Hugh Wooldridge was born in London, England, UK, the son of British composer John Wooldridge[1] and actress Margaretta Scott[2]. He is the brother of actress Susan Wooldridge. For over thirty years, Hugh Wooldridge has directed, produced, devised and lit productions worldwide – from Copenhagen to Cape Town[3].
Having trained at LAMDA[4], he started his career by assisting directors such as Alan Ayckbourn, Eric Thompson, Frank Hauser and Michael Blakemore; however, he has been directing plays in his own right since the age of seventeen.
In the first ten years of his career he directed more than sixty productions in London and throughout the UK – from Alan Ayckbourn to Rene de Obaldia, and Pam Gems to Athol Fugard. He was a resident director at the Haymarket Theatre, Leicester; the Thorndike Theatre, Leatherhead, and the Old Vic Theatre, London.
During the next ten years, he ran his own multi-media company, The Jolly Good Production Company, which produced plays and TV programmes, managed artistes and published books[5]. During this time he was also responsible for music programmes and programming in the ITV network, specifically in the south and south east of England. He also directed international tours of Jesus Christ Superstar and The Rocky Horror Show as well as national tours of plays by Noël Coward, Daphne du Maurier and Dylan Thomas[3].
More recently he has specialised in devising, directing and producing large-scale events around the world including the Richard Rodgers Award celebrating Andrew Lloyd Webber in Pittsburgh[6], A Gala Concert for Hal Prince in Munich[7], Sondheim Tonight in New York and London[8] and Who Could Ask For Anything More? – the centenary celebration of Ira Gershwin at the Royal Albert Hall, London[9]. With Trevor Nunn he co-directed the Golden Wedding Anniversary celebrations for Her Majesty the Queen. He has also directed many showcases, workshops and first productions of new writing.
In May 2008 he adapted and directed Chess in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall with Josh Groban, Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal, Marti Pellow, Kerry Ellis and Clarke Peters, introduced by Tim Rice. This has now been released on DVD and CD[10], and was screened in UK cinemas in September 2009[11].
In 2009 Wooldridge directed the vocal group Cantabile Christmas shows at the Delfont Room (Prince Edward Theatre)[12] and St. John's, Smith Square[13].
Since 1999, he has annually produced, devised and directed The Night of 1000 Voices at the Royal Albert Hall, London. In 2010, The Night of 1000 Voices celebrated its 10th birthday and the 50th Anniversary of Leukaemia Research with Kerry Ellis, Brian May and Adam Pascal[14].
Currently he has a production of Charles Dickens’s The Haunting on a Bill Kenwright UK Tour[15] with Paul Nicholas, Sean Maguire and Hannah Steele and he is preparing ANTHEMS: The Concert for May 1, 2011 at the Royal Albert Hall also with Kerry Ellis, Brian May and Adam Pascal for the benefit of Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research[16]. He is now in residence at the University of Oklahoma, directing a new version of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber which opens April 14, 2011.[17]