Mark and Me Podcast Episode 180: Phyllida Lloyd
Jan 25, 2022
Phyllida Lloyd, a celebrated English film and theatre director behind Mamma Mia! and The Iron Lady, and director of Herself. She recalls childhood film influences and the move from acting to directing. She discusses working in male-dominated film sets, women directing larger budgets, making Herself as a low-budget collaborative film, and portraying domestic abuse and child trauma sensitively.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Early Film Love From Musicals And Powerful Dramas
- Phyllida Lloyd first fell in love with cinema through big Hollywood musicals and powerful character dramas she saw as a child.
- She remembers being taken to Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and childhood screenings of Sound of Music and Battleship Potemkin that hooked her on film.
From Drama Student To BBC Runner
- Phyllida's family supported her interest in acting but urged a fallback academic route, so she read theatre at university before shifting to directing.
- She worked as a BBC drama runner and did fringe pub theatre while deciding she preferred directing over acting.
Theatre Opened Doors While Film Stayed Male
- Lloyd noticed theatre offered opportunities for women in the late 1980s through Arts Council pressure, but big-film sets remained overwhelmingly male.
- Stepping onto the Pinewood Bond stage for Mamma Mia felt like