Edward Wilson (actor)

His NYT production of Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot, performed in Christ Church, Spitalfields, St Pancras and Westminster Cathedral was widely acclaimed by audiences and praised by Eliot's widow. Ambitiously, he also arranged to take the production to Moscow Arts Theatre in 1989, where it was very well received.^[1]

After the death of Michael Croft in 1986, Wilson took over the National Youth Theatre, becoming its second artistic director (1987–2003) and re-energising the company. There he auditioned and nurtured many notable talents, including Daniel Craig, Orlando Bloom, Catherine Tate, Jessica Hynes (Stevenson) and Little Britain stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams. Wilson also gave the now-celebrated theatre and film director Matthew Warchus his first chance at directing, when the NYT produced Coriolanus at the Glasgow Tram Shed Theatre in 1986.^[1]

In 1987 and 1988, he appeared in a regular role as DI Flight in two seasons of Rockliffe's Babies.^[4][1]

Wilson championed the musicals of Lionel Bart and brought about a revival of interest in his work with ambitious West End revivals of Blitz! (1990) and Maggie May (1992).

As a freelance, he was particularly adept at organising large-scale "one-off' productions, including community productions in Newbury. He directed several of the Stonewall Equality Shows at the Royal Albert Hall, most recently Europride 2006.^[3]

His production of The Way of the Light was broadcast live by the BBC from St Paul's Cathedral.^[2] He directed the West End premiere of Nightshriek, a rock musical interpretation of Shakespeare's Macbeth by Trisha Ward, which won a Time Out Critics' Award (1986) for its teenage writer, beating such professional productions as The Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables.^[5]

The success of Nightshriek led to a number of successful international collaborations between the NYT and the Spanish Shakespeare Foundation, including productions of Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and Blood Wedding by Lorca, performed in London, Madrid and Valencia.

He was a determined and successful fund-raiser for the NYT, winning major sponsorship for the company on many occasions throughout his tenure as Artistic Director. The highlight was his successful bid for a National Lottery grant in 1996 (the NYT's 40th anniversary) which enabled the company to purchase its first permanent headquarters.^[3]

In 2004 Ed Wilson was persuaded by Michael York (a former member of the NYT) to move to the US to lead the California Youth Theatre at the Ivar Theatre, Hollywood.^[1]

In his later life he became a devout convert to Roman Catholicism.^[3]

Wilson was diagnosed with cancer in 2007 and died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Wilson's long-term personal and professional partner was Brian Lee ("a supremely gifted stage designer" – Bryan Forbes). Lee – who designed many of Wilson's stage productions – predeceased Wilson, dying of cancer in December 1994.^[3][6][1]

He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and had an honorary doctorate from the University of Sunderland.^[2]