Clifford Williams (actor)

Clifford Williams (1926 – 20 August 2005) was a Welsh theatre director and stage actor. He was born in Cardiff, Wales and died in London, England.

Clifford Williams was born in Cardiff, United Kingdom, son of George F. Williams and Florence (Gapper). From 1945 to 1948 he served in the British Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC).

Married (1) Joanna Douglas 1956, no children, marriage dissolved 1959. Married (2) Josiane Peset, 1962. Children: Anouk and Tara.

Fellow of Trinity College of Music (London) and the Welsh College of Music and Drama (on Board of Governors from 1980). Founder, 1994: (Director and Playwright) Mime Theatre London. 1950-53: Artistic Director, Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury, 1956 Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, 1957 Arts Theatre, London. 1963-80, Associate Director, Royal Shakespeare Company, U.K.

From 1963: Artistic Directorships at: National Theatre, U.K., also the national theatres of: Spain, Yugoslavia, Mexico, Finland, Bulgaria, France, Denmark, Sweden, USSR, Canada, Japan Germany.

In the United States, his Broadway productions included: The Comedy of Errors, Soldiers, Sleuth, Emperor Henry IVth, As You Like It, A Pack of Lies, Aren’t We All? Breaking the Code (TV) and Man and Superman. His opera productions include: The Flying Dutchman, Savitri, Dido and Aeneas, Bellman’s Opera.

Musical productions include (in London): Our Man Creighton, Mardi Gras, Oh! Calcutta and Carte Blanche. He was the author of the children’s plays The Sleeping Princess, The Goose Girl and The Secret Kingdom, and he translated Ibsen, Strindberg and Chekhov.

He was chairman of the British Theatre Association 1978-90.

For the Royal Shakespeare Company: Directed 31 productions including the outstandingly successful (also set designer) Comedy of Errors (with Ian Richardson, Michael Williams, Timothy West, Donald Burton, Elizabeth Spriggs, Janet Suzman and Susan Engel); The Merchant of Venice (Janet Suzman, Eric Porter and William Squire) and The Jew of Malta (Eric Porter and Tony Church).

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