Grandage, Michael

▪ 2008

born May 2, 1962, Yorkshire, Eng.

      Michael Grandage, artistic director of London's Donmar Warehouse theatre, made a belated but hugely successful debut on Broadway in 2007 with his production of the play Frost/Nixon. The work, written by Peter Morgan, dramatized the 1977 television interviews in which British writer and broadcaster David Frost induced former U.S. president Richard Nixon (played by Frank Langella) to express regret for the Watergate affair.

      Grandage, one of Britain's busiest and most admired theatrical directors, grew up in Penzance, Eng.; at age 18 he enrolled in the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. After graduating in 1984, he embarked on a promising acting career. Eventually, however, he realized that he had “become obsessed by other people's roles in the process. I was just as interested in the sound, the lighting and other people's performances as I was in my own.” He began to seek directing opportunities, and in 1996 he got his chance with Arthur Miller's The Last Yankee at Colchester. It was a triumph, and he knew that he had found his vocation.

      Grandage was soon in demand in his new role. In 1999 he became associate director of Sheffield's Crucible Theatre; the following year he was named artistic director of the Sheffield Theatres. He quickly began to attract major names to this regional theatre complex; in 2001 Joseph Fiennes played the title role in Marlowe's Edward II, and in 2002 Kenneth Branagh starred in Richard III. Grandage continued working at Sheffield until 2005. Meanwhile, in 2000 he became an associate director of London's Donmar Warehouse, and in 2002 he succeeded Sam Mendes as artistic director there. Grandage's programming was diverse, including popular musicals, challenging European classics, and modern dramas. He won directorial awards for Peter Nichols's Passion Play (2000) and Albert Camus's Caligula (2003). His revival of Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along (2000–01) won multiple awards. In 2005 and 2006 he directed revivals of Guys and Dolls and Evita, which ran simultaneously in West End theatres. At the Donmar he mounted his first productions of new plays in 2006, directing Sir Ian McKellen in Mark Ravenhill's The Cut and Langella in Frost/Nixon. Grandage did not slow down in 2007. In addition to directing three of the six plays staged at the Donmar and managing the transfer of Frost/Nixon to Broadway, he announced major business plans for the Donmar organization. The company bought the lease on its theatre property, and it established a one-year residency at the Wyndham Theatre in the West End, where it planned to mount four productions beginning in September 2008.

K. Anne Ranson

* * *

▪ English theatre director

born May 2, 1962, Yorkshire, Eng.

      English theatre director who created critically and commercially successful productions of a diverse variety of plays in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

      Grandage grew up in Penzance, Eng., and at age 18 he enrolled in the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. After graduating in 1984, he embarked on an acting career. Eventually, however, he realized that he had “become obsessed by other people's roles in the process. I was just as interested in the sound, the lighting and other people's performances as I was in my own.” He began to seek directing opportunities, and in 1996 he got his chance with Arthur Miller (Miller, Arthur)'s The Last Yankee at Colchester. It was a triumph, and he was soon in demand as a director.

      In 1999 Grandage became associate director of Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, and the following year he was named artistic director of the Sheffield Theatres. He quickly began to attract major names to this regional theatre complex; in 2001 Joseph Fiennes played the title role in Christopher Marlowe (Marlowe, Christopher)'s Edward II, and in 2002 Kenneth Branagh (Branagh, Kenneth) starred in William Shakespeare's Richard III. Grandage continued working at Sheffield until 2005. Meanwhile, he became involved with London's Donmar Warehouse, becoming an associate director in 2000 and succeeding Sam Mendes as artistic director in 2002.

      Grandage's programming was diverse, including popular musicals, challenging European classics, and modern dramas. He won directorial awards for Peter Nichols's Passion Play (2000) and Albert Camus (Camus, Albert)'s Caligula (2003). His revival of Stephen Sondheim (Sondheim, Stephen)'s Merrily We Roll Along (2000–01) won multiple awards. In 2005 and 2006 he directed revivals of Guys and Dolls and Evita, which ran simultaneously in West End theatres.

      At the Donmar, Grandage mounted his first productions of new plays in 2006, directing Sir Ian McKellen (McKellen, Sir Ian) in Mark Ravenhill's The Cut as well as Frost/Nixon, a play written by Peter Morgan that dramatized the 1977 television interviews in which British writer and broadcaster David Frost induced former U.S. president Richard Nixon (Nixon, Richard M.) (played by Frank Langella) to express regret for the Watergate Scandal. In 2007 Grandage directed three of the six plays staged at the Donmar, managed the transfer of Frost/Nixon to Broadway (his debut there), and announced major business plans for the Donmar organization. The company bought the lease on its theatre property, and it established a one-year residency at the Wyndham Theatre in the West End. That year Grandage also prepared a critically lauded production of Othello (2007–08), starring Chiwetel Ejiofor in the eponymous role and Ewan McGregor as Iago.

* * *