Clifford Williams (1926 – 20 August 2005) was a Welsh

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

and

stage actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. He was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and died in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Early life

Clifford Williams, son of George F. Williams and Florence (Gapper) from Cardiff, was born in Birmingham. He attended Highbury Grammar School. He served in the British Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) from 1945 to 1948. Williams was a fellow of

Trinity College of Music Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music, dance, and musical theatre conservatoire based in South East London. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. Trini ...

(London), as well as the

Welsh College of Music and Drama The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama () is a conservatoire located in Cardiff, Wales. It has three theatres: the Richard Burton Theatre, the Bute Theatre, and the Caird Studio. It also includes one concert hall, the Dora Stoutzker Hall, and ...

(on the Board of Governors from 1980).

Career

Founder, 1994: (Director and Playwright) Mime Theatre London. 1950-53: Artistic Director,

Marlowe Theatre The Marlowe Theatre is a 1,200-seat theatre in Canterbury named after playwright Christopher Marlowe, who was born and attended school in the city. It was named a The Stage Awards, Stage Awards, 2022 UK Theatre of the Year. The Marlowe Trust ...

, Canterbury, 1956 Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch, 1957 Arts Theatre, London. 1963-80, Associate Director, Royal Shakespeare Company, U.K. From 1963: Artistic Directorships at: National Theatre, U.K., also the national theatres of: Spain, Yugoslavia, Mexico, Finland, Bulgaria, France, Denmark, Sweden, USSR, Canada, Japan Germany. In the United States, his Broadway productions included: ''The Comedy of Errors'', ''Soldiers'', ''Sleuth'', ''Emperor Henry IVth'', ''As You Like It'', ''A Pack of Lies'', ''Aren’t We All? Breaking the Code'' (TV) and ''Man and Superman''. His opera productions include: ''The Flying Dutchman'', ''Savitri'', ''Dido and Aeneas'', ''Bellman’s Opera''. Musical productions include (in London): ''Our Man Creighton'', ''Mardi Gras'', ''Oh! Calcutta'' and ''Carte Blanche''. He was the author of the children’s plays ''The Sleeping Princess'', ''The Goose Girl and The Secret Kingdom'', and he translated

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 play ...

and

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

. He was chairman of the

British Theatre Association The British Theatre Association, originally known as the British Drama League, was an organisation established in 1919 to promote amateur and professional theatre in England, with a head office based at Fitzroy Square, London. It was founded by Geo ...

(1978-90). For the Royal Shakespeare Company: Directed 31 productions including the outstandingly successful (also set designer) ''Comedy of Errors'' (with Ian Richardson, Michael Williams,

Timothy West Timothy Lancaster West (20 October 1934 – 12 November 2024) was an English actor with a long and varied career across theatre, film, and television. He began acting in repertory theatres in the 1950s before making his London stage debut in 19 ...

, Donald Burton, Elizabeth Spriggs,

Janet Suzman Dame Janet Suzman (born 9 February 1939) is a South African-born British actress who had a successful early career in the Royal Shakespeare Company, later replaying many Shakespearean roles on television. In her first film, '' Nicholas and Alexa ...

and Susan Engel); ''The Merchant of Venice'' (Janet Suzman, Eric Porter and William Squire) and ''The Jew of Malta'' (Eric Porter and Tony Church).

Selected theatre credits

*''

The Comedy of Errors ''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play ...

'' (1962), for the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

*''

Cymbeline ''Cymbeline'' (), also known as ''The Tragedie of Cymbeline'' or ''Cymbeline, King of Britain'', is a play by William Shakespeare set in British Iron Age, Ancient Britain () and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concer ...

'' (1974), for the RSC *''

The Duchess of Malfi ''The Duchess of Malfi'' (originally published as ''The Tragedy of the Dutchesse of Malfy'') is a Jacobean revenge tragedy written by English dramatist John Webster in 1612–1613. It was first performed privately at the Blackfriars Theat ...

'' (1971), for the RSC *''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

'' (1974) *'' Sleuth'' (1970) *''

Antony and Cleopatra ''Antony and Cleopatra'' is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed around 1607, by the King's Men at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre. Its first appearance in print was in the First Folio published ...

'' (1951–1952) (

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

) *'' Caesar and Cleopatra'' (1951–1952) (

)

References

External links

*
U.K. productions as director listed in Theatre Archive, University of Bristol
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Clifford British theatre directors Male actors from Cardiff Welsh male stage actors 1926 births 2005 deaths Royal Army Ordnance Corps soldiers 20th-century British Army personnel