Peter Wood (8 October 1925 – 11 February 2016) was an English

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

and

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

Biography

Wood was born on 8 October 1925 in Colyton, Devon. His father Frank Wood was a basketmaker and his mother, Lucy Eleanor (Nell), née Meeson was a seamstress. Wood developed his interest in acting while at Taunton School. After school, he spent his National Service with the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

in Canada and on his return he studied English at

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the old ...

. Wood joined an acting troupe after university, and by 1955 he was running the

Oxford Playhouse Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F.G.M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum. History The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road, North Ox ...

. The following year, he became resident director at the London Arts Theatre, working alongside Peter Hall During the late 1950s, Wood directed plays at

Edinburgh festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh F ...

and the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

before travelling to

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 ...

to direct ''

Five Finger Exercise ''Five Finger Exercise'' is a 1962 American drama film made by Columbia Pictures, directed by Daniel Mann and produced by Frederick Brisson from a screenplay by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, based on the play by Peter Shaffer. The film ...

''. He returned to England to direct plays at Old Vic,

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and ...

and

Theatre Royal Haymarket The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foot ...

in the 1960s. Amongst his early stage work was direction of

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that span ...

's debut work, '' The Birthday Party'' at the

Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London.

, and later

Joe Orton John Kingsley Orton (1 January 1933 – 9 August 1967), known by the pen name of Joe Orton, was an English playwright, author, and diarist. His public career, from 1964 until his death in 1967, was short but highly influential. During this brie ...

's ''

Loot Loot may refer to: Film *''Loot'' (1919 film), a film by William C. Dowlan * ''Loot'' (1970 film), a British film by Silvio Narizzano * ''Loot'' (2008 film), a documentary * ''Loot'' (2011 film), an Indian film * ''Loot'' (2012 film), a Nepali fi ...

''. He was also responsible for regularly directing premiere productions of plays by

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and polit ...

, from '' Jumpers'' (1972) to '' Hapgood'' (1988).Dan Rebellato "Wood, Peter" in Colin Chambers (ed.) ''Twentieth Century Theatre'', London: Continuum, 2002 005 p.848 His film work included an adaptation of '' Long Day's Journey into Night'' starring

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage ...

and a television special adaptation of the Stoppard play ''

The Dog It Was That Died ''The Dog It Was That Died'' is a play by the British playwright Tom Stoppard. Written for BBC Radio in 1982, it concerns the dilemma faced by a spy over who he actually works for. The play was also adapted for television by Stoppard, and broad ...

'' in 1988. Wood lived his final years in a restored barn house at a

Batcombe, Somerset Batcombe is a village and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, situated in the steep valley of the River Alham south-east of Shepton Mallet and south of Bristol. The parish has a population of 439. Batcombe village is a ...

and died on 11 February 2016 as a result of dementia and old age.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Peter 1925 births 2016 deaths Laurence Olivier Award winners English film directors English theatre directors