post as a trainee director at the Belgrade Theatre
in Coventry, graduating to Assistant Director a year later.
In 1982 he joined the Sheffield Crucible as an Associate Director, and three years later became founding Artistic Director of the Tron Theatre
in Glasgow, where he staged a production of Macbeth
starring Iain Glen
, an adaptation of Janice Galloway
’s The Trick is to Keep Breathing
and Michel Tremblay
’s Quebec plays, The Real World?
and The Guid Sisters.
Boyd joined the RSC in 1996 as an Associate Director, staging the three parts of Henry VI
together with Richard III
at the Young Vic in London in April 2002, as part of the This England: Histories Cycle
.
During this time he was also Drama Director of the New Beginnings Festival of Soviet Arts in Glasgow in 1999, and directed Miss Julie
in the Frank McGuinness
version at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in February 2000.
Taking over from Adrian Noble
in 2003, Boyd assumed control of the RSC, burdened with a deficit of £2.8m, with a remit to turn its fortunes around. He ran a year-long Complete Works of Shakespeare Festival
(begun in April 2006 and involving other companies as well as the RSC) and a London season at the Novello Theatre
.
In 2007, he launched the long-awaited redevelopment of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. This included construction of the temporary Courtyard Theatre
to provide a Stratford venue while work was in progress. It was designed to house The Histories cycle, before its transfer to the Roundhouse
in London in 2008.
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
of the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
. He has regularly collaborated with stage designer Tom Piper
Tom Piper (designer)
Tom Piper is a British theatre designer who regularly collaborates with director Michael Boyd. He became an Associate Designer with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2004....
since they first worked together on a pantomime for the Tron Theatre
Tron Theatre
The Tron Theatre is located at the corner of Trongate and Chisholm Street, in the Merchant City area of Glasgow, Scotland.From its early years as a theatre club, the Tron has grown into a thriving multi-faceted venue...
in Glasgow.
Early years
Boyd was born in BelfastBelfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, and educated at Latymer Upper School
Latymer Upper School
Latymer Upper School, founded by Edward Latymer in 1624, is a selective independent school in Hammersmith, West London, England, lying between King Street and the Thames. It is a day school for 1,130 pupils – boys and girls aged 11–18; there is also the Latymer Preparatory School for boys and girls...
in London, Daniel Stewart's College
Stewart's Melville College
Stewart's Melville College is an all boys boarding and day private school situated in the heart of Edinburgh, Scotland...
, Edinburgh, and at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
where he gained an M.A.
Master of Arts (Scotland)
A Master of Arts in Scotland can refer to an undergraduate academic degree in humanities and social sciences awarded by the ancient universities of Scotland – the University of St Andrews, the University of Glasgow, the University of Aberdeen and the University of Edinburgh, while the University of...
in English Literature.
Career
Boyd trained as a director at the Malaya Bronnaya Theatre in MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, and in 1979 took up his first post as a trainee director at the Belgrade Theatre
Belgrade Theatre
The Belgrade Theatre is a live performance venue seating 858 and situated in Coventry, England. It was the first civic theatre to be built after the Second World War in Britain and as such was more than a place of entertainment...
in Coventry, graduating to Assistant Director a year later.
In 1982 he joined the Sheffield Crucible as an Associate Director, and three years later became founding Artistic Director of the Tron Theatre
Tron Theatre
The Tron Theatre is located at the corner of Trongate and Chisholm Street, in the Merchant City area of Glasgow, Scotland.From its early years as a theatre club, the Tron has grown into a thriving multi-faceted venue...
in Glasgow, where he staged a production of Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
starring Iain Glen
Iain Glen
Iain Glen is a Scottish film and stage actor.Iain Glen was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and trained at RADA where he won the Bancroft Gold Medal. He was married to Susannah Harker from 1993 to 2004; they have one son, Finlay...
, an adaptation of Janice Galloway
Janice Galloway
Janice Galloway is a writer of novels, short stories, prose-poetry, non-fiction and libretti-Biography:She is the second daughter of James Galloway and Janet Clark McBride. Her parents separated when she was four and her father died when she was six. Her sister Nora, sixteen years older, died in...
’s The Trick is to Keep Breathing
The Trick is to Keep Breathing (novel)
The Trick is to Keep Breathing is the first novel from the writer Janice Galloway. It was first published in the United Kingdom by Polygon in 1989. The novel won the MIND/Allen Lane Book of the Year and was also shortlisted for both the Whitbread First Novel and Scottish First Book awards.-Plot...
and Michel Tremblay
Michel Tremblay
Michel Tremblay, CQ is a Canadian novelist and playwright.Tremblay grew up in the Plateau Mont-Royal, a French-speaking neighbourhood of Montreal, at the time of his birth a neighbourhood with a working-class character and joual dialect, something that would heavily influence his work...
’s Quebec plays, The Real World?
The Real World?
The Real World? is a play written by Canadian playwright Michel Tremblay.Originally written in French, under the title Le Vrai Monde?, it was later translated into English. It is about a young playwright named Claude who writes his own mother and father into his first play...
and The Guid Sisters.
Boyd joined the RSC in 1996 as an Associate Director, staging the three parts of Henry VI
Henry VI
Henry VI may refer to:* Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor .* Henry VI of Luxembourg, Count of Luxembourg, * Henry VI of England...
together with Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
at the Young Vic in London in April 2002, as part of the This England: Histories Cycle
This England: The Histories
This England: The Histories was a season of Shakespeare's history plays staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2000-2001. The company staged both of Shakespeare's tetralogies of history plays so that audiences could see all eight plays over several days...
.
During this time he was also Drama Director of the New Beginnings Festival of Soviet Arts in Glasgow in 1999, and directed Miss Julie
Miss Julie
Miss Julie is a naturalistic play written in 1888 by August Strindberg dealing with class, love, lust, the battle of the sexes, and the interaction among them...
in the Frank McGuinness
Frank McGuinness
Professor Frank McGuinness is an award-winning Irish playwright and poet. As well as his own works, which include Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, he is recognised for a "strong record of adapting literary classics, having translated the plays of Racine, Sophocles, Ibsen and...
version at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in February 2000.
Taking over from Adrian Noble
Adrian Noble
Adrian Keith Noble is a theatre director, and was also the artistic director and chief executive of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1990 to 2003.-Education and career:...
in 2003, Boyd assumed control of the RSC, burdened with a deficit of £2.8m, with a remit to turn its fortunes around. He ran a year-long Complete Works of Shakespeare Festival
Complete Works (RSC festival)
The Complete Works is a festival set up by the Royal Shakespeare Company, running between April 2006 and March 2007 at Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The festival aims to perform all of Shakespeare's works, including his sonnets, poems and all 37 plays...
(begun in April 2006 and involving other companies as well as the RSC) and a London season at the Novello Theatre
Novello Theatre
The Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster.-History:The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of the Waldorf Hotel, both being designed by W. G. R. Sprague. The theatre opened as the Waldorf Theatre on 22 May 1905, and was...
.
In 2007, he launched the long-awaited redevelopment of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. This included construction of the temporary Courtyard Theatre
Royal Shakespeare Theatre
The Royal Shakespeare Theatre is a 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the British playwright and poet William Shakespeare. It is located in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon - Shakespeare's birthplace - in the English Midlands, beside the River Avon...
to provide a Stratford venue while work was in progress. It was designed to house The Histories cycle, before its transfer to the Roundhouse
Roundhouse
A roundhouse is a building used by railroads for servicing locomotives. Roundhouses are large, circular or semicircular structures that were traditionally located surrounding or adjacent to turntables...
in London in 2008.
Private life
Boyd lives in London with his partner, Caroline Hall and their daughter Rachael. He has two other children from his previous marriage, twins Gabriella and Daniel Evaristi Boyd. The twins are both located in Glasgow where they study at the Glasgow School of Art and the RSAMD respectively.Further reading
- Trowbridge, Simon: The Company: A Biographical Dictionary of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Oxford: Editions Albert Creed (2010) ISBN 9780955983023
External links
- The Company: A Biographical Dictionary of the RSC: Supplementary Material by Simon Trowbridge
- Shakespeare Birthplace Trust: Theatre Profile
- The British Theatre Guide: Directors Pages
- theatreVOICE: critic Heather Neill talks to Michael Boyd about the Shakespeare History Cycle, 25 April 2007
- London Theatre profile