Biography
Born on 18 June 1928 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Michael Blakemore completed his university studies before relocating to London, where he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. His first appearance on the provincial stage came in 1951 with a production of The Barretts Of Wimpole Street. Over the next several years he performed in various UK repertory companies while also taking up directing. Widespread recognition arrived when he staged the 1967 London premiere of A Day In The Life Of Joe Egg, a production he transferred to Broadway the following year and for which he received a Tony Award nomination.
In 1971 Blakemore joined the National Theatre in London, guiding Laurence Olivier through a revival of Long Day’s Journey Into Night. That same period saw him direct a 1973 West End revival of Noël Coward’s Design For Living and oversee the television version of that staging. For the Royal Shakespeare Company he mounted Privates On Parade in 1977 and later helmed the 1982 screen adaptation of the play.
A sustained collaboration with Michael Frayn began in 1973 when Blakemore directed the playwright’s version of The Cherry Orchard. Subsequent Frayn projects under his guidance included Make And Break (1980), The Benefactors (1984, reaching Broadway in 1985) and Noises Off (1984), the last of which earned him a Drama Desk Award and a Tony nomination. In 1987 he directed Lettuce And Lovage in London, then brought City Of Angels to Broadway in 1989, securing another Tony nomination even though the musical—with book by Larry Gelbart, music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by David Zippel—failed to achieve commercial success. A further Tony nomination followed for the 1990 Broadway staging of Lettuce And Loveage.
Blakemore wrote and directed the 1994 film Country Life, an adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. The next year he staged the off-Broadway triple bill Death Defying Acts, comprising one-act plays by Woody Allen, David Mamet and Elaine May. Yet another Tony nomination arrived with the 1997 musical The Life, an ill-fated though award-winning work by Coleman. For the 1999 revival of Kiss Me, Kate he received both Tony and Drama Desk awards, honours he repeated when he directed Frayn’s Copenhagen on Broadway in 2000 after first presenting it in London the previous year. He returned to London in 2002 to direct Life After George. His final Broadway credit listed here was Frayn’s Democracy, which opened in 2004 and closed on 17 April 2005.
In 1971 Blakemore joined the National Theatre in London, guiding Laurence Olivier through a revival of Long Day’s Journey Into Night. That same period saw him direct a 1973 West End revival of Noël Coward’s Design For Living and oversee the television version of that staging. For the Royal Shakespeare Company he mounted Privates On Parade in 1977 and later helmed the 1982 screen adaptation of the play.
A sustained collaboration with Michael Frayn began in 1973 when Blakemore directed the playwright’s version of The Cherry Orchard. Subsequent Frayn projects under his guidance included Make And Break (1980), The Benefactors (1984, reaching Broadway in 1985) and Noises Off (1984), the last of which earned him a Drama Desk Award and a Tony nomination. In 1987 he directed Lettuce And Lovage in London, then brought City Of Angels to Broadway in 1989, securing another Tony nomination even though the musical—with book by Larry Gelbart, music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by David Zippel—failed to achieve commercial success. A further Tony nomination followed for the 1990 Broadway staging of Lettuce And Loveage.
Blakemore wrote and directed the 1994 film Country Life, an adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. The next year he staged the off-Broadway triple bill Death Defying Acts, comprising one-act plays by Woody Allen, David Mamet and Elaine May. Yet another Tony nomination arrived with the 1997 musical The Life, an ill-fated though award-winning work by Coleman. For the 1999 revival of Kiss Me, Kate he received both Tony and Drama Desk awards, honours he repeated when he directed Frayn’s Copenhagen on Broadway in 2000 after first presenting it in London the previous year. He returned to London in 2002 to direct Life After George. His final Broadway credit listed here was Frayn’s Democracy, which opened in 2004 and closed on 17 April 2005.
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