Michael Codron

Quality 0.50 · 1 view · Updated 2 months ago

British theatre producer (born 1930)

title: "Michael Codron" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1930-births", "english-film-producers", "tony-award-winners", "drama-desk-award-winners", "fellows-of-st-catherine's-college,-oxford", "knights-bachelor", "laurence-olivier-award-winners", "english-theatre-managers-and-producers", "living-people", "theatre-people-from-london", "commanders-of-the-order-of-the-british-empire"] description: "British theatre producer (born 1930)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Codron" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary British theatre producer (born 1930) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

FieldValue
honorific_prefixSir
nameMichael Codron
honorific_suffix
captionPhotographed by David Levene
birth_nameMichael Victor Codron
birth_date
birth_placeLondon, England
death_date
alma_materWorcester College, Oxford, South East England
nationalityBritish
awardsTony, Drama Desk, Evening Standard, and Laurence Olivier Awards
known_forWorks by Harold Pinter, Christopher Hampton, David Hare, Simon Gray and Tom Stoppard
occupationfilm and theatre producer
::

|honorific_prefix = Sir | name = Michael Codron | honorific_suffix = | image = | alt = | caption =Photographed by David Levene | birth_name = Michael Victor Codron | birth_date = | birth_place = London, England | death_date = | death_place = |alma_mater = Worcester College, Oxford, South East England | nationality = British | other_names = |awards= Tony, Drama Desk, Evening Standard, and Laurence Olivier Awards | known_for = Works by Harold Pinter, Christopher Hampton, David Hare, Simon Gray and Tom Stoppard | occupation = film and theatre producer Sir Michael Victor Codron (born 8 June 1930) is a British theatre producer, known for his productions of the early work of Harold Pinter, Christopher Hampton, David Hare, Simon Gray and Tom Stoppard. He has been honoured with a Laurence Olivier Award for Lifetime Achievement, and is a stakeholder and director of the Aldwych Theatre in the West End, London.

Early life

Codron was born in London, and studied at Worcester College, Oxford.

Career

''The Birthday Party''

According to the American scholar and critic, John Nathan, Codron is possibly "most famous for the risk he took on a then virtually unknown playwright called Harold Pinter, who had a play called The Birthday Party. Codron has said that it was his Jewishness that helped him recognise the play's and Pinter's worth."

The Birthday Party had its première at the Arts Theatre, in Cambridge, England, on 28 April 1958, where the play was "warmly received" on its pre-London tour, in Oxford and Wolverhampton, where it also met with a "positive reception" as "the most enthralling experience the Grand Theatre has given us in many months."

On 19 May 1958, the production moved to the Lyric Opera House, Hammersmith (now the Lyric Hammersmith), for its début in London, where it was a commercial and mostly critical failure, instigating "bewildered hysteria" and closing after only eight performances. The weekend after it had already closed, Harold Hobson's belated rave review, "The Screw Turns Again", appeared in The Sunday Times, rescuing its critical reputation and enabling it to become one of the classics of the modern stage.

Subsequent career

His career of producing Broadway productions began in April 1963, when he staged a short run of Charles Dyer's Rattle of a Simple Man. Codron followed this with Poor Bitos (1964). He also produced Joe Orton's first play Entertaining Mr. Sloane (1964) at the New Arts Theatre in London. Nat Cohen invested in many of his productions.

Codron's revival of The Clandestine Marriage left critics confused, as many thought the title was "The Candelstein Marriage". In the 1960s, Codron produced several controversial works, including Joe Orton's Loot and Frank Marcus's The Killing of Sister George.

For his next project, Codron took a more comedic turn with Christopher Hampton's The Philanthropist, running at the Royal Court and Mayfair Theatres in London. It premiered on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on 15 May 1971, garnering Codron a Tony Award nomination for Best Play. David Merrick became lead producer for the Broadway transfer, with Codron gaining a "Produced in association with" credit.

''Butley'' and ''The Norman Conquests''

Codron next staged the original London production of Simon Gray's Butley. It was first performed at the Criterion Theatre in London beginning on 14 July 1971, produced by Codron and directed by Harold Pinter, with Alan Bates as Ben Butley. Codron re-staged the show in 1972 in a Broadway production directed by James Hammerstein at the Morosco Theatre, where it ran for 14 previews and 135 performances, being nominated for the Tony for Best Play. Bates won the Evening Standard Theatre Award and Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performances on the West End and Broadway, respectively. The play was later adapted into a 1974 film of the same name, which also starred Bates in the title role.

The producer looked to Broadway for his next venture, The Norman Conquests, a trilogy of plays written by Alan Ayckbourn in 1973. Each of the plays depicts the same six characters over the same weekend in a different part of a house. Table Manners is set in the dining room, Living Together in the living room, and Round and Round the Garden in the garden. The plays originally premiered in Scarborough, before playing the Globe and Apollo Theatres from 1974 until 1976. It opened on Broadway on 7 December 1975 for 69 performances at the Morosco Theatre, directed by Eric Thompson and featuring Richard Benjamin, Ken Howard, Barry Nelson, Estelle Parsons, Paula Prentiss, and Carole Shelley. For this, Codron received three Drama Desk Awards.

''Good Fun''

In 1980, he produced Victoria Wood's play, Good Fun. Wood, keen to trade on her previous stage success Talent, was commissioned to write another play by Codron. According to Wood, "I wrote one called Pals, which he said was 'very enjoyable'. This is a euphemism for wincing, so it went in the bin. I then wrote another called Good Fun." The play premiered in April 1980 at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre. It was directed by David Leland. | last = Brandwood | first = Neil | title= Victoria Wood – The Biography | edition = 1st | year = 2002 | publisher = Boxtree | location = London | isbn = 1-85227-982-6 | last = Wood | first = Victoria Wood | title= Good Fun & Talent | edition = 1st | year = 1988 | publisher = Methuen | location = London | isbn = 0413187403

After The Crucible's second version, the plan was to transfer the play to the West End. Though this never happened, it was performed at the King's Head Theatre in Islington. Wood said she heard a man at the interval saying, "It's a bit witty witty isn't it?" Wood's view of the play was this: "[T]here was an awful lot wrong with it but there were some lovely performances and the audiences enjoyed it."

After Good Fun Wood concentrated on television comedy and her career as a stand up comic. Though she did write two more plays, "which to save bothering Michael Codron, I called 'very enjoyable' and put straight in the bin."

Later career

In the latter half of his career, Codron mainly focused on transferring shows he produced in England to New York City, and in the process won several awards. Among them were Otherwise Engaged (1977 Tony nomination), Night and Day (1980 Drama Desk nomination), The Dresser (1982 Tony nomination), Noises Off (1984 Tony nomination), The Real Thing (1984 Tony and Drama Desk Awards), Benefactors (1986 Tony and Drama Desk nominations), and Copenhagen (2000 Tony and Drama Desk Awards). He also produced Patrick Marber's Dealer's Choice (1995) in the West End.

In 2003/2004, Codron presented a production of Michael Frayn's Democracy at the National Theatre. Following this, he produced the play at the Wyndham's Theatre in the West End, from 15 April 2004 to 9 October 2004, with Michael Blakemore as director.

Codron's next project, in association with the Manhattan Theatre Club, was the play Losing Louis, which he produced in the West End at the Hampstead Theatre (and later Trafalgar Studios) in January 2006, before opening on Broadway at the Biltmore Theatre in September 2006. It was directed by Jerry Zaks and written by Simon Mendes da Costa.

At the 2010 Laurence Olivier Awards ceremony, held on 21 March 2010 at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Codron was the recipient of the award for Outstanding Achievement, for being "one of the West End's most influential producers" and "discovering Harold Pinter."

Codron was knighted in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to the theatre.

Current and past positions

From 1983 to 1996, Codron and partner David Sutton owned the Vaudeville Theatre in Westminster, London. He is an Esquire and was appointed to the Order of the British Empire in August 1989. From 1992 to 1993, Codron was a Cameron Mackintosh Professor of Contemporary Theatre at Oxford University.

He currently serves on the board of trustees for Oxford School of Drama, and on the Oxford University Dramatic Society, funding productions in Oxford, England. Codron served as the director of the Hampstead Theatre and Theatre Mutual Insurance Co., and currently runs the Aldwych Theatre in the West End theatre district.

Filmography

He produced the film Clockwise (1986) and was the Associate Producer for Re:Joyce! – A Celebration of the Work of Joyce Grenfell in 1991.

Personal life

His parents were Isaac "Haco" Codron and Lily Morgenstern, who regularly attended out-of-town tryouts of Codron's plays in Brighton. "They became part of the dreaded Brighton opinion that we all used to worry about", says Codron. "They would go every week to see a play at the Theatre Royal and ring me the following day with their views. My father always thought the plays were too far-fetched."

In his autobiography, Putting it On: The West End Theatre of Michael Codron (Duckworth, 2010), written with help from Alan Strachan, Codron confirmed that he is homosexual. For twenty-five years, his partner was David Sutton.

Codron has stated that his "single flash of anger" is aimed at critics and bloggers who review productions during previews. "It's almost invariably reactionary responses. They're the modern equivalent of the lot that used to boo the plays in the 50s and 60s. I think they're ghastly." He has also expressed his dislike of musical theatre ("Musicals weren't really my thing"), turning down a request to produce Blood Brothers.

References

References

  1. [http://www.masterclass.org.uk/masters.php?ar_id=181 Masterclass at Theatre Royal Haymarket]
  2. [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0168551/ Michael Codron] InternetMovieDatabase
  3. Lawson, Mark. (30 March 2010). "Michael Codron – six decades in the West End". The Guardian.
  4. Nathan, John. (9 December 2010). "Interview: Michael Codron". The Jewish Chronicle.
  5. [http://www.haroldpinter.org/plays/plays_bdayparty.shtml "The Birthday Party – Premiere"] {{webarchive. link. (9 July 2011 . Cambridge Arts Theatre, Cambridge, England, 28 Apr 1958, in "Plays", ''HaroldPinter.org'', Harold Pinter, 2000–2003, [[World Wide Web). Web]], 15 May 2008. (Features texts of selected reviews, including [[Harold Hobson]]'s "The Screw Turns Again".){{Further. Harold Pinter#Career
  6. Qtd. in Jamie Andrews, [http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/pinter_archive_blog/2008/05/it-was-fifty-ye.html "It Was Fifty Years Ago Today (Almost)"] {{Webarchive. link. (2 October 2011 , ''[[The Harold Pinter Archive in the British Library). Harold Pinter Archive]] Blog'', [[British Library]], 12 May 2008; accessed 20 May 2008;
    Andrews is citing a contemporaneous review from May 1958 and context from a letter by Sean Day-Lewis, former drama critic of the ''Express and Star'' and the ''Birmingham Evening Post'', published in May 2008. [[Cf.]] Sean Day-Lewis, [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/may/10/6 "Birthday Party Bafflement"], guardian.co.uk, 20 May 2008; accessed 20 May 2008.
  7. [http://www.lyric.co.uk/p632.html "About the Lyric: History"] {{Webarchive. link. (9 May 2008 , ''[[Lyric Hammersmith]]'', n.d., World Wide Web, 9 May 2008.)
  8. Matthew Hemley, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110612011755/http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/20328/50th-anniversary-staging-of-the-birthday "50th Anniversary Staging of The Birthday Party to Star Hancock"], ''The Stage'', 8 April 2008, World Wide Web, 9 May 2008.
  9. Billington, Michael. (1980-06-01). "A Londoner Who Brightens Broadway; Michael Codron". The New York Times.
  10. Harold Hobson, "The Screw Turns Again", ''The Sunday Times'', 25 May 1958: 11, rpt. in [http://www.haroldpinter.org/plays/plays_bdayparty.shtml "The Birthday Party – Premiere"] {{webarchive. link. (9 July 2011 , haroldpinter.org, Harold Pinter, 2000–2003, World Wide Web, 15 May 2008.)
  11. [http://www.amrep.org/birthday/ ''The Birthday Party'']. American Repertory Theater (ART), [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]], 6–27 March 2004, American Repertory Theater, 2004, World Wide Web, 9 May 2008
  12. [http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=14793 "The Birthday Party"], ''[[Socialist Worker]]'', Socialist Worker, 10 May 2008;
    "[''The Birthday Party''] centres around Stanley Webber, a mysterious man who claims to be a piano player... He is visited in the boarding house he now lives in by two sinister characters, Goldberg and McCann, who are looking for a 'certain person' ... A birthday party for Stanley turns into a terrible experience ... The play received poor reviews when it first opened, but today The Birthday Party is rightly recognised as a classic."
  13. [http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=23190 Listing] InternetBroadwayDatabase
  14. John Lahr, ''Prick Up Your Ears: The Biography of Joe Orton'', (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978), 154.
  15. Vagg, Stephen. (24 January 2025). "Forgotten British Moguls – Nat Cohen Part Four: Cohen vs Bryan Forbes (1969-71)".
  16. Charles Isherwood. [http://theater.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/theater/reviews/27phil.html "The Mildest of Manners Have Perils"]. ''The New York Times''.
  17. BWW News Desk. [http://broadwayworld.com/article/THE_PHILANTHROPIST_Opens_on_Bdwy_426_20090426 "'THE PHILANTHROPIST' Opens on Bdwy 4/26"]. BroadwayWorld, 26 April 2009
  18. "Alec McCowen Biography (1925–)". Film Reference.
  19. "Robert Kidd". [[Internet Broadway Database]].
  20. Alexis Soloski. [https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2009/may/01/the-philanthropist-christopher-hamilton "Broderick on Broadway – a Philanthropist that's enough to turn anyone into a misanthrope"]. ''Guardian''.
  21. link. (24 October 2012 . IBDB.)
  22. Gray, Simon. ''Simon Gray: Plays 1''. London, Faber and Faber, 2010
  23. [http://www.ibdb.com/awardperson.asp?id=23190 IBDB Person Awards]
  24. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/84674-Democracy-and-The-Goat-Set-for-West-End-Transfers "'Democracy' and The Goat Set for West-End Transfers"] playbill.com
  25. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/87429-Frayns-Democracy-to-Close-October-9 "'Democracy' to Close"] playbill.com
  26. [http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=432540 "'Losing Louie' Listing"] ibdb.com
  27. Mark Shenton. (21 March 2010). "Spring Awakening, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Wicked Win Olivier Awards". playbill.
  28. [http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/29760/rachel-weisz-michael-codron-triumph-oliviers Rachel Weisz, Michael Codron triumph at Oliviers] ''The Jewish Chronicle''
  29. {{London Gazette. (31 December 2013)
  30. [https://www.vaudevilletheatre.org.uk/ Vaudeville Theatre]. Retrieved 28 March 2007
  31. [http://www.debretts.com/people/biographies/browse/c/4117/Michael+Victor.aspx Michael Codron, Esq, CBE Authorised Biography – Debrett's People of Today, Michael Codron, Esq, CBE Profile]
  32. [[OFSTED]] – [http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/portal/site/Internet/menuitem.e11147abaed5f711828a0d8308c08a0c/?vgnextoid=bf6bcc0eaaf3c010VgnVCM2000003607640aRCRD Oxford School of Drama is outstanding, say inspectors] (15 August 2005)
  33. [http://excellence.qia.org.uk/page.aspx?o=107262 Outstanding self assessment – Oxford School of Drama]
  34. ''[[Oxford University Gazette]]'': [[University of Oxford]] – [http://www.ox.ac.uk/gazette/1995-6/weekly/280995/ads.htm Oxford University Gazette, 28 September 1995: Advertisements] {{Webarchive. link. (17 September 2007 (28 September 1995))
  35. Vagg, Stephen. (5 February 2025). "Forgotten British film moguls – Nat Cohen: Part Five (1971-1988)".
  36. Vagg, Stephen. (4 November 2025). "Forgotten British Moguls: Verity Lambert at Thorn-EMI Films".
  37. [http://www.filmreference.com/film/25/Michael-Codron.html "Michael Codron Biography (1930–)"] filmreference.com
  38. [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-features/8085261/Michael-Codron-is-long-overdue-a-knighthood.html "Michael Codron is long overdue a knighthood"] ''Daily Telegraph''
  39. [http://www.spectator.co.uk/books/6418888/pulling-it-off-.thtml "'Putting It On', Michael Codron and Alan Strachan, Review by The Spectator"] spectator.co.uk
  40. [http://www.ducknet.co.uk/general/title.php?titleissue_id=536 Duckworth Publishers – Putting It On – Michael Codron and Alan Strachan] ducknet.co.uk

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

1930-birthsenglish-film-producerstony-award-winnersdrama-desk-award-winnersfellows-of-st-catherine's-college,-oxfordknights-bachelorlaurence-olivier-award-winnersenglish-theatre-managers-and-producersliving-peopletheatre-people-from-londoncommanders-of-the-order-of-the-british-empire