British Theatre Director Terry Hands Passes Away at 79

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that prolific British theatre director Terry Hands passed away today, February 4. He was 79 years old.

Hands founded the Liverpool Everyman Theatre and ran the Royal Shakespeare Company for thirteen years during one of the company's most successful periods. He also saved Clwyd Theatr Cymru from closure and turned it into the most successful theatre in Wales in his seventeen years as Artistic Director. He received several Olivier, Tony and Molière nominations for directing and lighting.

Hands was born at Aldershot, Hampshire, England. He studied at Woking Grammar School, University of Birmingham before attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art leaving with the gold medal for acting in 1964. He then established the Liverpool Everyman where he directed numerous productions, including a prominent production of Murder in the Cathedral.

Hands joined the Royal Shakespeare Company two years later in 1966 to run the Company's touring group, Theatregoround. He became joint Artistic Director with Trevor Nunn in 1978, and in 1986 sole chief executive. As Director Emeritus and Artistic Director he directed more productions during his 25 years there than any other director in the Company's history.

In 1997, Hands became Artistic Director of Theatr Clwyd (afterwards renamed Clwyd Theatr Cymru), which presents much of its work on tour in Wales and the rest of the UK, saving the theatre from closure. He was appointed CBE in the 2007 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to drama. In October 2001 he resigned from his position as an advisory director of the RSC.

In 2015 Hands left his post as Artistic Director of Clwyd Theatr Cymru after seventeen years in the post, having turned the theatre into the most successful in Wales.