born July 21, 1934, London, Eng.
British director, writer, and actor.
After earning a medical degree at Cambridge University, he made his professional stage debut at the Edinburgh Festival in the hit satirical revue Beyond the Fringe (1960). As a director of plays, he gained notoriety for his controversial interpretations of classic works. His innovative opera productions, such as Pyotr Tchaikovsky 's Eugene Onegin , for the English National Opera and other groups have become internationally celebrated. He wrote the BBC medical series The Body in Question (1977) and States of Mind (1982).