Basil Norton Ashmore (13 September 1915 – January 1998) was a British theatrical director and author. In addition to writing his own plays, Ashmore also adapted and translated existing works, such as ''

The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God ''The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God (and Some Lesser Tales)'' is a book of short stories written by George Bernard Shaw, published in London by Constable and Company in 1932. The title story is a satirical allegory relating ...

'' and ''

The Spoils of Poynton ''The Spoils of Poynton'' is a novel by Henry James, first published under the title ''The Old Things'' as a serial in ''The Atlantic Monthly'' in 1896 and then as a book in 1897. This novel traces the shifting relations among three people and ...

''.

Biography

Ashmore was born in

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, known locally as Sutton ( ), is a town and civil parish in the City of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, on 13 September 1915. His parents were William Gerald Ashmore and Frances Daisy Ashmore (née Shuter).

Theatrical career

Ashmore began his theatrical career as an actor. He made his first stage appearance at the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre c ...

in 1935. He went on to serve as

assistant stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including the overseeing of the rehearsal p ...

for the Glyndebourne Opera Company and the

Covent Garden Opera The Royal Opera is a British opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Cov ...

. Ashmore directed his first production, ''Hassan'', at the Midland Institute in 1937. After directing several plays from 1937 through 1974, Ashmore organized the Milton Tercentenary Festival. In 1975, he became the honorary director of the Chiltern Festival.

Works

Ashmore wrote several plays. In 1957, the Wycombe Repertory Theatre featured the English-speaking premiere of Ashmore's ''The Threatening Storm''. He was also the co-author of such plays as ''Strange Haven'', ''The Triangle'', ''Where There's a Will'', and ''Quintet in A Flat''. In addition to writing original plays, Ashmore has also adapted existing works for the stage. These include ''Our Little Life'', ''The Gulls'', ''

'', and ''

''. Ashmore also translated existing works into English, such as ''On the High Road'' and ''Humulous''.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashmore, Basil 1915 births 1998 deaths People from Sutton Coldfield British directors