Theatre and television director
Born: July 9, 1929;
Died: April 7, 2017
CHRISTOPHER Morahan, who has died aged 87, was an acclaimed stage director, notably with the National Theatre in London, but he gained an international reputation after directing the epic ITV series The Jewel in the Crown in 1984. The 14-episode series gripped viewers and Mr Morahan had the courage to cast lesser known actors who made an immediate impact - including Tim Piggot-Smith, Nicholas Farrell, Art Malik and Susan Wooldridge.
For four years, Mr Morahan was also head of plays at the BBC and was determined to tackle difficult and provocative subjects. One of the plays he commissioned for the Play for Today slot was Just Another Saturday by Peter McDougall, one of the most important Scottish voices to emerge in British TV drama of the 1970s. His play was set in Glasgow and follows a young baton twirler in an Orange band who begins to question his sectarian beliefs; it also featured Billy Connolly in his first acting role.
However, so controversial was the idea of the play at the time - it was broadcast in November 1975 - that the police in Glasgow warned Mr Morahan against filming there, suggesting it might provoke violence. In the end, some scenes were filmed in the city, but several of the most provocative scenes, including an Orange march, had to be shot in Edinburgh. The film was a critical success and went on to win the Prix Italia for Best Drama.
Christopher Thomas Morahan was born in north London, the son of an artist and film designer, and studied at the Old Vic School in London, although he initially wanted to be an architect. He spent several years with the Old Vic as an actor, after hiking round theatres to find a job, before working as a television floor manager and in the early Sixties worked on several high profile series. He directed more than 50 episodes of the hospital drama Emergency Ward 10 and became one of the regular directors on Z Cars. He also directed a four-part drama, Talking to a Stranger, which charted the disintegration of a family with the young Judi Dench.
Mr Morahan was then appointed head of plays at the BBC and, while in the post from 1972 until 76, became known for commissioning work that had a social conscience or featured characters and lives that were not normally seen on television. He commissioned a series (Days of Hope) based on a working class family after the First World War One, which was directed by Ken Loach. He also championed new writers.
He also had considerable success in the theatre where he directed David Mercer’s Flint and Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker. From 1976 he worked closely with Peter Hall at the National Theatre, where he directed revivals. Hall has written of that time: “Christopher is a master craftsman. I think he provides a centre of sanity and knowledge.” Notable productions included Brand (with Robert Stephens), The Philanderer (with Penelope Wilton) and Wild Duck (with Ralph Richardson)
It was while at the National that Channel 4 offered Mr Morahan the post of head of fiction, but he had already signed with Granada to direct The Jewel in the Crown based on Paul Scott’s Raj Quartet novels.
The series dealt with the departure of the British from India post-1945. With much insight, he directed the drama with a keen intensity and a sure vision, getting superb performances from the young actors and from such stars as Peggy Ashcroft, Eric Porter, Rachel Kempson and Charles Dance. It was compelling viewing – both in the UK and America. The series won five Baftas and has often been nominated, along with Brideshead Revisited, as amongst the best of British television drama.
Mr Morahan was much respected by the cast and insisted they all went to India before the filming started in Manchester. “Christopher wanted us to soak up the atmosphere, the society, the heat and the light,” said Geraldine James who played Susan Layton. Mr Morahan kept the large crew together over, at times, a troublesome 18 months filming. As a director he had an eye how to make things work and his colleagues viewed him as something of an avuncular headmaster. “Everyone,” James recalled, “called him The Colonel.”
Mr Morahan did not enjoy quite as much success in film - a 1985 movie, Clockwise, starring John Cleese never quite worked - although Mr Morahan won praise for two other TV series, Ashenden (with Alex Jennings) and A Dance to the Music of Time (with Simon Russell Beale).
Mr Morahan’s first wife, Joan Murray, died in 1973. He later married the actress Anna Carteret who explained her husband's reputation for being occasionally tough with actors. "Actors are like children," she said. "They need guidance and discipline as well as love. When he was directing, he was always absolutely honest, even with me. And I loved that."
Anna Carteret who survives him along with four children.
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