Sir Michael Boyd HonFRSE (6 July 1955 – 3 August 2023) was a British theatre director and an

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

of 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 ...

Early years

Michael Boyd was born in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, Northern Ireland, on 6 July 1955. He was educated at

Latymer Upper School Latymer Upper School is a public school in Hammersmith, London, England, on King Street. It derives from a charity school, and is part of the same 1624 Latymer Foundation, from a bequest by the English legal official Edward Latymer. There ...

in London, Daniel Stewart's College in Edinburgh, and at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, where he gained an M.A. in English Literature and performed with the Edinburgh University Drama Society.

Career

Boyd trained as a director at the Malaya Bronnaya Theatre in Moscow, 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 The Crucible Theatre, or simply The Crucible, is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which opened in 1971. Its name refers to Crucible steel#History of production in England, crucible steel, which was developed in Sheffield in 174 ...

as an Associate Director, where he directed Mayakovsky's ''Mystere Bouffe'' and the premiere of ''Commedia'' by Marcella Evaristi. Other productions included ''A Passion in Six Days'' at the

Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...

in March 1984, ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'' at the Lyric, Hammersmith, ''

Hedda Gabler ''Hedda Gabler'' () is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage.Meyer, Michael Lever ...

'' at the Leicester Haymarket and '' The Alchemist'' for Cambridge Theatre Company. In October 1984 he became Artistic Director of the

Tron Theatre The Tron Theatre is located in Glasgow, Scotland. The theatre was formerly known as the Tron Kirk. It began as the Collegiate Church of Our Lady and St. Anne. The Tron Theatre building is home to the Tron Theatre Company and serves as a prod ...

in Glasgow, where he staged a production of ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' starring

Iain Glen Iain Alan Sutherland Glen (born 24 June 1961) is a Scottish actor. He has appeared as Dr. Alexander Isaacs/Tyrant in three films of the Resident Evil (film series), ''Resident Evil'' film series (2004–2016) and as Ser Jorah Mormont, Jorah Morm ...

, an adaptation of Janice Galloway's '' The Trick is to Keep Breathing'' and

Michel Tremblay Michel Tremblay (born 25 June 1942) is a Canadian writer, novelist and playwright. Tremblay was born in Montreal, Quebec, where he grew up in the French-speaking neighbourhood of Plateau Mont-Royal; at the time of his birth, a neighbourhood ...

's Quebec plays, '' The Real World?'' and '' The Guid Sisters''. In 1987 he invited

Alan Cumming Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a Scottish actor, writer and presenter. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, two Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and an Olivier Award. He re ...

and Forbes Masson to write and star in ''Babes in the Wood'' as their alter egos Victor and Barry at the Tron.Masson, Forbes & Fentiman, Michael, "Michael Boyd: Dedication", in ''Jekyll & Hyde'' theatre programme, Royal Lyceum Theatre Company Ltd., Edinburgh, January 2024, p. 8 Other Tron productions include ''MacBeth Possessed'', ''Ghost Story'', ''Terrestrial Extras'', ''The Marble Madonna'', ''McGrotty and Ludmilla'', ''Muir'', ''

Sleeping Beauty "Sleeping Beauty" (, or ''The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood''; , or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess curse, cursed by an evil fairy to suspended animation in fi ...

'', '' Philadelphia, Here I Come!'', '' Doctor Faustus'', ''The Funeral'' and ''Losing Alec''. Boyd joined the RSC in 1996 as an Associate Director, staging the three parts of '' Henry VI'' together with ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

'' at the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Nadia Fall has been artistic director since 2025, succeeding ...

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 ''Miss Julie'' () is a naturalistic play written in 1888 by August Strindberg. It is set on Midsummer's Eve and the following morning, which is Midsummer and the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist. The setting is an estate of a count in Sweden. ...

'' in the

Frank McGuinness Professor Frank McGuinness (born 1953) is an Irish writer. As well as his own plays, which include '' The Factory Girls'', '' Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme'', '' Someone Who'll Watch Over Me'' and '' Dolly West's Kitche ...

version at the

Theatre Royal Haymarket The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre in Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote ...

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 The Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster. It was known as the Strand Theatre between 1913 and 2005. History The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of The Waldo ...

. In 2007, he launched the long-awaited redevelopment of the

Royal Shakespeare Theatre The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) (originally called the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre) is a Grade II* listed 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the English playwright and poet William Shakespea ...

. 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. He brought Michael Fentiman into the RSC as part of his 2009 - 2011 ''Long Ensemble Project''. In 2022, Boyd directed the

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...

production of

Liz Lochhead Liz Lochhead Hon FRSE (born 26 December 1947) is a Scottish poet, playwright, translator and broadcaster. Between 2011 and 2016 she was the Makar, or National Poet of Scotland, and served as Poet Laureate for Glasgow between 2005 and 2011. ...

's adaptation of ''Medea'', with Adura Onashile in the title role. Boyd regularly collaborated with stage designer Tom Piper since they first worked together on a pantomime for the

in Glasgow.

Personal Life

In 1982 he married the actor and playwright Marcella Evaristi. After their divorce, he lived with his partne
Caroline Hall
in London from 1991.

Death

On 3 August 2023, the

released a statement from his family announcing his death from cancer. He was 68.

Honours

Boyd was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the

2012 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours List 2012 was released on 16 June 2012 in the United Kingdom, on 11 June 2012 in Australia on 4 June 2012 in New Zealand,Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

in March 2016.

References

External links

The Company: A Biographical Dictionary of the RSC: Supplementary Material by Simon TrowbridgeShakespeare Birthplace Trust: Theatre ProfiletheatreVOICE: critic Heather Neill talks to Michael Boyd about the Shakespeare History Cycle, 25 April 2007
* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, Michael 1955 births 2023 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh British theatre directors Fellows of St Catherine's College, Oxford Honorary Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Irish theatre directors Knights Bachelor Laurence Olivier Award winners People educated at Stewart's Melville College People from Belfast Deaths from cancer in the United Kingdom Shakespearean directors