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Robin Phillips Robin Phillips obituary
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Robin Phillips, who has died aged 75, was a golden boy of British theatre in the early part of his career but became, rather like John Neville, something of a king across the water as the most brilliant and successful artistic director of the Stratford Festival, Ontario, in the late 1970s. He revitalised the idyllic Festival theatre over six seasons with a company of young Canadian actors, led by estabished stars such as Maggie Smith, Brian Bedford, Richard Monette, William Hutt and Martha Henry; Smith appeared there, under his direction, as Lady Macbeth, Cleopatra, Judith Bliss in Hay Fever and Rosalind in As You Like It.Robin Phillips, who has died aged 75, was a golden boy of British theatre in the early part of his career but became, rather like John Neville, something of a king across the water as the most brilliant and successful artistic director of the Stratford Festival, Ontario, in the late 1970s. He revitalised the idyllic Festival theatre over six seasons with a company of young Canadian actors, led by estabished stars such as Maggie Smith, Brian Bedford, Richard Monette, William Hutt and Martha Henry; Smith appeared there, under his direction, as Lady Macbeth, Cleopatra, Judith Bliss in Hay Fever and Rosalind in As You Like It.
Of that last Smith performance the critic Bernard Levin said: “She spoke the epilogue like a chime of golden bells. But what she did I cannot tell you, for I saw it through eyes curtained with tears of joy.” Another important critic, Ronald Bryden, Kenneth Tynan’s successor on the Observer, thought of these seasons as a kind of Camelot, and some of the finest theatre he ever saw in his life. There was lushness, and beauty, he said, contrasted with the austerity of most classical productions, certainly at the Royal Shakespeare Company, at that time in England.Of that last Smith performance the critic Bernard Levin said: “She spoke the epilogue like a chime of golden bells. But what she did I cannot tell you, for I saw it through eyes curtained with tears of joy.” Another important critic, Ronald Bryden, Kenneth Tynan’s successor on the Observer, thought of these seasons as a kind of Camelot, and some of the finest theatre he ever saw in his life. There was lushness, and beauty, he said, contrasted with the austerity of most classical productions, certainly at the Royal Shakespeare Company, at that time in England.
While Phillips never worked at the National Theatre (apart from the opening season at Chichester under Laurence Olivier in John Ford’s The Broken Heart), he is credited with the first modern-dress Shakespeare production at the RSC, in 1970 – Two Gentlemen of Verona, with Helen Mirren, Ian Richardson and Patrick Stewart lounging round an onstage swimming pool with cocktails and shades. He also directed Mirren as Strindberg’s Miss Julie at the Place, the RSC’s smaller London auditorium, and directed superb classical seasons at the Greenwich theatre and at Chichester in the 1970s. He felt out of step with the Oxbridge mafia, notably Peter Hall and Trevor Nunn, who were by then running the RSC and the National; he was more of a country boy than a university wit, and had achieved great success as an actor.While Phillips never worked at the National Theatre (apart from the opening season at Chichester under Laurence Olivier in John Ford’s The Broken Heart), he is credited with the first modern-dress Shakespeare production at the RSC, in 1970 – Two Gentlemen of Verona, with Helen Mirren, Ian Richardson and Patrick Stewart lounging round an onstage swimming pool with cocktails and shades. He also directed Mirren as Strindberg’s Miss Julie at the Place, the RSC’s smaller London auditorium, and directed superb classical seasons at the Greenwich theatre and at Chichester in the 1970s. He felt out of step with the Oxbridge mafia, notably Peter Hall and Trevor Nunn, who were by then running the RSC and the National; he was more of a country boy than a university wit, and had achieved great success as an actor.
He was born in Haslemere, Surrey, to the theatrical purple, in so far as his parents – Ellen Anne (nee Barfoot), a housekeeper, and James Phillips, a gardener – were employees of the movie star Stewart Granger and his wife, Elspeth March, the actor. Obviously bright, Robin won a place at Midhurst grammar school, but hated the classes and was encouraged by a teacher to bury himself in the library and do his own reading and learning.He was born in Haslemere, Surrey, to the theatrical purple, in so far as his parents – Ellen Anne (nee Barfoot), a housekeeper, and James Phillips, a gardener – were employees of the movie star Stewart Granger and his wife, Elspeth March, the actor. Obviously bright, Robin won a place at Midhurst grammar school, but hated the classes and was encouraged by a teacher to bury himself in the library and do his own reading and learning.
Aged 15, he took a job in London with the theatrical costumiers Bermans and Nathans, and trained for the stage – in acting, design and directing – at the Bristol Old Vic school, joining the professional company there in 1959 to play Mr Puff in Sheridan’s The Critic, Konstantin in The Seagull, Romeo, and Geoffrey in Shelagh Delaney’s A Taste of Honey. He was working as an assistant director (to John Hale) on Jean Anouilh’s The Rehearsal, which went to the West End in 1961, starring Maggie Smith and Alan Badel.Aged 15, he took a job in London with the theatrical costumiers Bermans and Nathans, and trained for the stage – in acting, design and directing – at the Bristol Old Vic school, joining the professional company there in 1959 to play Mr Puff in Sheridan’s The Critic, Konstantin in The Seagull, Romeo, and Geoffrey in Shelagh Delaney’s A Taste of Honey. He was working as an assistant director (to John Hale) on Jean Anouilh’s The Rehearsal, which went to the West End in 1961, starring Maggie Smith and Alan Badel.
Phillips had first met his life partner, Joe Mandel, a hotel manager and restaurateur, in London in 1962, but they teamed up permanently in 1971, as Phillips’s directing portfolio expanded with both the RSC – Edward Albee’s Tiny Alice with Irene Worth, John Gielgud and David Warner, at the Aldwych in London; and with Anouilh’s Dear Antoine, starring Edith Evans and John Clements, at Chichester in 1971. Also at Chichester, he directed The Beggar’s Opera with Millicent Martin and Neville, Shaw’s Caesar and Cleopatra with Gielgud and Anna Calder-Marshall, and he played the dying artist Louis Dubedat in Shaw’s The Doctor’s Dilemma with Joan Plowright.Phillips had first met his life partner, Joe Mandel, a hotel manager and restaurateur, in London in 1962, but they teamed up permanently in 1971, as Phillips’s directing portfolio expanded with both the RSC – Edward Albee’s Tiny Alice with Irene Worth, John Gielgud and David Warner, at the Aldwych in London; and with Anouilh’s Dear Antoine, starring Edith Evans and John Clements, at Chichester in 1971. Also at Chichester, he directed The Beggar’s Opera with Millicent Martin and Neville, Shaw’s Caesar and Cleopatra with Gielgud and Anna Calder-Marshall, and he played the dying artist Louis Dubedat in Shaw’s The Doctor’s Dilemma with Joan Plowright.
He was the new star in the constellation of theatrical aristocracy, having played the shellshocked war veteran Wilfred Desert in the BBC’s black-and-white blockbuster version of John Galsworthy’s The Forsyte Saga (1967); the lead, Paul Pennyfeather, in a movie adaptation of Evelyn Waugh, Decline and Fall … of a Birdwatcher (1968), with Colin Blakely and Geneviève Page; David Copperfield in a two-hour 1969 television Dickens adaptation with a cast including Evans, Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Cyril Cusack and Michael Redgrave; and another lead in Ted Kotcheff’s movie Two Gentlemen Sharing (1969), with Hal Frederick as his flatmate and two cricketing legends, the fast bowler John Snow and all-rounder Garry Sobers, as extras.He was the new star in the constellation of theatrical aristocracy, having played the shellshocked war veteran Wilfred Desert in the BBC’s black-and-white blockbuster version of John Galsworthy’s The Forsyte Saga (1967); the lead, Paul Pennyfeather, in a movie adaptation of Evelyn Waugh, Decline and Fall … of a Birdwatcher (1968), with Colin Blakely and Geneviève Page; David Copperfield in a two-hour 1969 television Dickens adaptation with a cast including Evans, Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Cyril Cusack and Michael Redgrave; and another lead in Ted Kotcheff’s movie Two Gentlemen Sharing (1969), with Hal Frederick as his flatmate and two cricketing legends, the fast bowler John Snow and all-rounder Garry Sobers, as extras.
His first production to transfer from London to Broadway was Ronald Millar’s Abelard and Heloise, starring Diana Rigg and Keith Michell, in 1970. With that under his belt, and his series of productions at Greenwich, he was ready to take on Stratford, Ontario, which had enjoyed mixed fortunes since its opening in 1953. He established, in fact, the premier classical theatre in north America, doubled its income, and made it the talk of New York and beyond.His first production to transfer from London to Broadway was Ronald Millar’s Abelard and Heloise, starring Diana Rigg and Keith Michell, in 1970. With that under his belt, and his series of productions at Greenwich, he was ready to take on Stratford, Ontario, which had enjoyed mixed fortunes since its opening in 1953. He established, in fact, the premier classical theatre in north America, doubled its income, and made it the talk of New York and beyond.
In all, he directed 35 productions, many of them designed (as at Greenwich) by Daphne Dare, returning to London in 1981 with an acclaimed play, Virginia, about Virginia Woolf written by Edna O’Brien for Eileen Atkins but played, in the event, in Stratford, and at the Haymarket, by Maggie Smith.In all, he directed 35 productions, many of them designed (as at Greenwich) by Daphne Dare, returning to London in 1981 with an acclaimed play, Virginia, about Virginia Woolf written by Edna O’Brien for Eileen Atkins but played, in the event, in Stratford, and at the Haymarket, by Maggie Smith.
He and Joe – who created a first-class restaurant, the Church, in Stratford – were by now living on a farm 30 miles deeper into Ontario, so that, although Phillips had resigned (suffering from exhaustion, it was said) from the theatre in 1980, he stayed put and took over the nearby Grand theatre in London, Ontario. Returning to the Stratford Festival theatre in 1987, he directed the Young Company he had formed for a season and helped evolve, 10 years later, a brand new offshoot company in Toronto, the Soulpepper theatre.He and Joe – who created a first-class restaurant, the Church, in Stratford – were by now living on a farm 30 miles deeper into Ontario, so that, although Phillips had resigned (suffering from exhaustion, it was said) from the theatre in 1980, he stayed put and took over the nearby Grand theatre in London, Ontario. Returning to the Stratford Festival theatre in 1987, he directed the Young Company he had formed for a season and helped evolve, 10 years later, a brand new offshoot company in Toronto, the Soulpepper theatre.
Phillips’s signature style was clarity and clean lines, not too much scenery, beautiful costumes and good, usually very good, acting. Sounds simple, but it is quite rare. He was a devil for detail in every aspect of the job – from the box office to the wardrobe, from the lighting cues to the actors’ boots. He loved actors and stage history and was much influenced by the satirist, and theatre lore expert, Ned Sherrin, and by Sherrin’s theatre writing partner, Caryl Brahms, a discerning critic who told Phillips exactly what she thought about everything he did; he had made a mild West End success while at Greenwich of the couple’s entertainment about the music-hall artist Marie Lloyd, Sing a Rude Song, starring Barbara Windsor.Phillips’s signature style was clarity and clean lines, not too much scenery, beautiful costumes and good, usually very good, acting. Sounds simple, but it is quite rare. He was a devil for detail in every aspect of the job – from the box office to the wardrobe, from the lighting cues to the actors’ boots. He loved actors and stage history and was much influenced by the satirist, and theatre lore expert, Ned Sherrin, and by Sherrin’s theatre writing partner, Caryl Brahms, a discerning critic who told Phillips exactly what she thought about everything he did; he had made a mild West End success while at Greenwich of the couple’s entertainment about the music-hall artist Marie Lloyd, Sing a Rude Song, starring Barbara Windsor.
Phillips’s last artistic directorship was at the Citadel in Edmonton, Alberta, from 1990 to 1995, and from there he launched a US tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Aspects of Love, following that with a four-year Broadway run (from 1997) of a musical Jekyll and Hyde by Frank Wildhorn and Leslie Bricusse. This led to a West End recall from Bricusse’s producer friend Bill Kenwright, and he staged elegant revivals of Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night (with Jessica Lange and Charles Dance) at the Lyric on Shaftesbury Avenue in 2000 and of Ibsen’s Ghosts (with Francesca Annis, Martin Hutson and Anthony Andrews) at the Comedy in 2001.Phillips’s last artistic directorship was at the Citadel in Edmonton, Alberta, from 1990 to 1995, and from there he launched a US tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Aspects of Love, following that with a four-year Broadway run (from 1997) of a musical Jekyll and Hyde by Frank Wildhorn and Leslie Bricusse. This led to a West End recall from Bricusse’s producer friend Bill Kenwright, and he staged elegant revivals of Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night (with Jessica Lange and Charles Dance) at the Lyric on Shaftesbury Avenue in 2000 and of Ibsen’s Ghosts (with Francesca Annis, Martin Hutson and Anthony Andrews) at the Comedy in 2001.
In 2010, he received Canada’s highest honour, the governor general’s performing arts award. Phillips had been ill for some time, having undergone quadruple bypass heart surgery and suffering from diabetes.In 2010, he received Canada’s highest honour, the governor general’s performing arts award. Phillips had been ill for some time, having undergone quadruple bypass heart surgery and suffering from diabetes.
He is survived by Joe, and by his younger sister, Hilary.He is survived by Joe, and by his younger sister, Hilary.
• Robin Phillips, actor and director, born 28 February 1940; died 25 July 2015• Robin Phillips, actor and director, born 28 February 1940; died 25 July 2015