Peter Cheeseman

Peter Cheeseman was born on January 27, 1932 in Cowplain, Hampshire, England as Peter Barrie Cheeseman.

At Derby Playhouse in Derby, Derbyshire, England from 1959, he was employed as audience entertainer to directing one in four productions. In 1961 he joined Stephen Joseph of Studio Theatre Company employing both Alan Ayckbourn and a Harold Pinter recently mauled by national theatre critics was doing summer seasons in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England and looking for a base in the Potteries. He combined directing with administrative assistance and developing new theatre plans. He brought Studio Theatre to Stoke in 1962.

He is known for his work on Jock on the Go (1967), Second City Firsts (1973) and Armchair Theatre (1956). He was married to Romy Saunders and Joyce Holliday.

He is survived by his two daughters-Kate and Betsy Cheeseman with his first wife, Joyce Holliday, Kate and Betsy. In 1985, he married the actress, Romy Saunders, and they have a daughter, Chloe Cheeseman.

He fought for 20 years to open the country's first purpose-built theatre-in-the-round, the New Vic in Newcastle-under-Lyme in 1986, and gave a home to the newly formed Lindsay String Quartet, leading directly to what is now the largest chamber music promoter outside London, the Sheffield-based Music in the Round. He also improved the National Council for Drama Training (NCDT), founding the pioneering Master of Fine Arts course in directing at Birkbeck College in London, England.

He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1998 Queen's New Years Honors List for his services to drama.