Michael Grandage
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Grandage & Suzman Honoured in Birthday List

The artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse Michael Grandage has been recognised with a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

Grandage announced last October he would leave the 250-seat Covent Garden venue to pursue more freelance directing opportunities. Donmar alumni Ruth Wilson, Jude Law, Douglas Hodge and Eddie Redmayne lead revivals of Anna Christie, Inadmissible Evidence and Richard II as part of his final season, after nine years in charge. Josie Rourke will take over at the Donmar from January 2012.

Janet Suzman, actress and director, is made a Dame. Suzman, who joined the RSC in 1963, portrayed many of Shakespeare's heroines, delivering a definitive performances of Cleopatra in 1973.

More recently she has returned to the country of her birth, South Africa, and directed a number of productions, returning to the RSC to direct Donald Sinden, Ian Richardson and Derek Jacobi in The Hollow Crown in 2002. Having appeared alongside Kim Cattrall in the 2005 West End revival of Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Suzman went on to direct her in Liverpool Playhouse's production of Cleopatra last year.

Also honoured are Colin Firth who was made a CBE alongside former LAMDA principal Peter James and director Christopher Morahan.

Founder and artistic director of Oily Cart theatre company Tim Webb and playwright Julia Donaldson are made MBE, as are Peter Armitage for services to amateur theatre, Judith Steel for services to theatre in the Scottish borders and Peter Pullan, the founder of theatre captioning charity StageText. Character actor Bernard Cribbins was honoured with an OBE.

- by Andrew Girvan

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