Phyllida Lloyd
Birth namePhyllida Christian Lloyd[1]
Birth date17 June 1957 (age 69)
Birth placeNempnett Thrubwell,[2] Somerset, England[3]
OccupationFilm and theatre director
Years active1997–present
Notable worksMamma Mia

Phyllida Christian Lloyd, (born 17 June 1957) is an English film and theatre director and producer.[4][5][6] She has been nominated for a British Academy Film Award, a European Film Award, a Laurence Olivier Award and two Tony Awards.[7][8] She was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in the 2010 New Year Honours.

Her theatre work includes directing productions at the Royal Court Theatre and Royal National Theatre, and opera director for Opera North and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden.[9] Her adaptation of three Shakespeare plays (Julius Caesar, Henry IV and The Tempest) received acclaim from critics, with The Guardian calling it "one of the most important theatrical events of the past 20 years".[a]

She is best known for directing Mamma Mia! (2008) and The Iron Lady (2011), the latter winning Academy Awards for Best Actress and Best Makeup.

Early life and education

Lloyd was born and raised in Nempnett Thrubwell, Somerset, south of Bristol.[10] She attended Lawnside School, which merged with Malvern St James in 1994.

Career

1979–1999: Early works and acclaim

After graduating from the Department of Drama and Theatre Arts at Birmingham University in 1979 (BA, English), she spent five years working in BBC Television Drama. In 1985 she was awarded an Arts Council of Great Britain bursary to be Trainee Director at the Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich. The following year she was appointed associate director at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham, then in 1989 Associate Director of the Bristol Old Vic, where her production of The Comedy of Errors was a success.[11]

She moved on to the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester where she directed The Winter's Tale, The School for Scandal, Medea, and an acclaimed production of Death and the King's Horseman by Wole Soyinka.[12] In 1991 she made her debut at the Royal Shakespeare Company with a well-received production of a little-known play by Thomas Shadwell, The Virtuoso. Although she followed this in 1992 with a successful production of the rarely seen Artists and Admirers by Alexander Ostrovsky, she has, as of 2007, never returned to the RSC.

Also in 1992 came her first commercial success: her Royal Court Theatre production of John Guare's Six Degrees of Separation transferred to the West End. In 1994 she made her debut at Royal National Theatre with a production of Pericles which divided the critics.[13] There was general praise, however, for her productions of Hysteria by Terry Johnson at the Royal Court and Bertolt Brecht/Kurt Weill's The Threepenny Opera at the Donmar Warehouse.

By this time, Lloyd's work had come to the attention of Nicholas Payne, then running Opera North. For her debut as an opera director he steered her to what was, at least in the UK, an obscurity – L'Etoile by Chabrier. The production was a great success, setting Lloyd on a significant and award-winning career as an opera director. Productions since then include La Boheme, Gloriana, Cherubini's Medea, Albert Herring and Peter Grimes for Opera North; Dialogues of the Carmelites for English National Opera/Welsh National Opera; Verdi's Macbeth (for the Bastille Opera and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden); the premiere of Poul Ruders' opera The Handmaid's Tale (from the novel by Margaret Atwood); and a controversial Ring cycle for ENO. For Gloriana A Film She received an International Emmy and a FIPA d'Or. Her productions have won the Royal Philharmonic Society Award in 1991 (Gloriana) 2000 (The Carmelites) and 2007 (Peter Grimes).

In spite of the mixed reception accorded to her first production at the National Theatre, Lloyd nonetheless returned to direct productions of The Way of the World, Pericles, What the Butler Saw, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and The Duchess of Malfi, which were well received. She directed an award-winning production of Boston Marriage at London's Donmar Warehouse in 2001. Other recent work includes Friedrich Schiller's Mary Stuart newly adapted by poet Peter Oswald, which ran at the Donmar Warehouse, London, and was transferred to the Apollo Theatre, London, and then to the Broadway in spring 2009.

2000–present: Mamma Mia! and film work

In 1999, Lloyd was offered the chance to direct the ABBA musical Mamma Mia!, which became a hit, not only in the West End and on Broadway, but worldwide. She directed the 2008 cinematic adaptation, which marked her feature debut. By the end of 2008, the film had been certified as the biggest grossing film at the UK box office ever.[14] It was also certified as the UK's biggest-selling DVD.[15] She was nominated as Best Director of a Play in the 2009 Tony Awards for her production of Mary Stuart. In 2013 Lloyd directed Cush Jumbo in a one-woman show about Josephine Baker at the Bush Theatre and subsequently at Joe's Pub in New York. Between 2012 and 2017 she directed the Donmar Warehouse Trilogy in London and New York. Harriet Walter played Brutus in Julius Caesar, the title role in Henry IV and Prospero in The Tempest in a single day. Susannah Clapp in The Guardian described the Trilogy as "one of the most important theatrical events of the last twenty years".[16]

Lloyd directed The Iron Lady, a biopic of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, with Meryl Streep as Thatcher. The film entered production in January 2011 and was released in December of that year. Meryl Streep won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Thatcher.[17][18] Lloyd's film Herself written by Clare Dunne and Malcolm Campbell and starring Clare Dunne premiered at The 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

Personal life

Lloyd's romantic partner is Sarah Cooke.[2][19]

Credits

Film

YearTitleDirectorProducerRef.
2008Mamma Mia![20][21]
2011The Iron Lady[22]
2018Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again!
2020Herself[23][24]

Television

YearTitleNotesRef.
2000GlorianaTV movie

Theater

As a Director

YearTitlePlaywrightVenueRef.
1987Accidental Death of an AnarchistDario FoEveryman Theatre, Cheltenham
1992Six Degrees of SeparationJohn GuareRoyal Court Theatre, London
1994The Threepenny OperaBertolt BrechtDonmar Warehouse, London
1999Mamma Mia!Catherine JohnsonPrince of Wales Theatre, London
2001Winter Garden Theater, Broadway
2005Mary StuartFriedrich SchillerDonmar Warehouse, London
2009Broadhurst Theater, Broadway
2012Julius CesarWilliam ShakespeareDonmar Warehouse, London
Brooklyn Academy of Music
2013The Rime of the Ancient MarinerSamuel Taylor ColeridgeBrooklyn Academy of Music
2015Josephine And ICush JumboThe Public Theater, Off-Broadway
Henry IVWilliam ShakespeareDonmar Warehouse, London
2016The Taming of the ShrewThe Public Theater, Off-Broadway
Henry IV Parts 1 and 2Donmar Warehouse, London
The TempestDonmar Warehouse, London
Julius CesarDonmar Warehouse, London
2018TinaVariousAldwych Theatre, London
2019Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, Broadway
2024Grenfell: in the Words of SurvivorsGillian SlovoSt. Ann's Warehouse, Brooklyn
2025Mamma Mia!Catherine JohnsonWinter Garden Theatre, Broadway

Awards and nominations

AwardYearCategoryNominated workResultRef.
British Academy Film Awards2008Outstanding British FilmMamma Mia![7]
European Film Awards2011Audience AwardThe Iron Lady[8]
Laurence Olivier Award1994Best Director of a PlayHysteria[25]
Tony Award2009Best Direction of a PlayMary Stuart[26][27]
2021Best Direction of a MusicalTina[28][29]

Honorary awards

OrganizationsYearAwardResult
Oxford University2006Visiting professor of Contemporary Theatre[b]
Bristol University2006Honorary degree[30]
The Independent2008Ranked 7th Most Influential British LGBT Person[31]
2010Ranked 22nd Most Influential British LGBT Person[32]
Queen Elizabeth II2010Appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)[33]
Birmingham University2009Honorary Degree[34]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Phyllida Lloyd: Prime mover". The Independent. 31 December 2011. Archived 26 May 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Phyllida Christian Lloyd | Graduation". University of Bristol. 14 July 2006. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  3. ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007
  4. ^ Mermelstein, David (2008-07-30). "Phyllida Lloyd". Variety. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  5. ^ "Phyllida Lloyd: a director who's determined to put women centre stage". the Guardian. 2016-11-25. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  6. ^ Bunbury, Stephanie (2021-06-25). "From Meryl Streep to a homeless mum: Phyllida Lloyd builds a new order". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  7. ^ "2009 Film Outstanding British Film | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  8. ^ "The Iron Lady". europeanfilmawards.eu. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  9. ^ "Phyllida Lloyd". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  10. ^ Saner, Emine (25 November 2016). "Phyllida Lloyd: a director who's determined to put women centre stage". Guardian. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  11. ^ David Benedict "Arts: Together wherever we go", The Independent, 29 April 2011
  12. ^ "Death and the Kings Horseman" Archived 19 January 2003 at the Wayback Machine, Royal Exchange Theatre website
  13. ^ See Pericles at the Royal National Theatre by Melissa Gibson, in Pericles: Critical Essays (Shakespeare Criticism, Volume 23)
  14. ^ Irvine, Chris (30 October 2008). "Mamma Mia becomes highest grossing British film". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 3 November 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2009.
  15. ^ "Mamma Mia! tops all-time DVD list". BBC News. 1 January 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2009.
  16. ^ "Shakespeare Trilogy review – Phyllida Lloyd's searing triumph". the Guardian. 2016-11-27. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  17. ^ "Academy Awards Database Search | Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences". awardsdatabase.oscars.org. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  18. ^ Catherine Shoard "Meryl Streep's Margaret Thatcher revealed in first still from The Iron Lady", The Guardian, 8 February 2011
  19. ^ "Phyllida Lloyd: 50 per cent of what's on stage must be a woman's experience". The Times. 6 October 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  20. ^ Gold, Sylviane (2008-07-06). "The 'Mamma Mia!' Factor, Times Three". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  21. ^ Mintzer, Jordan (2008-07-05). "Mamma Mia!". Variety. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  22. ^ Young, Susan (2011-12-05). "Streep a good Brit fit in 'Iron Lady'". Variety. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  23. ^ Clarke, Stewart (April 25, 2019). "Phyllida Lloyd's 'Herself' Adds Cast, Cornerstone Boards Sales (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety
  24. ^ Zemler, Emily (2021-01-26). "Phyllida Lloyd and writer-actress Clare Dunne join on the uplifting drama 'Herself'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  25. ^ "Olivier Winners 1994". Officiallondon. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
  26. ^ agencies, Staff and (2009-05-05). "Billy Elliot musical dominates Broadway's Tony award shortlist". the Guardian. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  27. ^ Salomon, Andrew (2009-05-05). "'Billy Elliot' scores 15 Tony noms". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  28. ^ Derschowitz, Jessica (2021-09-26). "Tony Awards 2021: See the full list of winners". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2025-06-08.
  29. ^ Woerner, Meredith (2021-09-26). "Tony Awards: The Full List Of Winners". Variety. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  30. ^ "Honorary Graduates". University of Bristol. 31 July 2006. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  31. ^ Tuck, Andrew (2 July 2006). "Gay Power: The pink list". The Independent. London: Independent News & Media. Archived from the original on 7 January 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  32. ^ "The IoS Pink List 2010". The Independent on Sunday. London: Independent Print Limited. 1 August 2010. Archived 26 May 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  33. ^ No. 59282. 31 December 2009. p. 7.
  34. ^ "University of Birmingham". thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk
  1. ^ Various sources:[16][35][36][37][38][39][40]
  2. ^ various sources:[41][42][43]

References

  1. ^ "The All-Female Shakespeare Production Turning the Theater World Upside Down". Vanity Fair. 2016-05-17. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  2. ^ "Shakespeare Trilogy review – Donmar's phenomenal all-female triumph". the Guardian. 2016-11-23. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  3. ^ "Julius Caesar – review". the Guardian. 2012-12-05. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  4. ^ "Henry IV review – Harriet Walter's kingly power". the Guardian. 2014-10-11. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  5. ^ Brantley, Ben (2015-11-12). "Review: 'Henry IV,' Donmar Warehouse's All-Female Version". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  6. ^ Wolf, Matt (2012-12-11). "'Julius Caesar' Flexes Its Female Muscle". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  7. ^ "Phyllida Lloyd named Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor". University of Oxford. 19 January 2006. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  8. ^ "Emeritus Fellows Archives". St Catherine's College. Archived 5 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  9. ^ "Deborah Warner named as Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre | University of Oxford". www.ox.ac.uk. 21 November 2018. Archived 27 September 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-01-05.