Phyllida Lloyd

Early life and education

Lloyd was born and raised in Nempnett Thrubwell, Somerset, south of Bristol. She attended Lawnside School, which merged with Malvern St James in 1994.

Career

1979–1999: Early works and acclaim

After graduating from the Department of Drama and Theatre Arts at Birmingham University in 1979 (BA, English), she spent five years working in BBC Television Drama. In 1985 she was awarded an Arts Council of Great Britain bursary to be Trainee Director at the Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich. The following year she was appointed Associate Director at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham, then in 1989 Associate Director of the Bristol Old Vic, where her production of The Comedy of Errors was a success.

She moved on to the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester where she directed The Winter's Tale, The School for Scandal, Medea, and an acclaimed production of Death and the King's Horseman by Wole Soyinka. In 1991 she made her debut at the Royal Shakespeare Company with a well-received production of a little-known play by Thomas Shadwell, The Virtuoso. Although she followed this in 1992 with a successful production of the rarely seen Artists and Admirers by Alexander Ostrovsky, she has, as of 2007, never returned to the RSC.

Also in 1992 came her first commercial success: her Royal Court Theatre production of John Guare's Six Degrees of Separation transferred to the West End. In 1994 she made her debut at Royal National Theatre with a production of Pericles which divided the critics. There was general praise, however, for her productions of Hysteria by Terry Johnson at the Royal Court and Bertolt Brecht/Kurt Weill's The Threepenny Opera at the Donmar Warehouse.

By this time, Lloyd's work had come to the attention of Nicholas Payne, then running Opera North. For her debut as an opera director he steered her to what was, at least in the UK, an obscurity – L'Etoile by Chabrier. The production was a great success, setting Lloyd on a significant and award-winning career as an opera director. Productions since then include La Boheme, Gloriana, Cherubini's Medea, Albert Herring and Peter Grimes for Opera North; Dialogues of the Carmelites for English National Opera/Welsh National Opera; Verdi's Macbeth (for the Bastille Opera and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden); the premiere of Poul Ruders' opera The Handmaid's Tale (from the novel by Margaret Atwood); and a controversial Ring cycle for ENO. For Gloriana A Film She received an International Emmy and a FIPA d'Or. Her productions have won the Royal Philharmonic Society Award in 1991 (Gloriana) 2000 (The Carmelites) and 2007 (Peter Grimes).

In spite of the mixed reception accorded to her first production at the National Theatre, Lloyd nonetheless returned to direct productions of The Way of the World, Pericles, What the Butler Saw, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and The Duchess of Malfi, which were well received. She directed an award-winning production of Boston Marriage at London's Donmar Warehouse in 2001. Other recent work includes Friedrich Schiller's Mary Stuart newly adapted by poet Peter Oswald, which ran at the Donmar Warehouse, London, and was transferred to the Apollo Theatre, London, and then to the Broadway in spring 2009.

2000–present: ''Mamma Mia!'' and film work

In 1999, Lloyd was offered the chance to direct the ABBA musical Mamma Mia!, which became a hit, not only in the West End and on Broadway, but worldwide. She directed the 2008 cinematic adaptation, which marked her feature debut. By the end of 2008, the film had been certified as the biggest grossing film at the UK box office ever. It was also certified as the UK's biggest-selling DVD. She was nominated as Best Director of a Play in the 2009 Tony Awards for her production of Mary Stuart. In 2013 Lloyd directed Cush Jumbo in a one-woman show about Josephine Baker at the Bush Theatre and subsequently at Joe's Pub in New York. Between 2012 and 2017 she directed the Donmar Warehouse Trilogy in London and New York. Harriet Walter played Brutus in Julius Caesar, the title role in Henry IV and Prospero in The Tempest in a single day. Susannah Clapp in The Guardian described the Trilogy as "one of the most important theatrical events of the last twenty years".

Lloyd directed The Iron Lady, a biopic of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, with Meryl Streep as Thatcher. The film entered production in January 2011 and was released in December of that year. Meryl Streep won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Thatcher. Lloyd's film Herself written by Clare Dunne and Malcolm Campbell and starring Clare Dunne premiered at The 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

Personal life

Lloyd's romantic partner is Sarah Cooke. On 16 August 2018, Lloyd condemned the destruction of the Said al-Mishal Cultural Centre in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza five days earlier.

Credits

Film

Television

Theater

As a Director

Awards and nominations

Honorary awards

References

References

1. (31 December 2011). "Phyllida Lloyd: Prime mover". The Independent.
2. (14 July 2006). "Phyllida Christian Lloyd {{!}} Graduation". University of Bristol.
3. ''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007''
4. Mermelstein, David. (2008-07-30). "Phyllida Lloyd".
5. (2016-11-25). "Phyllida Lloyd: a director who's determined to put women centre stage".
6. Bunbury, Stephanie. (2021-06-25). "From Meryl Streep to a homeless mum: Phyllida Lloyd builds a new order".
7. "2009 Film Outstanding British Film {{!}} BAFTA Awards".
8. "The Iron Lady".
9. "Phyllida Lloyd".
10. (2016-11-27). "Shakespeare Trilogy review – Phyllida Lloyd's searing triumph".
11. (2016-05-17). "The All-Female Shakespeare Production Turning the Theater World Upside Down".
12. (2016-11-23). "Shakespeare Trilogy review – Donmar's phenomenal all-female triumph".
13. (2012-12-05). "Julius Caesar – review".
14. (2014-10-11). "Henry IV review – Harriet Walter's kingly power".
15. Brantley, Ben. (2015-11-12). "Review: 'Henry IV,' Donmar Warehouse's All-Female Version". The New York Times.
16. Wolf, Matt. (2012-12-11). "'Julius Caesar' Flexes Its Female Muscle". The New York Times.
17. (25 November 2016). "Phyllida Lloyd: a director who's determined to put women centre stage". Guardian.
18. David Benedict [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/arts-together-wherever-we-go-1269939.html "Arts: Together wherever we go"], ''The Independent'', 29 April 2011
19. [http://www.royalexchange.co.uk/history/1990/DEATH%20AND%20THE%20KINGS%20HORSEMAN.htm "Death and the Kings Horseman"] {{Webarchive. link. (19 January 2003 , Royal Exchange Theatre website)
20. See ''Pericles at the Royal National Theatre'' by Melissa Gibson, in ''Pericles: Critical Essays'' (Shakespeare Criticism, Volume 23)
21. Irvine, Chris. (30 October 2008). "Mamma Mia becomes highest grossing British film". The Telegraph.
22. (1 January 2009). "Mamma Mia! tops all-time DVD list". BBC News.
23. "Academy Awards Database Search {{!}} Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences".
24. Catherine Shoard [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/feb/08/meryl-streep-margaret-thatcher-iron-lady "Meryl Streep's Margaret Thatcher revealed in first still from The Iron Lady"], ''The Guardian'', 8 February 2011
25. (6 October 2014). "Phyllida Lloyd: 50 per cent of what's on stage must be a woman's experience". The Times.
26. (2018-08-16). "We condemn the destruction of Gaza cultural centre in Israeli airstrike {{!}} Letter".
27. (21 August 2018). "British Film and Theater Figures Condemn Israeli Bombing of Major Gaza Cultural Center".
28. Gold, Sylviane. (2008-07-06). "The 'Mamma Mia!' Factor, Times Three". The New York Times.
29. Mintzer, Jordan. (2008-07-05). "Mamma Mia!".
30. Young, Susan. (2011-12-05). "Streep a good Brit fit in 'Iron Lady'".
31. (April 25, 2019). "Phyllida Lloyd's 'Herself' Adds Cast, Cornerstone Boards Sales (EXCLUSIVE)".
32. Zemler, Emily. (2021-01-26). "Phyllida Lloyd and writer-actress Clare Dunne join on the uplifting drama 'Herself'".
33. "Olivier Winners 1994".
34. agencies, Staff and. (2009-05-05). "Billy Elliot musical dominates Broadway's Tony award shortlist".
35. (2009-05-05). "'Billy Elliot' scores 15 Tony noms".
36. Derschowitz, Jessica. (2021-09-26). "Tony Awards 2021: See the full list of winners".
37. Woerner, Meredith. (2021-09-26). "Tony Awards: The Full List Of Winners".
38. (19 January 2006). "Phyllida Lloyd named Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor". [[University of Oxford]].
39. "Emeritus Fellows Archives".
40. (21 November 2018). "Deborah Warner named as Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre {{!}} University of Oxford".
41. (31 July 2006). "Honorary Graduates". [[University of Bristol]].
42. Tuck, Andrew. (2 July 2006). "Gay Power: The pink list". [[Independent News & Media]].
43. (1 August 2010). "The IoS Pink List 2010". Independent Print Limited.
44. {{London Gazette. (31 December 2009)
45. "University of Birmingham". thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk.