Impresario Bill Kenwright dies at the age of 78

Pictures: Roy Tan

Impresario Bill Kenwright, the producer behind some of the best-known and most successful musical theatre shows in the West End and on regional stages, has died at the age of 78.

He had been recovering at home from surgery for liver cancer carried out eight weeks previously when his family, led by his wife actress Jenny Seagrove, released a statement today (Tuesday 24 October) saying: “Jenny Seagrove, Lucy Kenwright and everyone at Bill Kenwright Ltd are devastated to share the sad news of the loss of a beloved partner, father, grandfather and friend: Bill Kenwright CBE. Following a long battle with illness Bill passed away peacefully last night, surrounded by his family and loved ones.”

They paid tribute to Kenwright’s impact on the stage, saying: “In a multi-award-winning career spanning six decades, Bill produced over 500 West End, Broadway, UK touring and international theatre productions, films and music albums. His impact on the arts industry has been profound.”

In that six-decade-long career Kenwright’s notable successes included his touring productions of fellow Liverpudlian Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers (also in the West End) and Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Other musicals included tours of Fame, Jesus Christ Superstar, Saturday Night Fever, Tommy, plus Cabaret at the Lyric Theatre and Whistle Down the Wind at the Palace Theatre in the West End (2006) as well as the 2018 Evita world tour. Heathers The Musical and Calendar Girls The Musical are among the more recent Kenwright shows touring. He had also been involved in the future transfer of Rob Madge’s show My Son’s a Queer (But What Can You Do?) to Broadway.

While strongly identified with musical theatre, Kenwright was also a major force in commercially-savvy straight/legit theatre both in the West End and regional venues. Notables included Festen which appeared in both London and New York as well as on tour, A Few Good Men, Night of the Iguana, A Man for all Seasons and current show, Ben Weatherill’s Frank and Percy starring Ian McKellen and Roger Allam at London’s The Other Palace. Kenwright’s abilities also extended to directing on a number of occasions and working with Lloyd Webber on changes to Love Never Dies.

The loss of Bill Kenwright comes soon after the death of several other high-profile theatre figures, including Haydn Gwynne and the former RSC artistic director Michael Boyd, both of whose passing was officially marked. Shortly after Kenwright’s death was announced, the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre issued a joint comment acknowledging his ‘profound’ impact on the industry and adding “tomorrow we will be sharing details on how we will honour his incredible career”.

His loss will be felt equally in the world of sport where Kenwright – a lifelong Evertonian – had been a leading light on the Everton board for 34 years and chairman since 2004. However, it was his services to the showbusiness and performing arts industry that earned him his CBE in 2001 in the New Year Honours list.

Ironically, Kenwright’s spur to becoming a successful producer was the age-old actor’s dilemma of how best to secure performing roles, only to discover his true vocation in producing. Having begun as a stage performer, he won an early role in Coronation Street in 1968 – then Britain’s only television soap and massively popular with audiences.

Though he quit the part of Gordon Clegg after a short time, Kenwright reappeared at some point in every successive decade, even after becoming a well-known public figure in his own right, with a final cameo appearance in 2012. In 1975, he was at the centre of a highly charged storyline that pushed the then boundaries for television soap when his screen aunt, played by the late Betty Driver, was revealed to be Gordon’s mother.

Just minutes after news of his death was made public, there were numerous tributes to Bill Kenwright from both the world of showbusiness and sport.

Blood Brothers writer Willy Russell stated on Twitter: “I’m shocked and saddened to learn of the death of Bill Kenwright, my thoughts are with Jenny, Lucy, Adam and the rest of the family at such a painful and difficult time.”

Elaine Paige shared her response: “Am still in shock over news… that Bill Kenwright has died. A tour de force of theatre worldwide who I’d known or over 40 years.”

Finally, his production company’s own statement on their founder’s passing offered a succinct summary of Kenwright’s personality: “Bill was driven by his passions and devoted his life to them; his deep love of theatre, film, music, and his beloved Everton, and the families they created. He impacted the lives of thousands, whether that be through the launching of careers or his unending loyalty, generosity and unfaltering friendship and support.”