Martin McCallum

McCallum began his theatrical career in 1967 as an ASM at the Castle Theatre Farnham. After a number of years in rep he became production manager under Laurence Olivier at the Old Vic, then home to the National Theatre of Great Britain.[4] He managed numerous shows at the National, including Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night, starring Olivier and Constance Cummings, and Harold Pinter's No Man's Land, with John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson. In 1976, McCallum was threatened at gun point for breaking an unofficial strike in order to remove the set of No Man's Land to Canada and proceed touring.[1] He remained at the National Theatre after Olivier's departure, through its relocation to the South Bank and the appointment of Peter Hall as director.[5]

Leaving the National Theatre in 1978, McCallum established the Production Office, the first production management firm of its kind with the appointment of production supervisor of Evita for Hal Prince. The company was soon engaged by Cameron Mackintosh for the musical Cats. Following its success, McCallum would join Mackintosh in 1981. His subsequent twenty-two year tenure as Business Partner and Managing Director of the Mackintosh group of companies coincided with a run of extraordinary commercial success, overseeing the international production of Cats, Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, Oliver! and Miss Saigon.[6][7][1] Described by The Independent in 2013 as 'the managerial genius behind the hugely successful Cameron Mackintosh organisation', his management of Delfont Mackintosh Theatres played an integral role in the development of the West End towards the end of the twentieth century.[8][9]

From 1992 to 2003, McCallum served as Chairman of the Donmar Warehouse, the longest serving chairman in the theatre's history, a period in which both Sam Mendes and Michael Grandage were appointed as artistic directors to critical acclaim.[10]

Since 2003, McCallum has worked as an independent producer on numerous shows, including Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan, nominated for six Tony Awards in 2014, and Edward Scissorhands, winner of the 2007 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience.[11][12]

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (1995)

The Queen's Awards for Enterprise (1995)

New York Drama Desk Award (2007)

• Long Day's Journey Into Night (1971)
• No Man's Land (1976)
• Evita (1978)
• Les Misérables (1980)
• Cats (1981)
• The Phantom of the Opera (1986)
• Miss Saigon (1991)
• Oliver! (1994)
• Swan Lake (1998)
• Putting It Together (1999)
• Edward Scissorhands (2005)
• Lysistrata Jones (2011)
• The Cripple of Inishmaan (2014)
• Hughie (2016)