David Taylor
Director
Award-winning American director David Taylor works on both sides of the Atlantic and has a string of international credits.
In the States, David's Vegas-style show Icons which he co-wrote and directed featuring one of America's top impressionists played in Reno and in the UK his his credits include MONKEE BUSINESS about the 1960s band featuring their songs at the Palace Theatre Manchester, a new musical version of PETER PAN for Curve, the thriller DEADLY MURDER with Rula Lenska at The Mill at Sonning, the world premiere of TERMS OF ENDEARMENT with Linda Gray, and UK tours of THE SAFARI PARTY by Tim Firth, MARRYING THE MISTRESS - adapted from Joanna's Trollope's best-selling novel, and the stage version of Rosamunde Pilcher’s THE SHELL SEEKERS with variously Stephanie Cole, Rosemary Leach and Susannah York.
THE PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE starring Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason at the Haymarket Theatre London endorsed David’s affinity with the work of Neil Simon - he previously directed LOST IN YONKERS with Maureen Lipman and Rosemary Harris at the Strand Theatre, Anna Massey in the critically acclaimed British premiere of BROADWAY BOUND at Greenwich, and productions of THE ODD COUPLE, THE GINGERBREAD LADY, CHAPTER TWO and THE LAST OF THE RED HOT LOVERS. It was with Simon's hit musical THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG starring Tom Conti and Gemma Craven that David made his London West End directorial debut following extensive work in the United States.
David first came to London to supervise the transfer from Broadway of A CHORUS LINE to Drury Lane. Later, following the success of THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG, he directed Don Black’s DEAR ANYONE with Jane Lapotaire, PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES and CAN-CAN - all in the West End - returning to the States to direct a new version of CHESS in New York, the musical play QUEEN OF THE STARDUST BALLROOM in Chicago, and to Canada for a spectacular production of THE WIZARD OF OZ which re-opened the Elgin Theatre in Toronto.
David also worked on Robert Redford’s musical theatre projects and Playwrights’ Laboratory at Sundance, Utah.
In addition to his London West End credits, his other U.K. productions include THE ADJUSTMENT starring Stefanie Powers, Alan Ayckbourn’s INTIMATE EXCHANGES at Sonning, ABOUT ALICE with Gwen Taylor and Francis Matthews, A MOMENT OF WEAKNESS with Gwen Taylor and Michael Jayston, THE LION IN WINTER with David McCallum and Sian Phillips, THE CEMETERY CLUB with Millicent Martin, Anne Charleston, Judy Cornwell and Carmen Silvera; LUNCH GIRLS with Sylvia Syms, Gemma Craven and Jan Harvey, the thriller RICOCHET with Nigel Havers and Keith Barron and PLAINTIFF IN A PRETTY HAT with Ian Lavender. He directed Arthur Miller’s THE RIDE DOWN MOUNT MORGAN in a version revised by the author at Derby, the British premiere of Bernard Slade’s play YOU SAY TOMATOES, the national tour of SOUTH PACIFIC with Jessica Martin and Mark Wynter, David Mamet’s SPEED THE PLOW starring David Soul and Michael Brandon and the British premiere of Wendy Wasserstein's THE HEIDI CHRONICLES with Susannah Harker and Peter Polycarpou at Greenwich.
David won a 'DORA' - Canada's top theatre award - for Best Director for his production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's CATS in Toronto and he also directed the German version of CATS in Hamburg. His production there bore the distinction of being Germany's first open-ended commercial production and played for almost fifteen years to capacity audiences.