Jamie Lloyd (director)

Jamie Lloyd (born 1980) is a British director, best known for his work with his eponymous theatre company (The Jamie Lloyd Company).[1][2][3]

He has been credited with drawing new people to the theatre and introducing plays to a wholly diverse audience.[4][5][6][7] He is a proponent of affordable theatre for young and diverse audiences, and has been praised as "redefining West End theatre".[8] The Daily Telegraph critic Dominic Cavendish wrote of Lloyd, "Few directors have Lloyd’s ability to transport us to the upper echelons of theatrical pleasure."[9]

Early career

Lloyd's first main house production was Harold Pinter's The Caretaker at the Sheffield Crucible, which started a fruitful relationship with the playwright.[10] Lloyd has been heralded as a major Pinter interpreter.[11]

He directed a Pinter double-bill in the West End - The Lover and The Collection - in 2008 before Michael Grandage appointed him as an Associate Director of the Donmar Warehouse.[12]

Lloyd was the Associate Director of the Donmar Warehouse[13] from 2008 to 2011, where his 2008 production of Piaf transferred to the West End and to Buenos Aires and his 2010 production of Passion won the Evening Standard Award for Best Musical.[14] He was also an Associate Artist at theatre company Headlong,[15] for whom he directed an anarchic production of Oscar Wilde's Salome.[16]

In 2008 he directed The Pride at the Royal Court, for which he won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre.[17] Seen as a 'wunderkind of London theatre',[10] he was named a Rising Star by the Daily Telegraph in 2009.[18]

The Jamie Lloyd Company

In 2013, the Jamie Lloyd Company was launched with the Ambassador Theatre Group.[19] With this company, he presented a season of work in 2013 as Artistic Director at Trafalgar Studios.[20]

The first season featured three productions: a revival of The Pride (which also went on a short UK tour), The Hothouse starring Simon Russell Beale and John Simm, and Macbeth, starring James McAvoy and Claire Foy, which received an Olivier nomination for Best Revival. A second Trafalgar Transformed season opened in July 2014 with Richard III starring Martin Freeman, East is East, and The Ruling Class, again starring James McAvoy.[21]

Lloyd has worked frequently with McAvoy since 2009, a relationship that began with a production of Richard Greenberg's Three Days of Rain at the Apollo Theatre. More recently, McAvoy starred in a radio version of Heart of Darkness, which Lloyd directed and adapted for BBC Radio 4. He completed a run of the Olivier Award winning Cyrano de Bergerac with Lloyd in February 2020.[22][23]

In 2014, Lloyd was named the 20th Most Powerful Person in British Theatre by The Stage in its annual Stage 100 list. He was the youngest director to break into the list since Sam Mendes.[24]

Following this, in 2020, Lloyd was named the 9th most influential person in British Theatre in the prestigious Stage 100 list. He was the highest placed director on the list.

In 2015, Lloyd directed Harold Pinter's The Homecoming starring Gemma Chan and John Simm. The following year he directed a new adaptation of The Maids by Jean Genet, starring Uzo Aduba, Zawe Ashton, and Laura Carmichael, both at Trafalgar Studios.[12] This was followed by Doctor Faustus in the Duke of York's Theatre starring Kit Harington.[25][12] Every ticket for Monday performances of The Jamie Lloyd Company were priced at £15.[26]

In 2018, Lloyd announced 'Pinter at the Pinter' a revolutionary sixth month long season of all of Harold Pinter's one act and short plays staged on the tenth anniversary of his death at The Harold Pinter Theatre. In the season, Lloyd directed: One for the Road; A New World Order; Mountain Language; the newly discovered The Pres and an Officer; The Lover; The Collection; Landscape; A Kind of Alaska; Monologue; Party Time; Celebration; The Dumb Waiter; and A Slight Ache, amongst many of Pinter's poems and speeches.

The Pinter at the Pinter season culminated with a revival of Betrayal starring Tom Hiddleston, Zawe Ashton, and Charlie Cox. The production received rave reviews with critic Matt Wolf remarking that the production "represents a benchmark achievement for everyone involved, and shows Pinter’s 1978 play in a revealing, even radical, new light." This production transferred to the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on Broadway for a limited run from August 2019. Lloyd was nominated for Best Director at the 2020 Tony Awards, along with the production being nominated for Best Revival. Lloyd was also nominated for the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Director; the production received an Outer Critics Circle nomination for Outstanding Revival of a Play, and the same nomination from the Drama League Awards.[27][28] Ben Brantley in The New York Times called it 'one of those rare shows I seem destined to think about forever.' [29][30][31]

In 2019, Lloyd announced that he would be directing and producing a season of three plays at the Playhouse Theatre with The Jamie Lloyd Company. The season consisted of Cyrano de Bergerac with James McAvoy in a new version by Martin Crimp, The Seagull starring Emilia Clarke in a version by Anya Reiss, and A Doll's House starring Jessica Chastain. His production of Cyrano de Bergerac earned five Olivier Award nominations, including one for Best Director for Lloyd, Best Actor for McAvoy, and won Best Revival.[32][33] He also won the Critic's Circle Award jointly for his productions of Betrayal, Evita and Cyrano, and was nominated for a South Bank Sky Arts Award for Cyrano de Bergerac.[34][35] Cyrano also was due to transfer to New York in 2020, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music before American theatres closed due to COVID-19. As part of the Playhouse Season, the Jamie Lloyd Company committed to a wide-ranging outreach programme, giving 15,000 tickets away for free to each production to first time theatre goers, and with a further 15,000 £15 seats to young and low-income audience members.[36]

Other work

Lloyd directed a production of Evita in Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in 2019, which received two Olivier Award nominations, including one for Best Musical Revival. This production also won Lloyd the Whatsonstage Award for Best Director and was due to transfer to the Barbican Theatre in 2019 before the closure of British theatres due to COVID-19.[37] In 2012 Lloyd directed a critically acclaimed, 'turbo-charged'[38] production of She Stoops to Conquer at the National Theatre, and The Duchess of Malfi at The Old Vic starring Eve Best.[39] In 2013 he directed The Commitments in the Palace Theatre, West End (which then went on a UK Tour),[40] followed by Urinetown at the St. James Theatre, which transferred to the Apollo Theatre in the West End.[41] Lloyd directed the musical Assassins at the Menier Chocolate Factory in 2014 and was nominated for the Evening Standard award for Best Director.

Credits

Jamie Lloyd Company

Other work

Awards and nominations

Theatre
Year Award Category Nominee Result
2019 Critics' Circle Theatre Award[48] Best Director Betrayal, Evita and Cyrano de Bergerac Won
Awards
  • 2020 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Revival - Cyrano de Bergerac (Playhouse Theatre)
  • 2020 Whatsonstage Award for Best Director - Evita (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre)
  • 2019 Evening Standard Award for Best Musical Revival - Evita (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre)
  • 2010 Evening Standard Award for Best Musical - Passion (Donmar Warehouse)
  • 2008 Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre - The Pride (Royal Court)
Nominations
  • 2020 Tony Award for Best Revival - Betrayal
  • 2020 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play - Betrayal[49]
  • 2020 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Revival of a Musical - Evita (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre)
  • 2020 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director - Cyrano de Bergerac (Playhouse Theatre)
  • 2020 South Bank Sky Arts Award - Cyrano de Bergerac
  • 2020 Drama League Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play - Betrayal
  • 2020 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Director - Betrayal
  • 2020 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play - Betrayal
  • 2019 Evening Standard Award for Best Director - Betrayal (Harold Pinter Theatre)
  • 2013 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Revival - Macbeth (Trafalgar Studios, Trafalgar Studios)
  • 2010 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival - Passion (Donmar Warehouse)
  • 2009 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Revival - Three Days of Rain (Apollo Theatre)
  • 2009 Whatsonstage Award for Best Revival - Three Days of Rain (Apollo Theatre)
  • 2008 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival - Piaf (Donmar Warehouse)

References
  1. "Portrait of the artist: Jamie Lloyd, director". The Guardian. 12 September 2011.
  2. Curtis, Nick. "Jamie Lloyd: 'If you want a more diverse audience, that has to be reflected on the stage'". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  3. https://officiallondontheatre.com/olivier-awards/year/olivier-awards-2020/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. O'Hanlon, Don. "Interview with The Maids director Jamie Lloyd". London Theatre Guide. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  5. Cavendish, Dominic. "Assassins, Menier Chocolate Factory, review: 'darkly entertaining'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  6. Hewis, Ben. "Jamie Lloyd: "Theatre shouldn't be just a good night out"". Whatsonstage. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  7. Curtis, Nick. "Jamie Lloyd: The Playmaker". The Evening Standard. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  8. Curtis, Nick. "Jamie Lloyd: the Playmaker". Evening Standard. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  9. Cavendish, Dominic. "The Ruling Class, Trafalgar Studios, review: 'McAvoy's performance is one of the year's must-sees'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  10. Curtis, Nick. "Jamie Lloyd: The Playmaker". The Evening Standard. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  11. Cheesman, Neil. "Jamie Lloyd to direct The Homecoming by Harold Pinter". LondonTheatre1. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  12. Hewis, Ben. "Jamie Lloyd: "Theatre shouldn't be just a good night out"". Whatsonstage. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  13. "Staff". Donmar Warehouse. Archived from the original on 15 December 2010. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  14. "Evening Standard Theatre Awards celebrate a year of high emotion on stage". thisislondon.co.uk. 29 November 2010. Archived from the original on 1 January 2012.
  15. "About us". headlongtheatre.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011.
  16. "Salome". Headlong. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  17. "The Pride at The Royal Court Theatre". royalcourttheatre.com.
  18. Interview by Mark Monahan 11:37AM GMT 31 December 2008 (31 December 2008). "Stars who will shine in 2009 - Theatre: Jamie Lloyd". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  19. "ATG announces the launch of Jamie Lloyd productions". ATGTickets.com. 13 August 2012.
  20. http://feastcreative.com, Feast Creative. "Error - The Jamie Lloyd Company".
  21. Mark Monahan (4 April 2014). "Martin Freeman to play Richard III in London's West End". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  22. Fullerton, Huw. "James McAvoy: We shouldn't do away with the BBC – even if it could be better at diversity". The Radio Times. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  23. Benedict, David. "Review: Three Days of Rain". Variety. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  24. "Stage 100 power list hails theatre director Jamie Lloyd as 'new Sam Mendes'". The Independent.
  25. "DOCTOR FAUSTUS". The Jamie Lloyd Company. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  26. "ABOUT THE JAMIE LLOYD COMPANY". The Jamie Lloyd Company. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  27. https://broadwaynews.com/2020/06/18/drama-league-announces-2020-winners/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  28. https://www.broadway.com/buzz/199278/moulin-rouge-tops-2020-outer-critics-circle-award-honors/#:~:text=Photo%3A%20Matthew%20Murphy)-,Moulin%20Rouge!,Outer%20Critics%20Circle%20Award%20Honors&text=Lin%2DManuel%20Miranda%2C%20Patti%20LuPone,Award%20honorees%20on%20May%2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  29. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/05/theater/betrayal-review-tom-hiddleston.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  30. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/27/theater/betrayal-hiddleston-pinter-lloyd-broadway.html
  31. https://variety.com/2020/legit/news/2020-tony-nominations-list-1234804500/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  32. https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatre-news/west-end-features/olivier-awards-2020-full-list-of-nominations. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  33. https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/olivier-awards-2020-winners-a4572894.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  34. https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/news/cyrano-de-bergerac-life-of-pi-south-bank-sky-arts_52859.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  35. https://britishtheatre.com/critics-circle-theatre-awards-2020-winners-announced/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  36. https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2019/james-mcavoy-to-play-cyrano-de-bergerac-in-new-jamie-lloyd-west-end-season/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  37. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/mar/01/juliet-wins-six-prizes-at-whatsonstage-awards. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  38. Walker, Tim. "She Stoops to Conquer, at National Theatre, Seven magazine review". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  39. Billington, Michael. "Duchess of Malfi: review". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  40. "The Commitments". The Commitments on Tour. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  41. Billington, Michael. "Urinetown – review: the Spend-a-Penny Opera that's a welcome relief". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  42. http://feastcreative.com, Feast Creative. "The Maids - Projects - The Jamie Lloyd Company".
  43. http://feastcreative.com, Feast Creative. "The Homecoming - Projects - The Jamie Lloyd Company". Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  44. "Jamie Lloyd on Twitter".
  45. "Doctor Faustus". Best of Theatre. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  46. "St James confirms UK premiere of Urinetown". whatsonstage.com. Whats on Stage. 16 September 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  47. "Roddy Doyle's "The Commitments" finally made into musical". Reuters. Reuters. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  48. "2019 Results | Critics' Circle Theatre Awards". 11 February 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  49. Libbey, Peter (15 October 2020). "Full List of the 2020 Tony Award Nominees". NYTimes.com. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
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