Stephen Howard Davies, (26 April 1945 – 25 October 2016) was a British theatre and television director.

Early life

Davies was the son of miner and glassblower Thomas Emrys Davies, from Maesteg, and Hilda Bevan. He was born in Reading, England.
/ref> He was educated at

Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. The school was founded in 1552 and received its first royal charter in 1553. ...

school, Horsham and then studied at

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills ( Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_cha ...

(1963-1966) and

Bristol University , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

, where he developed an appreciation for the works of

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

Career

In the early 1970s, Davies worked extensively with the Bristol Old Vic and 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 ...

, and he served as an associate director for both the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

, where he directed '' Les liaisons dangereuses'', ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'', and ''

Troilus and Cressida ''Troilus and Cressida'' ( or ) is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1602. At Troy during the Trojan War, Troilus and Cressida begin a love affair. Cressida is forced to leave Troy to join her father in the Greek camp. Me ...

''. He also did much work for the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

, where his projects included ''

Hedda Gabler ''Hedda Gabler'' () is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage. The play has been ca ...

'', ''

The House of Bernarda Alba ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' ( es, La casa de Bernarda Alba) is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. Commentators have often grouped it with ''Blood Wedding'' and ''Yerma'' as a "rural trilogy". Garcia Lorca did not incl ...

'', '' Pygmalion'', ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as ...

'', ''

The Shaughraun ''The Shaughraun'' () is a melodramatic play written by Irish playwright Dion Boucicault. It was first performed at Wallack's Theatre, New York, on 14 November 1874. Dion Boucicault played Conn in the original production. The play was a huge ...

'', and '' Paul''.,Howard Davies biography at PBS.com
/ref> and where he directed

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

's ''

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' (russian: Вишнёвый сад, translit=Vishnyovyi sad) is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by '' Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate editio ...

'' which opened in May 2011 and was broadcast on 30 June 2011 as part of

National Theatre Live National Theatre Live is an initiative operated by the Royal National Theatre in London, which broadcasts live via satellite, performances of their productions (and from other theatres) to cinemas and arts centres around the world. About I grew ...

. At the

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325-seat producing house with an international reputation, which takes its name from the street on which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diver ...

he directed ''

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they receive ...

'' and '' The Play About the Baby'', whilst at the Hampstead Theatre he directed the 2012 premiere of '' 55 Days''. His opera credits include ''

Idomeneo ' (Italian for '' Idomeneus, King of Crete, or, Ilia and Idamante''; usually referred to simply as ''Idomeneo'', K. 366) is an Italian language opera seria by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Varesco from a Frenc ...

'', '' The Italian Girl in Algiers'', ''

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is ...

'', and '' I due Foscari'', and he directed the opera-related play '' After Aida'' 1985–86 in Wales and at the Old Vic Theatre. Davies' work in West End theatre won him the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director for ''

The Iceman Cometh ''The Iceman Cometh'' is a play written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1939. First published in 1946, the play premiered on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on October 9, 1946, directed by Eddie Dowling, where it ran for 136 perf ...

'', ''

All My Sons ''All My Sons'' is a three-act Play (theatre), play written in 1946 by Arthur Miller. It opened on Broadway theatre, Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Coronet Theatre in New York City on January 29, 1947, closed on November 8, 1949, and r ...

'' and '' The White Guard''; the London Critics Circle Award for Best Director for ''

Mourning Becomes Electra ''Mourning Becomes Electra'' is a play cycle written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. The play premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on 26 October 1931 where it ran for 150 performances before closing in March 1932, starring Lee Baker ...

'' and ''The Iceman Cometh''; and the Evening Standard Award for Best Director for ''All My Sons'' and ''

Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

''. Davies made his

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut with '' Piaf'' in 1981. His Broadway credits also include ''Les liaisons dangereuses'', the 1990 revival of ''

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams. An adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", the play was written by him between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his p ...

'', the 1993 revival of ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play '' Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons ...

'', ''Translations'', the 1999 revival of ''

'', the 2002 revival of '' Private Lives'', and the 2007 revival of ''

A Moon for the Misbegotten ''A Moon for the Misbegotten'' is a play in four acts by Eugene O'Neill. The play is a sequel to O'Neill's '' Long Day's Journey into Night'', with the Jim Tyrone character as an older version of Jamie Tyrone. He began drafting the play late in 1 ...

''. He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play thrice but did not win, and the

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions. The awards were established in 1955, wit ...

three times, winning for ''Les liaisons dangereuses''. Davies' screen credits include the television films ''

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

'' and ''

Blue/Orange ''Blue/Orange'' is a play written by English dramatist, Joe Penhall. The play is a sardonically comic piece which touches on race, mental illness and 21st-century British life. Productions The play premiered in the Cottesloe Theatre at the ...

'' and the feature film '' The Secret Rapture''. Davies was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the

2011 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2011 were announced on 31 December 2010 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: New Zealand,New Zealand"New Year Honours 2011"(14 January 2011) 2 ''New Zealand Gazette'' 55. The Cook IslandsThe Cook Islands: Grenada,Grenada: ...

, for services to drama.

Personal life and death

Davies was married to actress

Clare Holman Clare Margaret Holman (born 12 January 1964) is an English actress. She portrayed forensic pathologist Dr. Laura Hobson in the crime drama series ''Inspector Morse'' and its spin-off ''Lewis'' from 1995 to 2015. Career Holman started her act ...

. He was previously married to Susan Wall with whom he had two daughters, Hannah Davies, a journalist, and Kate Davies. Davies died of oesophageal cancer on 25 October 2016 at the age of 71.Director Howard Davies dies aged 71
/ref>

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Howard 1945 births 2016 deaths British theatre directors British film directors Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Drama Desk Award winners Laurence Olivier Award winners Alumni of St Cuthbert's Society, Durham