Michael Boyd

All of us at Told by an Idiot are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Michael Boyd. He was  kind, generous, humble and a fiercely passionate man of the theatre.

When he invited us to create The Comedy of Errors at the RSC for young people, after some reflection, Hayley and I went back to Michael and said that we were not sure we could  make a show specifically for 8 year olds. We were just going to try and make the funniest, wildest production of The Comedy of Errors we could  and he replied “that’s exactly why I asked you”.

I remember being in an RSC casting meeting with a group of directors and unusually Michael was late. He placed a Tescos bag under the table and the meeting continued until someone congratulated Micheal on the Olivier awards. I glanced under the table and saw the awards poking out of the Tesco bag. That was Michael all over, it was always about the work, a constant sense of curiosity and a drive to keep moving forwards.

When I directed The Mouse and his Child as a Christmas show at the RSC it was not without its stresses but Michael was always there for me. He listened and provoked in the best possible sense and in a very understated way he was a wonderful mentor.

I shall miss receiving a ‘Boydey’ hug whenever I bumped into him. Michael has left a big space in the British theatre scene and our thoughts are with his family and friends.