Michael Birkett, 2nd Baron Birkett
Michael Birkett, 2nd Baron Birkett was a British film producer/director, author and hereditary peer.
Early life and education
Michael Birkett was the only son of Norman, 1st Baron Birkett by his wife, Ruth. Birkett attended Stowe before going up to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he completed an MA.Succession
On 10 February 1962, Michael Birkett succeeded his father as the 2nd Baron Birkett, a UK Peerage title created in 1958.Career
Film productions
Birkett produced Some People and Harold Pinter's The Caretaker, starring Alan Bates, Donald Pleasence and Robert Shaw, both directed by Clive Donner. Later production credits include Sir Peter Hall's 1969 film A Midsummer Night's Dream and Peter Brook's pictures Marat/Sade and King Lear, starring Paul Scofield. He was also executive producer of three episodes of Brook's television mini-series The Mahabharata.Writing
He was the author of The Story of the Ring, a retelling of Wagner's operatic epic, published in 2009.Public service and appointments
Birkett served as Deputy Director of The National Theatre between 1975 and 1977, and was subsequently engaged as a consultant and later appointed Director for Recreation and Arts at the Greater London Council. He was executive director of the Royal Philharmonic Society, chairman of BAFTA, and head of numerous other arts bodies. He also served as the chairman of Governors of the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology, and chairman of the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition.A Freeman of the City of London, Birkett was admitted a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Curriers, later serving as Master Currier.