Smoking with Lulu director David Giles dies

Stalwart UK Louise Brooks fan Meredith Lawrence tipped me off to the sad news that acclaimed British theater and television director David Giles has passed away. A long obituary ran in yesterday's Guardian (UK).

Giles directed many Shakespeare plays for the BBC in the hope of showing every play written by the playwright on the BBC. His other credits include The First Churchill’s, The Barchester Chronicles, Miss Marple, and The Darling Buds of May in the early 1990s. He also directed stage plays, working with actors such as Ian McKellen.

Among his more recent efforts was Smoking With Lulu, the play by Janet Musil which was based on the meeting of Louise Brooks and Kenneth Tynan. Giles directed it for the West Yorkshire Playhouse, when it was transferred to the Soho Poly in London. It was well received. Here is an earlier Guardian (UK) review.