Olivier Award-winning director Howard Davies dies aged 71

Howard Davies, (26 April 1945 - 25 October 2016)

It has been confirmed that the Olivier Award-winning director Howard Davies has died at the age of 71.

Born in County Durham, Davies trained at Durham University and Bristol University before moving on to begin his career at the Bristol Old Vic and the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.

His work in the commercial West End saw him win three Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Director, for his productions of The Iceman Cometh, All My Sons and The White Guard. He also won the Critics Circle Award for Best Director for Mourning Becomes Electra and The Iceman Cometh, alongside the Evening Standard Award for Best Director for All My Sons and Flight.

Davies was scheduled to direct the new Michael Fryan play Wild Honey at the Hampstead Theatre this December.

His work on Broadway saw him nominated for three Tony Awards for Best Director. His first Broadway production was Piaf in 1981, followed by Les liaisons dangereuses, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1990), My Fair Lady (1993), Translations, a revival of The Iceman Cometh, Private Lives (2002) and A Moon for the Misbegotten (2007).

In the UK he served as an associate director for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. His most celebrated productions included the original production of Les liaisons dangereuses, revivals of Hedda Gabler, The House of Bernarda Alba, Pygmalion, The Crucible, and The Cherry Orchard.

His most recent credits include a revival of Tom Stoppard's Hapgood at the Hampstead Theatre in 2015, Steve Waters' Temple at the Donmar Warehouse in 2015 and 3 Winters at the National Theatre in 2014.

Davies was married to actress Clare Holman. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to drama