Director Steven Pimlott dies of cancer aged 53

Director Steven Pimlott dies of cancer aged 53

Steven, who was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours List, has worked in both theatre and opera.

Michael Boyd, Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, said on the death of former RSC Associate Director, Steven Pimlott: "Steven’s footprint on British theatre was and is as wide as anybody's. His abilities, taste and success embraced opera, Shakespeare, bold new writing, the new European classical repertoire, Gilbert and Sullivan, and the popular modern musical. His style ranged from extravagant flamboyance to high European elegance, to stripped down purity. His storytelling was always blazingly clear, intelligent and human. He was a good musician and actor and a powerful dramaturg as well as one of the best directors of his generation. He followed me into Sheffield's Crucible Theatre under Clare Venables and I followed him into the RSC. While we were associates together I found him inspirational, challenging, enormously entertaining and a good friend. As a fellow director of a theatre company I admired his real achievement as Artistic Director at Chichester, and took courage from his success with creative ensemble. He leaves many friends behind at the RSC who will miss him dearly."

His many London theatre credits included Bombay Dreams (Apollo Victoria); "And Then There Were None (Gielgud); Dr Dolittle (Apollo Theatre, Hammersmith); Never Land and The Strip (Royal Court); Butterfly Kiss ( Almeida); Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (London Palladium and worldwide); The Miser, Sunday In the Park with George (Royal National Theatre). For the RSC: Richard III, Julius Caesar, Murder In the Cathedral, Measure For Measure, Michael Hastings’ Unfinished Business ; Camino Real.

He had directed more than thirty productions of opera in the UK.


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