Richard Pilbrow
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Richard Pilbrow (28 April 1933 – 6 December 2023) was a British stage lighting designer, author, theatre design consultant, and theatrical producer, film producer and television producer. He was the first British lighting designer to light a Broadway musical on the
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
stage with the musical '' Zorba''.


Early life

Pilbrow was born in
Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965, it was part of Kent. It is situated north of Elmers End and Eden Park, east of Penge, south of Lower Sydenham and Bellingham, and west ...
, Kent, England. In the 1950s, Pilbrow entered the
Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for ...
in London as a stage management student after serving two years in the
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.


Career

In 1957, Pilbrow co-founded the lighting rental company Theatre Projects with Bryan Kendall, which expanded to include a production company in 1963 to produce and mount the London production of
Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...
’s first musical ''
A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (254–184 BC), specif ...
'' with
set designer Scenic design, also known as stage design or set design, is the creation of scenery for theatrical productions including plays and musicals. The term can also be applied to film and television productions, where it may be referred to as prod ...
Tony Walton Anthony John Walton (24 October 1934 – 2 March 2022) was a British costume designer and set designer. He won three Tony Awards, an Academy Award, and an Emmy Award. He received three Tony Awards for '' Pippin'' (1973), '' House of Blue Leaves' ...
and American Producer
Hal Prince Harold Smith Prince (born Harold Smith; January 30, 1928 – July 31, 2019), commonly known as Hal Prince, was an American theatre director and producer known for his work in musical theatre. One of the foremost figures in 20th-century theatr ...
. In 1963 Pilbrow became lighting director to
Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...
for the National Theatre at Chichester and the
Old Vic Theatre The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. It was established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal ...
. From 1966 he joined the National Theatre Building Committee and the following year was appointed theatre consultant to the new National Theatre on the South Bank. He was responsible for the stage design, backstage planning and all the performance equipment design (with Richard Brett) of the Olivier and Lyttelton Theatres. Theatre Projects Consultants, with Iain Mackintosh, was responsible for the design of the Cottesloe (now Dorfman) Theatre. Theatre Projects Consultants, which designs theatres and performing arts buildings, has gone on to design world-renowned spaces such as the
Steppenwolf Theatre Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theater company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Immaculate Conception grade school in Highland Park, Illinois and is now located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighbo ...
in Chicago, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in
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, and the
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in Los Angeles, on which he wrote a book. Pilbrow was chairman Emeritus of the firm. Pilbrow was one of the four founders of 69 Theatre Company, at Manchester's University Theatre, along with Caspar Wrede, Michael Elliott and Braham Murray. Pilbrow worked on Broadway for the first time as the projection designer, with lighting designer
Jean Rosenthal Jean Rosenthal (born Eugenia Rosenthal; March 16, 1912May 1, 1969) is considered a pioneer in the field of Lighting Design, theatrical lighting design. She was born in New York City to Romanian-Jewish people, Jewish immigrants. northern.edu, ret ...
of Prince's ''
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (254–184 BC), specif ...
''. A year later, his second projection assignment on Broadway with '' Golden Boy'' allowed him to work with lighting designer
Tharon Musser Tharon Myrene Musser (January 8, 1925 – April 19, 2009)United Scenic Artists United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829, formerly known as United Scenic Artists of America (USAA), is an American labor union. It is a nationwide autonomous Local of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. It organizes designers ...
. Pilbrow went on to light eleven Broadway shows—earning Tony nominations for ''Four Baboons Adoring the Sun'' and '' The Life''. In 1970, he published the book ''Stage Lighting'' which is still a standard textbook in lighting design programs in both America and Britain. A later book, ''Stage Lighting Design: The Art, The Craft, The Life'', was published in 1997, with a second edition releasing in September 2008. In 2011 his autobiographical account "A Theatre Project — A Backstage Story" was published. In 1974 he produced the film ''
Swallows and Amazons ''Swallows and Amazons'' is a children's adventure novel by English author Arthur Ransome first published on 21 July 1930 by Jonathan Cape. Set in the summer of 1929 in the Lake District, the book introduces the main characters of John, Sus ...
''. Pillbrow was the lighting designer for the 2008 Jill Santoriello musical adaptation of ''
A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by English author Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long impr ...
'' at the
Al Hirschfeld Theatre The Al Hirschfeld Theatre, originally the Martin Beck Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 302 West 45th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1924, it was designed by G. Albert Lansburg ...
on
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
. He won the 1995 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design for''
Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the per ...
'' and was nominated for the same award for ''A Tale of Two Cities'' in 2009.
National Life Stories National Life Stories (NLS) is an independent charitable trust and limited company (registered as the "National Life Story Collection") based within the British Library Oral History section, whose key focus and expertise is oral history fieldwork. ...
conducted an oral history interview (C1173/06) with Hudson in 2006 for its An Oral History of Theatre Design collection held by the British Library. Pilbrow was a joint founder in the Association of British Theatre Technicians, Institute of Theatre Consultants, The Society of British Theatre Designers and (with Leonard ‘Lennie’ Tucker) the Society of British Lighting Designers, now known as the Association of Lighting Designers. Pilbrow served two terms on the United States Institute for Theatre Technology's (
USITT The United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) is a membership organization which aims to advance the skills and knowledge of theatre, entertainment and performing arts professionals involved in the areas of design, production and tec ...
) Directors at Large and was also elected a Fellow of the Institute in 2001. He was a Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts and London's
Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for ...
.


Death

Pilbrow died on 6 December 2023, at the age of 90.


Awards

*
Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...
''
Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the per ...
'' (1997) * Outer Critics Award ''
Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the per ...
'' (1997) *
Dora Award The Dora Mavor Moore Awards (also known as the Dora Awards or the Doras) are awards presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA), honouring theatre, Dance in Canada, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after ...
''
Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the per ...
'' (1997) *
NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
Award for Lighting ''
Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the per ...
'' (1997) *Theatre Crafts International Lighting Product of the Year (1998) *Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award in Lighting Design from the
United States Institute for Theatre Technology The United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) is a membership organization which aims to advance the skills and knowledge of theatre, entertainment and performing arts professionals involved in the areas of design, production and tec ...
(1999) * Association of British Theatre Technicians Technician of the Year (2000) *Lighting Designer of the Year by Lighting Dimensions Magazine (2005) * The Wally Russell Foundation Wally Russell Lifetime Achievement Award (2008)


Publications

*Stage Lighting (1970) *Walt Disney Concert Hall: The Backstage Story (2003) *Stage Lighting Design: The Art, The Craft, The Life (1997 & 2008) *A Theatre Project (2011) *A Sense of Theatre (2024)


Broadway lighting design credits

*''A Tale of Two Cities'' (2008) *''Our Town'' (2002) *''The Life'' (1997) *''Show Boat'' (1994) *''Tango Pasión'' (1993) *''Four Baboons Adoring the Sun'' (1992) *''Shelter'' (1973) *''The Rothschilds'' (1970) *''Zorba'' (1968) *''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead'' (1967) *''Golden Boy'' (1964)


Theatre projects consultants: theatre design consulting projects of note

Partial list of projects. * National Theatre, London * Kauffman Performing Arts Center, 
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http://www.kauffmancenter.org * Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, 
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
*
Walt Disney Concert Hall The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center and was designed by Frank Gehry. It was opened on October 23, 2003. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Av ...
, 
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* Richard B. Fisher Center for the Arts, Bard College Annandale-on-Hudson, New York * New Amsterdam Theater renovation, New York City * Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
* Geary Theater renovation, 
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* Seiji Ozawa Hall, Tanglewood Lenox, Massachusetts * Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 
Cerritos, California Cerritos (; Spanish for "Little hills") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and is one of several cities that constitute the Gateway Cities of southeast Los Angeles County. It was municipal corporation, incorporated on ...
* San Jose Repertory Theatre, 
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* Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts, 
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, Canada *
Portland Center for the Performing Arts Portland's Centers for the Arts (stylized as Portland'5 Centers for the Arts), formerly known as the Portland Center for the Performing Arts (PCPA), is an organization within Metro that runs venues for live theatre, concerts, cinema, small confe ...
, 
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* North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, 
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* Steppenwolf Theater, 
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*
Chicago Shakespeare Theater Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) is a non-profit, professional theater company located at Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois. Its more than six hundred annual performances performed 48 weeks of the year include its critically acclaimed Shakespeare ...
, 
Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
* The Goodman Theatre, 
Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...


References


External links


Theatre Projects Consultants
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pilbrow, Richard 1933 births 2023 deaths Dora Mavor Moore Award winners Drama Desk Award winners British lighting designers People from Beckenham British theatre managers and producers