Bill Bryden obit

 

Theatre director Bill Bryden dies aged 79

He spent a decade as an associate director at the National Theatre in London.

He was not on the list.

Tributes have been paid to theatre director Bill Bryden following his death aged 79.

Mr Bryden was an associate director at the National Theatre in London from 1975 to 1985, where his notable productions included The Mysteries, Larkrise, Candleford and the world premiere of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross.

He directed Son Of Man featuring Joseph Fiennes at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Pit, while his West End productions included A Month In The Country starring Dame Helen Mirren and Sir John Hurt and Life In The Theatre with Denholm Elliott and Sam West.

In a statement issued on Thursday, his family said: “The Scottish theatre director, playwright and television executive Bill Bryden died peacefully yesterday at the age of 79.”

Mr Bryden, born in Greenock, Inverclyde, was head of drama at BBC Scotland from 1984 to 1993, where he produced award-winning dramas including John Byrne’s Tutti Frutti with Dame Emma Thompson and Robbie Coltrane.

His theatre work included a production in 1990 when he wrote and directed The Ship in a former Harland & Wolff engine shed in Govan for Glasgow’s year as European City of Culture.

He also produced opera at the Royal Opera House – Parsifal and The Cunning Little Vixen – and The Silver Tassie at English National Opera.

He was made a CBE in 1993.

Mr Bryden’s family said while at the National Theatre, he worked notably with ensemble casts and created The Cottesloe Company, and was a loyal exponent of “promenade theatre”.

Figures from the arts have paid tribute to him.

Playwright David Greig tweeted: “So sorry to hear of the death of Bill Bryden, perhaps the greatest Scottish theatre director of his generation.

“His career covered everything from The Lyceum to The National to vast site-specific shows like The Ship & The Big Picnic. He took Scottish stories to the world.”

The National Theatre said on Twitter: “We’ve very sad to hear that director Bill Bryden has died.

“Over his long career at the National Theatre he directed shows including: Il Campiello, The Mysteries, Lark Rise, Candleford and Glengarry Glen Ross.

“Our thoughts are with his loved ones and he will be much missed.”

Mr Bryden is survived by his actress wife Angela Douglas, whom he married in 2009, and his two children Dillon and Kate from his first marriage in 1970 to Deborah Morris.

Work

Film director

1983: Ill Fares the Land

1986: The Holy City

1987: Aria (segment)

1992: Six Characters in Search of an Author

Writer

1975: Benny Lynch, Scenes from a Short Life : a Play Benny Lynch: Scenes from a Short Life : a Play

1976: Willie Rough, a BBC Play for Today

1977: Old Movies

1980: The Long Riders (film)

1981: Civilians, a play[8]

Theatre director

 

Theatre programme for the 1990 production of The Ship

1972: Kidnapped – Royal Lyceum

1974: Romeo and Juliet - Old Vic

1974: Spring Awakening – Old Vic

1974: Romeo and Juliet – Old Vic

1975: The Playboy of the Western World – Old Vic

1976: Watch It Come Down – Old Vic then National Theatre

1976: Il Campiello – National Theatre

1976: Counting the Ways – National Theatre

1977 (with Sebastian Graham Jones): The Passion – National Theatre

1977: Old Movies – National Theatre

1977: The Plough and the Stars – National Theatre

1978 (with Sebastian Graham Jones): Lark Rise – National Theatre

1978: American Buffalo – National Theatre

1978 (with Sebastian Graham Jones): The World Turned Upside Down – National Theatre

1978: The Long Voyage Home – National Theatre

1978: Dispatches – National Theatre

1979 (with Sebastian Graham Jones): Candleford – National Theatre

1980: Hughie – National Theatre

1980: The Iceman Cometh – National Theatre

1980: The Nativity – National Theatre

1980: The Crucible – National Theatre

1981: Civilians (writer & director) - Scottish Theatre Company

1982: Don Quixote - National Theatre

1982: A Midsummer Night's Dream – National Theatre

1983: Glengarry Glen Ross – National Theatre (World Premiere) then Mermaid Theatre, London

1983: Cinderella - National Theatre

1984: Golden Boy - National Theatre

1985: Doomsday, presented with The Nativity and The Passion, as the Mysteries from medieval Mystery plays in a version by Tony Harrison – National Theatre

1989: A Life in the Theatre - Theatre Royal then Strand Theatre, London

1989: Op Hoop Van Zegen - Ro Theatre Rotterdam, The Netherlands

1990: The Ship (writer & director) Harland & Wolff Shed, Govan, Glasgow

1994: A Month in the Country by Ivan Turgenev, starring Helen Mirren and John Hurt. Yvonne Arnaud Theatre and West End

1994: The Big Picnic (writer & director) - Harland & Wolff, Govan, Glasgow

1995: Son of Man - The Pit, RSC, London

1996: Uncle Vanya - Minerva Theatre, Chichester then Albery Theare, London

1999: The Mysteries - The Nativity - National Theatre

1999: The Mysteries - The Passion - National Theatre

1999: The Mysteries - Doomsday - National Theatre

2001: The Good Hope – National Theatre

2005: Romeo and Juliet – Birmingham Repertory Theatre

2005: The Creeper – Theatre Royal Windsor

Opera director

1988: Parsifal by Richard Wagner - Royal Opera House, London

1990: The Cunning Little Vixen by Leoš Janáček - Royal Opera House, London

2000: The Silver Tassie - English National Opera, London

Awards and nominations

1985: Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Director, The Mysteries.

1985: London Critics' Circle Theatre Awards for Best Director for The Mysteries

1985: London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Director for The Mysteries

 

Director

Performance (1991)

Performance

6.7

TV Series

Director

1992

1 episode

 

The Ship

TV Movie

Director (directed for television by)

1990

 

The Play on One (1988)

The Play on One

6.0

TV Series

Director

1989

1 episode

 

Bridget Fonda, John Hurt, Theresa Russell, and James Mathers in Aria (1987)

Aria

5.7

Director (segment "I pagliacci")

1987

 

David Hayman in The Holy City (1986)

The Holy City

7.3

TV Movie

Director

1986

 

The Mysteries (1985)

The Mysteries

9.2

TV Series

stage director

1985–1986

3 episodes

 

Ill Fares the Land (1983)

Ill Fares the Land

7.4

Director

1983

 

Writer

The Friday Play

Podcast Series

written by

1998

 

The Big Picnic (1996)

The Big Picnic

8.7

TV Movie

Writer

1996

 

The Ship

TV Movie

play

1990

 

Bridget Fonda, John Hurt, Theresa Russell, and James Mathers in Aria (1987)

Aria

5.7

Writer (segment "I pagliacci")

1987

 

David Hayman in The Holy City (1986)

The Holy City

7.3

TV Movie

writer

1986

 

The Mysteries (1985)

The Mysteries

9.2

TV Series

Writer

1985–1986

 

Ill Fares the Land (1983)

Ill Fares the Land

7.4

writer

1983

 

The Long Riders (1980)

The Long Riders

6.9

written by

1980

 

Benny Lynch

TV Movie

Writer

1976

 

Play for Today (1970)

Play for Today

7.8

TV Series

writer

1976

1 episode

 

Actor

Peter Capaldi in The Story of a Recluse (1987)

The Story of a Recluse

8.6

TV Movie

R.L. Stevenson

1987

 

Producer

The Negotiator (1994)

The Negotiator

6.7

TV Movie

executive producer

1994

 

Screen Two (1984)

Screen Two

6.5

TV Series

executive producer

1986–1994

2 episodes

 

Francesca Annis in Headhunters (1994)

Headhunters

6.9

TV Series

executive producer

1994

3 episodes

 

Screen One (1985)

Screen One

6.8

TV Series

executive producer

1993

1 episode

 

The Bogie Man (1992)

The Bogie Man

6.7

TV Movie

executive producer

1992

 

The Play on One (1988)

The Play on One

6.0

TV Series

executive producerproducer

1988–1991

14 episodes

 

The Ship

TV Movie

produced for television by

1990

 

Peter Capaldi in The Story of a Recluse (1987)

The Story of a Recluse

8.6

TV Movie

executive producer

1987

 

Only Yesterday

TV Movie

producer

1986

 

The Mysteries (1985)

The Mysteries

9.2

TV Series

producer

1985–1986

3 episodes

 

Art Department

Timothy Spall and Phyllis Logan in The Last Bus (2021)

The Last Bus

6.6

scene painter

2021

 

Additional Crew

Gerald Finley in The Silver Tassie (2000)

The Silver Tassie

TV Movie

stage director

2000

 

The Cunning Little Vixen (1990)

The Cunning Little Vixen

TV Movie

stage director

1990

 

Self

Arena (1975)

Arena

7.6

TV Series

Self - Director, Il CampielloThe Mysteries

2013

1 episode

 

Watching Ourselves: 60 Years of Television in Scotland

7.0

TV Series

Self - Head of BBC Scotland, 1984-1993

2012

2 episodes

 

James Ellis: An Actor's Life

TV Movie

Self

2007

 

Michael Aspel in This Is Your Life (1955)

This Is Your Life

6.5

TV Series

Self

2001

1 episode

 

Open Air (1986)

Open Air

6.8

TV Series

Self

1989

1 episode

 

Choices

TV Series

Self - Panellist

1986

1 episode

 

Saturday Review (1984)

Saturday Review

TV Series

Self

1985

1 episode

 

Melvyn Bragg in The South Bank Show (1978)

The South Bank Show

7.1

TV Series

Self

1980

1 episode