Michael Rudman
American theatre director (1939–2023)
Michael Rudman
Born(1939-02-14)14 February 1939
Tyler, Texas, US
Died30 March 2023(2023-03-30) (aged 84)
Spouse(s)Veronica Bennett (divorced)
​
​
(m. 1983; div. 1990)​
PartnerFelicity Kendal (1998–2023)
Children3

Michael Rudman (February 14, 1939 – March 30, 2023) was an American theatre director who lived and worked primarily in England.

Early life and education

Rudman was born in Tyler, Texas, on February 14, 1939.[1][2] He graduated from St. Mark's School of Texas in 1956, and four years later, graduated cum laude from Oberlin College with a degree in Government. In 1964, he received an MA in English Language and Literature at St Edmund Hall, Oxford; while a student there, he was President of the Oxford University Dramatic Society.

Career

Rudman's career began at the Nottingham Playhouse in 1964, where he was an assistant director and, later, associate producer. He went on to become director of the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh from 1970 to 1973, after which he took up the post of artistic director at Hampstead Theatre. While he was at Hampstead, the theatre won the Evening Standard Award for Outstanding Achievement. Also at Hampstead, Rudman oversaw the premiere of The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance (co-produced with Foco Novo Theatre Company) and is credited with convincing Pomerance to change the play's name from Deformed to The Elephant Man after a dismal preview tour.[3][4]

In the U. S. Rudman directed the American premiere of The Changing Room by David Storey in 1973. It opened at Long Wharf Theatre, then transferred to the Morosco on Broadway. In Clive Barnes' laudatory review for The New York Times, he writes "It would be very difficult to detect that this is an American production." The play's single setting is a Rugby League Team's locker room in the North of England. The Changing Room won four Drama Desk awards, including Outstanding Director for Rudman. John Lithgow won a Tony for Best Featured Actor in a Play. [5][6] Eventually Rudman would go on to direct two more plays on Broadway. His production of Death of a Salesman with Dustin Hoffman and John Malkovich at the Broadhurst Theatre won a Tony Award for Best Revival. [7] Hamlet starring Sam Waterston and featuring Jane Alexander and Mandy Patinkin was produced by Lincoln Center in 1975 and also played in a free performance in Central Park produced by New York Shakespeare Festival and Joseph Papp.[8][9]

In 1978, he was invited to join the National Theatre by Peter Hall and was director of the Lyttelton Theatre from 1979 to 1982. He continued there as an associate director until 1988, after which he went to Chichester Festival Theatre as the director for the 1990 season. From 1992 to 1994, he was artistic director of Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

Personal life and death

With his first wife Veronica Bennett he had two daughters. He was later married to Felicity Kendal from 1983 to 1991. They had one son together. They parted in 1991, divorced in 1994, but from 1998 the partnership between them resumed.[10][11]

Rudman died on 30 March 2023, at the age of 84.[2]

Notable productions

Director

Producer

Playwright

  • 1983: Short List, Hampstead Theatre, London. Directed by Mike Ockrent. With Bernard Hill & Ian McKellen.
  • 1966: Moll Flanders, Nottingham Playhouse.

Autobiography

  • 2014: I Joke Too Much, A Director's Tale, published by Capercaillie Books

See also

References

  1. ^ "Birthdays", The Guardian, p. 41, 14 February 2014
  2. ^ a b "Michael Rudman obituary". The Guardian. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  3. ^ Aukin, David (4 November 2017). "Bernard Pomerance". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  4. ^ Rudman, Michael (2014). I Joke Too Much. Edinburgh: Capercaillie Books Limited. pp. 71–73. ISBN 978-1-909305-82-3.
  5. ^ "The Changing Room". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Retrieved 16 Oct 2025.
  6. ^ Barnes, Clive (7 Mar 1973). "David Storey, Work is Gripping and Unusual". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 Oct 2025.
  7. ^ "Death of a Salesman". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Retrieved 16 Oct 2025.
  8. ^ "Hamlet". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  9. ^ Fraser, C. Gerald (18 Jun 1975). "The Free Play's the Thing As Hamlet Opens Season". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 Oct 2025.
  10. ^ "Rudman, Michael Edward, (born 14 Feb. 1939), theatre director and producer; Artistic Director, Sheffield Theatres (Crucible and Lyceum), 1992–94". Who's Who and Who Was Who. OUP. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U33398. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  11. ^ Rhiannon Harries, "Felicity Kendal: 'Barbara follows me around like a good fairy' - Profiles The Independent, 7 March 2010.
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