Norman Ayrton
Principal of LAMDA who was a mentor to David Suchet, Maureen Lipman – and Joan Sutherland
NORMAN AYRTON, who has died aged 92, was an actor, theatre and opera director, drama teacher and principal of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) from 1966 to 1972; during a career spanning half a century he trained many young singers and actors including Joan Sutherland, David Suchet, Maureen Lipman, Jim Broadbent, Brian Cox, Patricia Hodge and Harriet Walter.
Norman Ayrton was born in north London on September 25 1924. The son of a wine merchant, he fell in love with the stage at the age of 11 after going on a school trip to the theatre.
During the war he was evacuated and several of his mother’s relatives living in France were sent to Dachau. His aunt and uncle died there and two surviving cousins came to live with the Ayrtons after the war. The experience, he would later say, made him determined “to do what I wanted to do. It gave me the courage to go into acting”.
After training at the Old Vic under Michel Saint-denis, in 1947 Ayrton joined the Old Vic Company for a year. Following a period in repertory at Farnham and Oxford, he returned to the Old Vic as an assistant director at the School and teacher of movement with the Company.
In 1952 Ayrton opened his own teaching studio in London and began drama coaching for the Royal Opera House, where his pupils included Joan Sutherland. Two years later he was appointed assistant principal of LAMDA – becoming principal in 1966 – although during this period and beyond he continued to work as an actor and director and lectured all over the world, specialising in teaching the styles of the 17th and 18th centuries and directing many of Shakespeare’s plays and Restoration comedies.
His time at LAMDA saw a blossoming of young talent, and numerous actors taught by him became major figures in the theatre, cinema and television. Impeccably dressed (he taught period dancing in a three-piece suit), Ayrton was an unforgettable mentor. David Suchet, a former pupil with whom he remained friends, recalled: “Norman Ayrton instilled in all of us the principles of discipline and professionalism. Never be late – always arrive early. Preparation – essential. Respect for the text. Learn period movement and manners and etiquette … [he was] a principal with principles that have remained with me every day since.”
As director of the one-year postgraduate course at LAMDA, Ayrton also taught many young American students, including Donald Sutherland, Stacey Keach and John Lithgow.
He directed numerous operas in Britain and around the world, including, at the Royal Opera House, Verdi’s La Traviata and Massenet’s Manon. He also directed several productions for the Sydney Opera House, notably Lakmé, with Joan Sutherland (1976), and Der Rosenkavalier (1983).
In 1979 he joined the opera faculty of the Juilliard School, New York, and gave courses in acting, movement and style as well as private coaching in dramatic and operatic roles. Among his pupils during that time was the actor Kevin Kline.
Between 1975 and 1982 Ayrton also directed productions for the Vancouver Opera Association in Canada.
Throughout the 1990s he taught and directed at a number of American universities including Harvard and Cornell.
From 1986 to 1996 he was dean of the British American Drama Academy (BADA) in London.
Despite his many years’ experience, Norman Ayrton confessed that he did not enjoy his own productions: “I usually hate performances of things I’ve done. I see so many things that could be better. I’m always kind of watching the audience, though, as much as the actors, to see how they’re responding.”
Latterly Norman Ayrton was living at Denville Hall, the residential home for actors.
Norman Ayrton, born September 25 1924, died June 22 2017