Playbill

Martin McCallum () Obituary

British theatrical producer Martin McCallum passed away January 14, at the age of 73. The news was confirmed by producer Shidan Majidi.

A former President of the Society of London Theatre and member of the Broadway League, Mr. McCallum worked on more than 500 shows on Broadway and in the West End across his illustrious career.

Beginning as an assistant stage manager at the Castle Theatre Farnham, Mr. McCallum later became a production manager at the Old Vic, then home to the National Theatre under the leadership of Laurence Olivier. He managed numerous shows at the National, including Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night starring Mr. Olivier and Constance Cummings, and the premiere production of Harold Pinter's No Man's Land starring John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson.

Mr. McCallum left the National Theatre in 1978 and, with his colleague Richard Bullimore, established The Production Office in London’s Covent Garden. The firm supervised the London runs of Franco Zeffirelli’s Filumena, Harold Prince’s Evita and Sweeney Todd, and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar.

In 1981 the firm's work on Cats led to Mr. McCallum being employed by Cameron Mackintosh as his managing director and business partner for 18 years. There, he oversaw a period of significant expansion, with hits such as Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon drawing audiences worldwide.

His additional theatrical credits include Matthew Bourne’s Edward Scissorhands, Philip Quast – Live at the Donmar, Spider Man, The Cripple of Inishmaan, and Dirty Dancing. From 1992 to 2003, Mr. McCallum was Chairman of the Donmar Warehouse, and from 2005 to 2014 he was on the Board of Sydney Theatre Company.

Mr. McCallum was President of the Society of London Theatre from 1999 to 2002, and a member of the Broadway League from 1988 on. He was on the Arts Council of England’s Drama Panel from 1999 to 2003, and a member of its Advisory Task Group from 2003 to 2005. He was also a member of London’s Cultural Strategy Group from 2000 to 2003.

In 2003, Mr. McCallum and his family moved to Australia, where he lived out the remainder of his life. He is survived by his partner Gwynne, and his children Gabriel, Fabian, Amy, Toby, and Sophie.

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