Veteran Liverpool theatre director Graeme Phillips has died at the age of 77.
Mr Phillips joined the city’s Unity Theatre in 1982 before taking on the role of artistic director in the 1990s, overseeing two redevelopments of the venue in that time.
He was also instrumental in the development of Homoptopia and the very early days of FACT, both of which were established at the Unity during his tenure.
Graeme was awarded an MBE in 2015, the same year he retired from the Hope Place venue after 33 years due to being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease.
Despite living his condition, he continued to inspire, and last year directed a revival of Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, a play he had loved since his youth.
Since April, he had been working on a new production of Jean Genet’s The Maids which is set to be performed as part of the Unity’s autumn season programme.
Elinor Randle, Unity’s incumbent artistic director, said: “Graeme has been such an incredible inspiration to me, and to so many artists in the city and beyond.
“He poured his heart into making Unity a true home for brilliant, daring, and experimental new work and gave countless people the chance to bring their creative dreams to life.
“He will be deeply missed, but his spirit will always live on in Unity and in those us of whose lives he touched.”