Michael Holt
Michael Holt
Michael has designed some 300 drama, ballet and opera productions in the UK and around the world.
His design credits include numerous plays for The Alley Theatre in Houston, Den Nationale Scene in Bergen, South Bank Theatres, Brisbane, and The English Theatre in Vienna. He designed The Taming of the Shrew in Tampa, Florida and several premiere productions in theatres in New York. In the UK, Michael designs many shows each year.
A recent list includes tours of Bedroom Farce, Deadlock and Arsenic and Old Lace for the Ambassador Group of theatres and thriller writer Peter James’ Not Dead Enough for Jass Productions, and productions at the New Vic, Stoke (The Price, The Rivals, A Taste Of Honey, The Admirable Crichton), The Mill at Sonning (French Without Tears, Private Lives, My Fair Lady), Oldham Coliseum (An Inspector Calls, Gaslight, Relatively Speaking), the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford (A Trip To Scarborough, Life of Riley) Lip Service (Jane Bond) and Liverpool Everyman (Jack and the Beanstalk). His designs have been seen in most theatres throughout Great Britain. He has had a 40-year association with Alan Ayckbourn for whom he has designed many productions including Othello with Michael Gambon, a highly acclaimed production of Wolf at the Door, Taking Steps for the Orange Tree Theatre London, and most recently
at Scarborough, Roundelay and Hero’s Welcome. He designed all 16 versions of Intimate Exchanges seen both in Scarborough and New York, and nominated for three New York Drama Critics Awards. Michael designed the highly successful The Woman In Black now celebrating its 26th year in London’s Fortune Theatre and seen all over the world including, recently, Australia and the Far East.
Other West End credits include The Glory Of The Garden (Duke of York’s Theatre), Rough Justice (Apollo Theatre), June Moon (Vaudeville Theatre) and Absurd Person Singular (Whitehall Theatre). His opera designs include Puccini’s La bohème (Sadler’s Wells), Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd (Brisbane), Vaughn Williams’ Pilgrim’s Progress (Royal Opera House), Janacek’s Cunning Little Vixen (Royal Academy) and Handel’s Orlando (Avignon Festival).
Most acclaimed amongst his 25 ballet designs are Quartet, Sleeping Beauty and Romeo and Juliet (Northern Ballet) and Madame Butterfly (Hong Kong Ballet). Michael was Senior Lecturer in Drama at Manchester University for more than 27 years and is the author of two books on stage design and a critical survey of the plays of Alan Ayckbourn. He is currently preparing a new book on Ayckbourn and a series of books about designing Shakespeare.