Oliver Bayldon Explained
Oliver Bayldon |
Birth Name: | Richard Oliver Maxwell Bayldon |
Birth Date: | 1938 9, df=yes |
Birth Place: | Leicester |
Death Place: | London |
Education: | Leicester College of Art |
Employer: | |
Years Active: | 1961–1997 |
Awards: | Full list |
Occupation: | Production designer |
Oliver Bayldon FRSA, FCSD (12 September 1938 – 23 December 2019) was a London-based, award-winning British production designer who worked with the Northampton Repertory Theatre, the BBC, and the Royal Academy of Music.
He is best known for designing sets for TV shows such as:Meet the Wife (1966),Till Death Us Do Part (1968),The Railway Children (1968),Dad's Army (1968),Z-Cars (1970–1971),The Onedin Line (1971–1972),Poldark (1975–1976),When the Boat Comes In (1976–1977),Happy Ever After (1978),Shakespeare's first tetralogy (the Henry VI plays and Richard III) directed by Jane Howell (1983),Strangers and Brothers (1984),On the Up (1990),Memento Mori (1992), and Wokenwell (1997). For the Royal Academy of Music, he created costumes or sets for four operas: Belisario (1972), The Fairy Queen Act IV: The Masque of the Seasons, Tobermory, and Trial by Jury (all 1977). His design work was the subject of five exhibitions held between 1959 and 1996.
Bayldon also wrote poetry, essays and fiction published in newspapers and books, and some of his poems and short stories were broadcast on radio. He is a cousin of the actor Geoffrey Bayldon.
Early life and education
Oliver Bayldon was born in Leicester and brought up in Rutland where, aged five, he decided he wanted to be a theatre designer after attending his first pantomime and being more impressed by the sets than by the acting.
In 1946, Bayldon joined Stamford School for eleven years, where he began to develop his design and production skills.
1946–1957: Stamford School
In December 1953, aged 15, he participated in the presentation of Shakespeare's Coriolanus by the school's Dramatic Society, for which he also designed and stencilled the soldiers' and crowd's costumes. A few weeks later, he organised a variety show called To-night's the Night with ballet, sketches and songs, in aid of one of his witty schemes: the "Morcott Dustbin Society". Morcott is a village near Barrowden - his family home - and was devoid of dustbins at the time. During an interview with the Stamford Mercury on 15 January 1954, Bayldon explained: "I was about to put on a show anyway, so I thought it would be a good idea to do one for a litter basket". The show was a success and raised £2 8s. towards a dustbin. Prior to the show, Bayldon had paid a visit to the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, and secured a batch of costumes which were no longer used.
At the end of 1954, the school produced Nikolai Gogol's The Government Inspector, for which Bayldon designed and painted the Victorian décor, as well as acting in the leading female part "with fine control of voice and features." In the spring of 1955, Bayldon designed the costumes for the school's production of Christopher Fry's The Boy with a Cart, a story of St. Cuthman, written as a legend of miracles and faith in the style of the mystery plays. In December 1955, the boys presented the first part of Shakespeare's Henry IV to a limited number of parents and friends; in addition to designing and painting the scenery, Bayldon played the role of the Archbishop of York.
In November 1956, a group of masters from the school, aided by wives and friends, produced an amusing version of Brandon Thomas's Charley's Aunt to raise money for new stage equipment; Bayldon was responsible for designing the scenery. For their end-of-term play in December 1957, the boys gave a public performance - the first to use Dudley Fitts's new translation - of Aristophanes's The Frogs, a Greek comedy produced at Athens in 405 B.C.. The play, for which Bayldon had painted the gateway, was produced under the scholarly guidance of Mr. Chapman, senior classics master.
1958–1961: Leicester College of Art
In 1958, Bayldon enrolled on a course of studies in Fine Arts and Textile Design at Leicester College of Art and Technology. He soon discovered that no amateur drama society existed, despite there being a fine stage. The Leicester Evening Mail would later quote him saying: "Attempts have often been made to get one going, but one or two people have been left to do all the work. So many students are committed to evening study that it is hard to organise a group." In July, he was awarded the Sir Jonathan North Endowment Scheme gold medal for his designs of costumes and set for a local adaptation of the musical My Fair Lady.
In August 1959, he launched his first exhibition, entitled Paintings and Stage Designs, at the Bookshop in King Street, Leicester. In December, he organised the college's Arts Ball at Leicester Palais on a "Medieval" theme, and led the ball - attended by 800 - in a knight's mailed armour, with plumed helmet. In March 1960, he was awarded £150 in the "Footwear" section of a design contest organised by the Royal Society of Arts industrial art bursaries. In May, St. Anthony Press, a private book publisher in Leicester, published one of Bayldon's poems, entitled "Morning", illustrated by Chris Shorten. The reviewer from the Leicester Evening Mail, stated that: "Mr. Bayldon is a young Leicester student who has had poems broadcast on the BBC Third Programme, and who is likely to have a successful career as a stage designer." In August, he wrote an article in the first issue of Crescent, one of Leicester's two privately published magazines. The Leicester Evening Mail reviewer wrote: "Oliver Bayldon, an articulate and perceptive writer, whose work has found favour with the BBC, tries to define art and says society must come to terms with it."
Later in 1960, Bayldon was invited by a local furniture store to attend the Furniture Exhibition in Manchester. The store manager was so impressed with Bayldon's comments that he commissioned him to assemble and decorate a living room and bedroom to his individual taste, a project he completed in November. The same month, Bayldon was among the students who plotted a hoax to publicise their year-end Arts Ball, as they began digging trenches in a bogus search for antiquities from an Egyptian mercenary camp site on the demolition plot where the new college was going to be built. After unearthing a medieval wall, bones, and pieces of ancient pottery, they alerted officials of Leicester Museum who became interested, and Bayldon decided to call off the hoax and continue with serious excavations.
In March 1961, he was again awarded £150 in another design contest organised by the Royal Society of Arts industrial art bursaries, this time in the "Stage and Television" section. On the strength of this RSA design award, he won an Arts Council New Designers trainee scheme, which would lead to his appointment as an assistant designer at the Northampton Repertory Theatre. In June, he was elected Fellow of the RSA. In August, Bayldon was one of the college's 39 students graduating with a National Diploma in Design. From August to November, he spent his RSA bursary undertaking a 14-weeks study tour to the United States, travelling through 13 states to study arts and design. On his return, he relayed his experiences in four articles published in the Stamford Mercury on successive Fridays, from 15 December 1961.
Career
1961–1963: Northampton Repertory Theatre
Shortly after returning from his US study tour in November 1961, 22-year-old Bayldon began a one-year apprenticeship on an Arts Council Scholarship at the Northampton Repertory Theatre, as an assistant to the long-serving regular designer Thomas Osborne Robinson. The design team included John Page, also 22, who had joined Robinson in 1959. In early 1962, Bayldon designed and produced banners for St. Mary's Church, in Glenfield, a village to the west of Leicester.
In September 1962, Page and Bayldon - who was about to start his second year at the Repertory, now as a designer - stood in for Robinson when he took a sabbatical to teach at Vanderbilt University until late 1963. They maintained Robinson's high design standards, and Bayldon was credited, for costumes or settings, on the playbills of:Guilty Party andMurder at Quay Cottage (both 1962), Babes in the Wood (1962–1963),The Shiny Surface,Write Me a Murder, andGo Back For Murder (all 1963). Bayldon would also act for the Repertory Theatre; he played "Ranjit, Fielding's servant" during the run of A Passage to India (17–29 September 1962) which included Ken Loach as "Mr Burton-Fletcher, a Civil Servant". It was Loach - on a trainee director's course backed by an ITV company at the time - who turned Bayldon's attention towards television.
On 23 February 1963, Bayldon launched a month-long exhibition, entitled Costume and Theatre Designs, at the Museum and Art Gallery, Northampton.
1963–1995: BBC Television and Royal Academy of Music
When Bayldon's second year at the Northampton Repertory Theatre was coming to an end, he received an advertisement from BBC Television to apply for a design assistant post for the forthcoming opening of a second BBC channel, BBC Two, which he secured. By early December 1963, he had already worked on programmes such as Compact, Dr. Finlay's Casebook, and other drama presentations. On 4 December, one of his poems, "A man in a crowd", was broadcast on BBC radio (Midland Region) in the programme Midland Poets. During an interview with the Stamford Mercury on 6 December, Bayldon commented on his appointment at the BBC: "Looking back, I think I was very fortunate in getting the right sort of grounding from Mr. Walter Douglas at Stamford School."
On 20 March 1964, another of his poems was read in the BBC Home Service's Midland Poets, at 9 pm. In December of that year, The Stage announced that Durwell Productions Ltd. were planning a March or April 1965 presentation of a new musical, Cupid & Psyche, with book and lyrics by Glyn Idris Jones and music by Kenny Clayton, and that Bayldon was scheduled to be the designer. He drew up sets and costumes for this show, which was never staged. In March 1965, Bayldon released his first book of verse, The Paper Makers Craft, published by Twelve by Eight Paper Mill & Private Press in Leicester, the only place in England where paper was still made by hand. The collection included his own free translation of a 17th century Latin poem, "Papyrus", by Father Imberdis S.J. of Ambert, the papermaking district of the Auvergne in France.
1966–1973
In 1966, Bayldon stage designed four episodes in the BBC television series Quick Before They Catch Us, which aired in September. He also designed episodes 99 and 100 of The Newcomers, and seven episodes of Meet the Wife. The following year, he designed three episodes each for Thirty-Minute Theatre andRoom at the Bottom, one episode, "Hughie", for Comedy Playhouse (Series 6), andone episode, "Bohuslav Martinů 1890-1959", for BBC2's Workshop programme (replayed on BBC1's Omnibus programme the following year). In 1968, he designedfive episodes for Till Death Us Do Part,three for Beggar My Neighbour,seven for The Railway Children, and one episode on Sir Tyrone Guthrie for An Evening with....
In 1969, he designed one episode, "These Men Are Dangerous: Mussolini", for the Thirty-Minute Theatre programme,three episodes each for The Troubleshooters and Dad's Army,all six episodes of The Gnomes of Dulwich - for which he and his colleague Peter Brachacki had to create giant-size scenery to surround the two garden gnomes portrayed by Terry Scott and Hugh Lloyd - andthree episodes of The Battle of St. George Without. In 1970, Bayldon designedone episode of Not in Front of the Children, four episodes each for Oh Brother! and The Troubleshooters, andtwo episodes each of Comedy Playhouse (Series 10) and Z-Cars. In 1971, he designed one episode, "Waugh Plays Cops and Robbers", for Thirty-Minute Theatre, andeight more episodes of Z-Cars.
In October 1971, the BBC began broadcasting the first series of The Onedin Line, for which Bayldon had designed six episodes, as well as another six episodes for the second series, aired in 1972. The filming in Exeter and Dartmouth involved many dramatic incidents at sea, for one of which he created a specially constructed steam pinnace, a period steamship complete with a 13-foot high funnel and a large boiler. Other scenes included a storm at sea and a ship on fire. The creation of bustling Victorian markets and docks presented many problems for the designer because any modern additions had either to be removed or hidden. This meant the complete removal of street signs, the covering of shop fronts, and even, on one occasion, the repainting of an entire house façade.
In February 1972, Bayldon was nominated in a short list of four television designers for the BAFTA award of Best Design of the Year for his work on The Onedin Line series. During this time, Bayldon also designed 17 individual costumes (plus nine design studies, each with several costume sketches) for the Goths and Bulgars in Donizetti's Belisario, which was produced by the Royal Academy of Music on the occasion of its 150th anniversary celebrations and performed at the Sadler’s Wells Theatre, on 8 to 11 March. From 25 August to 17 September, he presented illustrations of his set and costume designs - including stage sets for Il Trovatore and The Magic Flute - in an exhibition entitled Stage and Television Designs at the Herbert Art Gallery, Coventry. In February 1973, Bayldon and the entire BBC Design Team were nominated for a second BAFTA Television Design Award for The Onedin Line. In June, the BBC broadcast one episode, "Three's One", with Bayldon's design for the programme Play for Today, followed, in September and October, by four episodes of The Dragon's Opponent.
1974–1979
In early 1974, the BBC broadcast four episodes of The Liver Birds, with sets designed by Bayldon. In March and April 1975, BBC2 aired The Fight Against Slavery, a six-part dramatised documentary co-produced with Time Life, written by Evan Jones and directed by Christopher Ralling, with sets designed by Bayldon. This series was filmed on location in the West Country, West Africa and Jamaica. Between October 1975 and January 1976, BBC1 showed the first series of Poldark, based on the novels by Winston Graham and starring Angharad Rees and Robin Ellis, for which Bayldon designed all sixteen episodes. Over fifty sets had to be built for the programme, and a large section of copper mine had to be constructed in the film studios for scenes which occur in later episodes. Bayldon also designed sets for the television film version of D. H. Lawrence's The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd, shown on 5 May 1976. In late 1976, he produced designs for four episodes in the second series of When the Boat Comes In, for which he was once again nominated for a BAFTA award.
In 1977, Bayldon worked on the Velvet Glove series of dramatised biographies and designed those of Edith Cavell, Elizabeth Fry and the play on Lilian Baylis. In an interview with the Leicester Daily Mercury on 14 March 1977, Bayldon stated: "The research for these is often almost as interesting as the programmes themselves. It was somehow strange to be poring through boxes of Edith Cavell's private possessions or to search through treasured photographs at Lilian Baylis' original desk. The greatest challenge in these plays was to build a complete theatre in the studios, and also to recreate the horrors of Newgate prison in the 1800s." In April 1977, he produced designs for "A Choice of Evils", as part of Play for Today, followed, in October, by "Able's Will", for BBC2 Play of the Week. On 2 October, Gordon Burn interviewed Bayldon in an article for the Sunday Times Magazine entitled "All his own work - Ollie's living room sets the scene for the TV viewers", which explained Bayldon's approach to designing a living room for "Able's Will". During this period, he also designed costumes and sets for three short operas produced by the Royal Academy of Music for the Gala Opera Performance organised for the opening of the Sir Jack Lyons Theatre on 26 October 1977, inaugurated by HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, President of the RAM. These three pieces were: Henry Purcell's The Fairy Queen Act IV: The Masque of the Seasons, Gavin Ewart & John Gardner's Tobermory, and Gilbert & Sullivan's Trial by Jury, the latter after an interval. This performance was repeated on 28 and 31 October, and 1 November. At the end of the year, Bayldon created designs for all five episodes of the BBC's adaptation of Frederick Marryat's The Children of the New Forest, which aired in November and December.
In 1978, Bayldon made designs for "The Legion Hall Bombing", which aired in August for Play for Today, and worked on three episodes of Happy Ever After, starring Terry Scott and June Whitfield, shown in September and October. He designed The Dancing Princesses, broadcast in December, as a significantly modified television adaptation of the Brothers Grimm's fairy tale, directed by Ben Rea and featuring Jim Dale, Freddie Jones, and Gloria Grahame. During the latter part of 1978, Bayldon designed sets for the serialised TV adaptation of George Eliot's The Mill on the Floss, directed by Ronald Wilson and starring Christopher Blake, Pippa Guard, Judy Cornwell, Ray Smith and Anton Lesser; these eight episodes were broadcast from December 1978 to February 1979. In her review for The Stage on 4 January 1979, Jennifer Lovelace stated: "(...) So far, The Mill On The Floss is well up to standard. The quality of design (Oliver Bayldon) and costume (Caroline Maxwell) is sound and a little quickening of pace in future episodes will ensure that the traditions of the BBC Classic Serial are maintained."
1980–1985
From March to June 1980, BBC2 aired the TV series A Question of Guilt, with two cases set in the 1800s, "Constance Kent" and "Adelaide Bartlett" (eight episodes each), for which Bayldon designed Victorian sets. During an interview with the Stamford Mercury on 16 May 1980, he said: "It was a problem to recreate locations which either no longer existed, or had been totally changed in the name of redevelopment. We took immense pains to be as accurate as possible even to reconstructing an 1860 railway compartment in a gutted carriage, and building a realistic Victorian earth privy among the bushes. I believe we have been faithful to the facts as they were recorded". He also designed the production of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, directed by Jack Gold and produced by Jonathan Miller, which BBC2 aired on 17 December.
During 1981, Bayldon produced designs for the TV serial adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's Stalky & Co., directed by Rodney Bennett and produced by Barry Letts. Starring Robert Addie and David Parfitt, it was broadcast on BBC1 in a series of six weekly episodes from 31 January to 7 March 1982. The same year, Bayldon contributed elaborate sets for Shakespeare's first tetralogy (the Henry VI plays and Richard III) directed by Jane Howell and produced by Jonathan Miller, with costumes by John Peacock. Among the well-known television actors featured were: Julia Foster, Annette Crosbie, Frank Middlemass, Tenniel Evans, Trevor Peacock, and Bernard Hill. This project delivered four films aired on BBC2 as part of the BBC Television Shakespeare series, on successive Sundays throughout January 1983. About his decision to use a modern parquet floor as a deliberate violation of illusionist representation, Bayldon explained: "It stops the set from literally representing; it reminds us we are in a modern television studio." Stanley Wells commended this aspect of the production: "Jane Howell has dared to encourage us to remember that the action is taking place in a studio." In May 1983, Bayldon designed the BBC's TV adaptation of J.B. Priestley's Dangerous Corner for the programme Play of the Month.
In February and March 1984, Bayldon was the designer for the last seven (of thirteen) episodes of the TV adaptation of C. P. Snow's Strangers and Brothers. Later that year, he designed the set for BBC1's Review of the Year 1984, presented by Frank Bough and Selina Scott on 27 December. In March 1985, Bayldon designed the three-part adaptation of Oscar, starring Michael Gambon as Oscar Wilde during his trials and time in prison. Bayldon designed episode 9, "Windfall", for the second series of Big Deal, which aired in October, and also worked on the adaptation of Noel Coward's Star Quality: Me and the Girls, directed by Jack Gold and starring Tom Courtenay and Nichola McAuliffe, broadcast on 1 December 1985.
1986–1991
In 1986, Bayldon was made a Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers. That year, he designed two consecutive episodes for the programme ScreenPlay: "The Mozart Inquest" and "The Marlowe Inquest", directed by Anthony Garner, which aired on 27 August and 3 September. In 1987, he designed the second of three episodes of Gaudy Night, starring Edward Petherbridge, Harriet Walter, and Richard Morant, and directed by Michael Simpson from Philip Broadley's adaptation of Dorothy L. Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey novel of the same name; this second episode was broadcast on 20 May 1987.
In January 1989, BBC2 aired The Dark Angel, a three-part television adaptation of J. Sheridan Le Fanu's Uncle Silas, starring Peter O'Toole, Beatie Edney, Simon Shepherd, and Jane Lapotaire. In an article for Variety Television Reviews (1991-92), the reviewer - "Tone" - wrote: "Oliver Bayldon's rich design gives the production substance and finality." Writing about The Dark Angel for the Los Angeles Times, Ray Loynd wrote: "Don MacPherson's script is wafer-thin, genre period melodrama. But the nightmare is salvaged by O’Toole and production designer Oliver Bayldon's sickly rich decay."
In 1990, Bayldon designed sets for Never Come Back, a three-part crime drama created by David Pirie and starring Nathaniel Parker, James Fox, Jonathan Coy, Suzanna Hamilton, and Ingrid Lacey, aired on BBC2 over three successive Wednesdays from 21 March 1990. On 20 September, BBC2's Arena showed "Agatha Christie - Unfinished Portrait" for which Bayldon had designed and illustrated dramatic inserts highlighting incidents in Christie's childhood, including a nightmare sequence and a drawing of the novelist reading to her grandmother from a newspaper in the 1890s. On 12 October, Bayldon won a Royal Television Society Design Award for his work on Never Come Back, and was presented with his award by news presenter Sue Lawley at the London Hilton Hotel. Also in 1990, Bayldon produced sets for all seven episodes of the first series of On the Up, a situation comedy written by Bob Larbey and starring Dennis Waterman, Sam Kelly, Joan Sims, Jenna Russell, and Judy Buxton. The first series was shown on successive Tuesdays from 4 September to 16 October 1990.
In 1991, Bayldon created designs for "Do Not Disturb", an episode aired on 17 March 1991 in series seven of the BBC2 programme Screen Two, produced by Simon Passmore and directed by Nicholas Renton, and starring Frances Barber, Peter Capaldi, and Éva Darlan. In 1992, Bayldon was production designer for the BBC's adaptation of Muriel Spark's novel Memento Mori, directed by Jack Clayton and starring Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Thora Hird, Sir Michael Hordern, Stephanie Cole, and Zoë Wanamaker. This TV film was first broadcast on BBC2's Screen Two on 19 April 1992, and was awarded six nominations for the BAFTA Awards, with Bayldon winning in the Best TV Production Design category.
1992–1995
On 15 September 1992, BBC1's Omnibus programme broadcast "Angela Carter's Curious Room", a profile of the novelist and writer Angela Carter, filmed in the last months before her death. Bayldon was the designer, and his drawing of Carter's 1950 living room in Balham was published in the September 1992 edition of House & Garden. The following month, Bayldon was the production designer for "Seconds Out", an episode about the world of unlicensed boxing, broadcast on 4 October as part of series four of the BBC's Screen One anthology drama series.
In 1993, Bayldon created sets for two episodes of BBC2's Scene series for teenagers; the first, Dear Life, written by Sue Glover and directed by Jane Howell, was broadcast on 19 March; the second was a play by Tom Stoppard, A Separate Peace, which aired a week later. Later that year, Bayldon was production designer for "The Maitlands", the first episode in the third series of BBC2's Performance programme. It was directed by Lindsay Posner and produced by Simon Curtis, and aired on 13 November 1993, starring Eileen Atkins, Jennifer Ehle, Bill Nighy, Edward Fox, and Samuel West. In 1994, Bayldon designed sets for "Return to Blood River", the seventh episode in the tenth series of BBC2's Screen Two programme. It was directed by Jane Howell and produced by Peter Goodchild, and aired on 13 April 1994, starring Kevin McNally, Warren Clarke, Frances Barber, and Samantha Bond.
In January 1995, Bayldon was credited as production designer on The Plant, a science fiction film shown on BBC1, about an alien visitor to a London suburb; it was written and directed by Jonathan Lewis, and starred Joanna Roth, Valentine Pelka, and Eoin McCarthy. Later that year, Bayldon held his fourth exhibition on design visuals and illustrations for television and film at the British Academy of Film & Television Arts, 195 Piccadilly, London, from 9 October to 11 November.
1996–1997: Freelance
After going freelance when the BBC downsized, Bayldon returned as production designer for Into the Fire, a three-part television thriller drama mini-series first shown on BBC1 on 14 February 1996 for three consecutive nights; it was written by Tony Marchant, directed by Jane Howell, and starred Donal McCann, David Morrissey, Sharon Duce, and Sue Johnston. Two months later, Bayldon held his fifth exhibition, entitled Arts in the Vaults, at the Royal Society of Arts, 8 John Adam Street, London WC2, from 26 April until 26 July.
Bayldon's final project as a production designer was Wokenwell, a six-part television crime drama series, broadcast on ITV from 18 May 1997 to 22 June 1997. The series was created by screenwriter Bill Gallagher and produced by LWT, starring Ian McElhinney, Celia Imrie, Nicholas Gleaves, Lesley Dunlop, Jason Done and Nicola Stephenson.
Writing career
Bayldon retired from designing in 1997, and continued to write.Between 1987 and 1991, some of his short stories had already been read on the BBC Radio 4 programme, Morning Story: "Moya" (1987), "Model Responses New York Style" (1988), "Introductions à la Mode" (1988), "City Column" (1989), "Away from It All" (1989), "Sideways Promotion" (1989), and "Home from Home" (1991).
In addition to the two books already published in the 1960s, The Paper Makers Craft (1965) and Enigma I (1969), he wrote two more books: Acts of Defiance (2013) and Darkly Blows the Harmattan: Short Stories (2015). In 2013, he contributed illustrations to Mike Sharland's The Digby Stories.
Bayldon also wrote articles for magazines, following on from the four articles published in the Stamford Mercury (1961), in which he had related his experiences during a 14-weeks study tour in the US. In retirement, he wrote two articles for The Veteran, summarising his professional experiences: Creating a Visual Style (2013), and Filming in Perspective (2014), and two articles in Prospero: Memories: Ealing Studios remembered (2015), and an obituary for his colleague John Hurst, Senior TV production designer (2016).
Selected works
Stage
While at Stamford School in the 1950s, Bayldon designed sets for plays performed at the School Hall:
In the 1960s, Bayldon designed costumes and sets for the Northampton Repertory Theatre:
In the 1970s, Bayldon designed costumes and sets for four operas produced by the Royal Academy of Music:
- Belisario (1972) – costumes only
- The Fairy Queen Act IV: The Masque of the Seasons (1977) – set only
- Tobermory (1977) – set and costumes
- Trial by Jury (1977) – set and costumes
Television
Bayldon was Production Designer for the following television programmes (except where indicated):
- Quick Before They Catch Us (1966 TV Series) – 4 episodes
- The Newcomers (1965–1969 TV Series) – 2 episodes (1966)
- Meet the Wife (1966 TV Series) – 7 episodes
- Thirty-Minute Theatre (1967–1971 TV Series) – 5 episodes
- Room at the Bottom (1967 TV Mini Series) – 3 episodes
- Comedy Playhouse (1967–1970 TV Series) – 3 episodes
- Workshop (1967–1975 TV Series) – 1 episode (1967)
- Till Death Us Do Part (1968 TV Series) – 4 episodes
- Beggar My Neighbour (1968 TV Series) – 3 episodes
- The Railway Children (1968 TV Mini Series) – 7 episodes
- An Evening with... (1968 TV Series) – 1 episode
- The Troubleshooters (1969–1970 TV Series) – 7 episodes
- Dad's Army (1969 TV Series) – 3 episodes
- The Gnomes of Dulwich (1969 TV Series) – 6 episodes
- The Battle of St. George Without (1969 TV Series) – 3 episodes
- Not in Front of the Children (1970 TV Series) – 1 episode
- Oh Brother! (1970 TV Series) – 4 episodes
- Z Cars (1970–1972 TV Series) – 11 episodes
- The Onedin Line (1971–1972 TV Series) – 12 episodes
- Doomwatch (1972 TV Series) – 1 episode
- Play for Today (1973–1978 TV Series) – 3 episodes
- The Dragon's Opponent (1973 TV Series) – 4 episodes
- The Liver Birds (1974 TV Series) – 4 episodes
- The Fight Against Slavery (1975 TV Mini Series) – 6 episodes
- Poldark (1975–1976 TV Series) – 16 episodes
- The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd (1976 TV Movie)
- When the Boat Comes In (1976–1977 TV Series) – 4 episodes
- The Velvet Glove (1977 TV Series) – 3 episodes
- BBC2 Play of the Week (1977 TV Series) – 1 episode
- The Children of the New Forest (1977 TV Series) – 5 episodes
- Happy Ever After (1978 TV Series) – 3 episodes
- The Dancing Princesses (1978 TV Movie)
- The Mill on the Floss (1978–1979 TV Mini Series) – 8 episodes
- BBC2 Playhouse (1980–1982 TV Series) – 3 episodes
- A Question of Guilt (1980–1982 TV Series) – 16 episodes
- The Merchant of Venice (1980 TV Movie)
- Stalky & Co. (1982 TV Mini Series) – 6 episodes
- Objects of Affection (1982 TV Series) – 1 episode
- The First Part of King Henry VI (1983 TV Movie)
- The Second Part of King Henry VI (1983 TV Movie)
- The Third Part of King Henry VI (1983 TV Movie)
- The Tragedy of Richard III (1983 TV Movie)
- BBC Play of the Month (1983 TV Series) - 1 episode
- Strangers and Brothers (1984 TV Series) – 9 episodes
- Oscar (1985 TV Series) – 3 episodes
- Big Deal (1985 TV Series) – 1 episode
- Me and the Girls (1985 TV Movie) – Art Director
- The Paul Daniels Magic Show (1985 TV Series) – 1 episode
- ScreenPlay (1986 TV Series) – 2 episodes
- A Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery (1987 TV Series) – 1 episode
- An Affair in Mind (1988 TV Movie) – Art Director
- The Dark Angel (1989 TV Mini Series) – 3 episodes
- Never Come Back (1990 TV Mini Series) – 3 episodes
- On the Up (1990 TV Series) – 7 episodes
- Arena (1990 TV Series) – 1 episode
- Screen Two (1991–1994 TV Series) – 3 episodes (incl. Memento Mori in 1992)
- Omnibus (1992 TV Series) – 1 episode
- Screen One (1992 TV Series) – 1 episode
- Scene (1968–2002 TV Series) – uncredited; 2 episodes (1993)
- Performance (1991–1998 TV Series) – Art Designer; 1 episode (1993)
- The Plant (1995 TV Movie)
- Into the Fire (1996 TV Mini Series) – 3 episodes
- Wokenwell (1997 TV Series) – 6 episodes
Radio
Bayldon wrote the following short stories, read on the BBC Radio 4 programme, Morning Story:
Exhibitions
- 1959 – Paintings and Stage Designs. Bookshop, King Street, Leicester (August 1959)
- 1963 – Costume and Theatre Designs. Museum and Art Gallery, Guildhall Road, Northampton (23 February 1963 - 23 March 1963)
- 1972 – Stage and Television Designs. Herbert Art Gallery, Coventry (25 August 1972 - 17 September 1972)
- 1995 – Oliver Bayldon at 195. The British Academy of Film & Television Arts, 195 Piccadilly, London W1 (9 October 1995 - 11 November 1995)
- 1996 – Arts in the Vaults. Royal Society of Arts, 8 John Adam Street, London WC2 (26 April 1996 - 26 July 1996)
Collections
Bayldon’s designs for opera are held in the public collections of the Royal Academy of Music, London. A collection of 45 costume and set designs by Bayldon from the 1970s can also be viewed on the Academy’s website.
Publications
Books
- The Paper Makers Craft (1965)
- Enigma I (1969) – Collective work, including four poems by Bayldon
- Acts of Defiance (2013)
- Darkly Blows the Harmattan: Short Stories (2015)
Articles
- Four articles about his 14-weeks US study tour (1961); published in the Stamford Mercury
- Creating a Visual Style (2013); published in The Veteran
- Filming in Perspective (2014); published in The Veteran
- Memories: Ealing Studios remembered (2015); published in Prospero
- Obituaries: John Hurst (2016); published in Prospero
Awards and fellowships
Family connections
He is related to the actor Geoffrey Bayldon.
See also
References
Sources
Books
- Book: Bayldon
, Oliver
. The Paper Makers Craft . 1965 . 1st . softcover; small 8vo., hand-made self-paper wrappers. 4 pages. Printed on Mason's handmade paper. . The verse by Oliver Bayldon and the illustrations by Rigby Graham. . Leicester . Twelve by Eight Paper Mill & Private Press . .
- Book: Bayldon
, Oliver
. 2013 . 1st . softcover . Acts of Defiance . London . Willow eBooks . 978-1-909473-00-3.
- Book: Bayldon
, Oliver
. 2015 . 1st . softcover . Darkly Blows the Harmattan: Short Stories . London . B00WRGN6SS.
- Book: Cotton . John . Rigby . Graham . John Cotton, Graham Rigby, Patrick Bridgewater, John Minton, Margaret McCord, Oliver Bayldon . Enigma I . 1969 . 1st . softcover . Leicester . Cog Press . . (...) Five Poems by John Cotton; Two Typograms by Patrick Bridgewater; Three Drawings by John Minton; Two Screen Prints by Margaret McCord; Four Poems by Oliver Bayldon; Priapus the Growth of a Magazine by John Cotton; and (...) T. E. Lawrence & the Seizin Press of Robert Graves, by Rigby Graham. .
- Book: Dollimore . Jonathan . Jonathan Dollimore . Sinfield . Alan . Alan Sinfield . Political Shakespeare: Essays in Cultural Materialism . 1994 . 2nd Revised . 1985 . hardcover . Manchester, UK . Manchester University Press . 978-0-7190-4352-9 . 222. The set [of [[Jane Howell]]'s productions of the first historical tetralogy], modelled on an adventure playground in Fulham, was designed to suggest the locations of popular drama - 'we thought of fairgrounds and circuses and mystery plays' as well as familiar modern environments, a children's playground or a burnt-out building site. It was constructed to appear deliberately non-naturalistic: thus allowing the play to express both historical and contemporary meanings. Oliver Bayldon, the set-designer, explained his decision to use a modern parquet floor as a deliberate violation of illusionist representation: 'It stops the set from literally representing... it reminds us we are in a modern television studio'. Stanley Wells commended this aspect of the production: 'Jane Howell has dared to encourage us to remember that the action is taking place in a studio'.-->.
- Book: Foulkes
, Richard
. . Repertory at The Royal. Sixty-Five Years of Theatre in Northampton 1927–92 . 1992 . 1st . hardcover . Northampton, UK . Northampton Repertory Players . 978-0-9505442-1-2 . 119. The theatre had been without the services of [Tom] Osborne Robinson during 1962–1963 when he was teaching at Vanderbilt University in the United States. Oliver Bayldon and John Page were scenic designers in his absence.--> .
- Book: Jones
, Glyn Idris
. Glyn Jones (South African writer)
. Glyn Jones (South African writer) . No Official Umbrella . 2008 . 1st . softcover . . DCG Publications . 978-960-98418-0-1 . 103 . 2 October 2023 . books.google.co.uk. I tried a few years back (...) to get them interested in Cupid & Psyche, but they all thought it was too rude. Oliver Bayldon, a designer with the BBC, loved the idea and rendered some beautiful costumes and set designs.-->.
- Book: Mander and Mitchenson
. Mander . Raymond . Mitchenson . Joe . Mander and Mitchenson . . 2000 . 1957 . Theatrical Companion to Coward . 2nd . hardcover . London . Oberon Books . 553. Star Quality: Me and the Girls. Broadcast on 1 December 1985, BBC. Director: Jack Gold. With Tom Courtenay, Nichola McAuliffe.--> . 978-1-84002-054-0.
- May . Thomas William . PhD . A history and interpretive analysis of play for today, (BBC1, 1970–1984) . 3.9.1. 'Lovely scenery' or 'all depressing from a visual angle': aesthetics and production style . January 2023 . . . 143 . [The viewers] loved the designs Barrie Dobbins, Susan Spence, Oliver Bayldon and Richard Henry produced for Rocky Marciano is Dead, Housewives' Choice (both 1976), A Choice of Evils and The Country Party (both 1977), respectively (...).-->.
- Book: Miller . David . Price . Richard . British Poetry Magazines 1914–2000 . 2006 . 1st . hardcover . London & New Castle, Del. . The British Library & Oak Knoll Press . 978-0-7123-4941-3 . 93 . Crescent / edited by R. Brian de L'Troath. Leicester: [Crescent], Vol. 1 no. 1 (Nov. 1959)-no. 3 (Summer 1960). The first issue's subtitle, "A Leicester magazine devoted to the arts and matters of topical interest", illustrates the locus of interest here. In the first issue there's a memoir of W. H. Davies by Samuel J. Looker, an article on the patronising nature of the Soviet Union's alleged implementation of arts programmes, short stories, a review of Leicester-born Colin Wilson's Age of Defeat, artwork from local artists, an "abstract" poem by R. O. M. Bayldon, and a free verse poem by the editor. Production values went up a notch from a typed stencil to commercial vari-typing with the last issue. BL: P.P.488ud..
- Book: Prouty
. Variety Television Reviews, Vol. 17 (1991–92) . 1994 . 1st . hardcover . Abingdon-on-Thames, UK . Routledge . 978-0-8240-3796-3 . 30 . 24 November 2023 . books.google.co.uk. The Dark Angel. Filmed in England by the BBC and TV New Zealand. Producer, Joe Waters; (...) production designer, Oliver Bayldon; (...). Oliver Bayldon's rich design gives the production substance and finality.--> .
- Book: Sharland
, Mike
. Illustrations by Oliver Bayldon . 2013 . The Digby Stories . softcover . Exeter . Imprint Digital .
- Book: Studley
, Vance
. The Art & Craft of Handmade Paper . 2012 . New . softcover . . Dover Publications . 978-0-486-26421-9 . 63 . 18 December 2023 . books.google.co.uk. Oliver Bayldon has freely translated a papermaker's Latin poem from the seventeenth century, that in part reads: "The blocks begin their hobnail dance (...). The poem is highly flavoured with the kind of activity which is so essential to good paper beating (...).--> .
Magazines and newspapers
- News: IMAGINATIVE PRODUCTION - Stamford School Presents Shakespearean Roman Tragedy . 18 December 1953 . . . 12,595 . 8; col.5–6. The Stamford School Dramatic Society's presentation of Coriolanus, the last of Shakespeare's three Roman tragedies, performed in the School-hall Friday and Saturday, was notable for the imagination shown in its production, and there seemed no end to the artifice and effect on which Mr. H. B. Sharp, the producer, was able to draw in giving the players and audience a rewarding two hours. Coriolanus has been described as "rather tedious". Little wonder, therefore, that it has probably never before been acted in Stamford, for it is a play with little attraction to the professional theatre, let alone the amateur stage. Consequently, the School society showed commendable courage in tackling the work, and the success they achieved was due to the vigorous, forthright manner in which they addressed themselves to their task. A free and well-timed use of the stage, an ingenious employment of lighting and the excellence of the grouping of the players revealed a high standard of stage-craft. For the most part the costumes were colourfully simple, and there was no elaborate scenery. The production succeeded or failed by its method of presentation and by the performances of the boys themselves. And the latter matched the inventiveness of the production. They handled long and involved speeches remarkably well, were at their best when war-like, threatening or scheming and entered into everything with an engaging enthusiasm. (...) Mrs B. L. Deed and Miss Fawkes helped with the soldiers' and crowd's costumes, which had been designed and stencilled bv R. O. M. Bayldon. (...).--> . subscription . 19 December 2023 . . .
- News: BIRTH OF "MORCOTT DUSTBINS" - A Crazy Story About a Litter Basket . 15 January 1954 . Stamford Mercury . Stamford . 12,599 . 1; col.3–6. This unusual story began a few months ago, when, as a joke, Oliver [Bayldon] conjured up his "Morcott Dustbin Society." (...) Said Oliver: "The village gets a bit untidy during the summer, what with ice cream papers and that sort of thing." (...) Oliver, besides being an artist of no mean ability - he hopes to become a scenery designer - is also keenly interested in theatricals. He has been staging children's shows since he was nine. "I was about to put on a show anyway," said Oliver, so I thought it would be a good idea to do one for a litter basket". The show was put on in the New Barn on Friday. "It seems to have been a great success," said Oliver. "We got £2 8s. and this will go towards a litter basket." (...) The young artistes had the benefit of costumes from the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden. Recently, Oliver paid a visit to the theatre and was promised a batch of costumes which are no longer used. Later his father picked them up. The show, a variety entertainment, was given the title of To-night's the Night. It included ballet, sketches and songs (...).--> . subscription . 8 November 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: AMUSING STORY BY SCHOLARS - Russian play chosen . 17 December 1954 . Stamford Mercury . Stamford . 12,647 . 5; col.5–6. Nicola Gogol's The Government Inspector proved to be an excellent choice for this year's Stamford School production, providing many colourful small parts for untried actors. Many new actors who came forward to show their merits, made these small parts live. The play was presented on Friday and Saturday. The performers enjoyed the humorous situations and the many possibilities of character portrayal that the play affords, and the audiences responded warmly. (...) [T]he audience could enjoy the Victorian décor skilfully designed and painted by R. O. M. Bayldon, who also acted the leading female part with fine control of voice and features. (...).--> . subscription . 19 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Boys made Shakespeare so enjoyable . 16 December 1955 . Stamford Mercury . Stamford . 12,699 . 9; col.8. It is not the function of a school to entertain, and when boys of Stamford School presented the first part of Shakespeare's King Henry the Fourth on Friday and Saturday, the only visitors to see them were a limited number of parents and friends. It is a tribute in itself to pass on the view of more than one of them that the preparation and the presentation deserved wider audiences. (...) Mr. M. J. Henley fully deserved the curtain call he took at the end as producer, and costumes and scenery left nothing to be desired. Other characters were: (...) Archbishop of York, R. O. M. Bayldon; (...) The scenery was designed and painted by R. O. M. Bayldon (...).--> . subscription . 19 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: We must see more of this talent - 'Charley's Aunt' . 2 November 1956 . Stamford Mercury . Stamford . 12,745 . 7; col.1–2. There was a wonderful sense of satisfaction in the production of Charley's Aunt by Brandon Thomas, a well-known favourite, last week in Stamford School Hall. It was a relish to remember. "The talented company of local actors" which gave the performances was, in fact, a group of masters from the School, aided by wives and friends, finding this an enjoyable way of raising money for new stage equipment. The producers, Messrs. H. B. Sharp and J. H. S. Mowat, had rehearsed their cast thoroughly, and the whole company worked as a team to gain full benefit from this opportunity for a piece of clowning. Schoolmasters know how to act the fool! The scene of Charley's Aunt is Oxford during the Commemoration Week of 1892. The plot centres on a man in skirts. (...) Responsible for the scenery, property and lighting (...) were R. O. M. Bayldon, R. Foster and P. J. Snelson. It is to be hoped that the same talented company will once again demonstrate its powers. All too seldom is the public allowed to see schoolmasters clowning; such sites are reserved for their pupils.--> . subscription . 20 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: A Greek Play at School - 'The Frogs' . 20 December 1957 . Stamford Mercury . Stamford . 12,804 . 13; col.4–5. For their end-of-term play, the boys of Stamford School performed The Frogs of Aristophanes, a Greek comedy produced at Athens in 405 B.C. The translation used, a new one by Dudley Fitts, was given its first public performance under the imaginative and scholarly guidance of Mr. Chapman, senior classics master. It may have surprised the audience that so many of the jokes could be appreciated today. (...) This highly entertaining and polished production will rank among the most notable dramatic enterprises of the school. (...) Gateway painted by R. O. M. Bayldon.--> . subscription . 20 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Gold Medal for Oakham Youth . 11 July 1958 . Leicester Evening Mail . . 10; col.1. (...) The winner of the Sir Jonathan North Endowment Scheme gold medal for design is 20-year-old Richard O. M. Bayldon, of Brookleigh, Barrowden, near Oakham. He was a pupil of Stamford Grammar School. The award was made for his design of costumes and set for the musical My Fair Lady.--> . subscription . 6 July 2024--> . British Newspaper Archive . .
- . The Stamfordian . News from Old Boys . 1958 . Summer Term . 164 . Stamford . . 779. R. O. M. Bayldon has received an award at Leicester Art College for his design of theatrical costumes and sets.--> . .
- News: ONE-MAN SHOW . 8 August 1959 . Leicester Daily Mercury . Leicester . . 6; col.3–5. A one-man exhibition of paintings and stage designs by a Leicester College of Art student, Mr. Oliver Bayldon, will be opened on Monday. [...] He has designed many of the sets for the Leicester University Drama Society and the French Circle. His exhibits at a bookshop in King's Street and Regent Road include many of the original model set designs. On display, too, will be drawings and paintings of characters for costumer purposes, paintings and monotones, with printed fabrics decorating the walls.--> . subscription . 25 September 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Merry medieval moments . 8 December 1959 . Leicester Evening Mail . Leicester . 15,267 . 11; col.1. After spending weeks on what was to have been the pride of their Arts Ball at Leicester Palais last night, students found themselves in trouble with fire brigade authorities. They had constructed a huge dragon from tin and cardboard. Gaily painted, it was place inside the main entrance at the dancehall. Then a fire officer ordered them to take it away. He said it was obstructing a fire exit. The students argued that there were several fire exits around the hall and that it was not causing a troublesome obstruction. But the officer was adamant. The 30-feet long, 10-ft. high dragon had to be dismantled. Parts of it were used to decorate the corners of the hall. Theme of the ball, attended by about 800, was "Medieval", but many students either had a bad sense of history or could not find suitable costumes. (...) Organiser Mr. Oliver Bayldon, led the authentic array in magnificent knight's mailed armour, with plumed helmet. Knights of St. George, having no dragon to fight, did mock battle with Saracens, whose survivors were led to the gallows which formed a motif.--> . subscription . 12 November 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Midland Successes in Design Contest Awards are announced in the Royal Society of Arts industrial art bursaries. . 12 March 1960 . . . 23. (...) Richard Bayldon, aged 21, Leicester College of Art. Footwear: Bursary of £l5O. (...)-->. subscription . 6 July 2024--> . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Two poems . 20 May 1960 . Leicester Evening Mail . Leicester . 15,405 . 2; col.5. Every few weeks something new and interesting comes from Leicester's private Press movement. There are two such interests now operating. (...) Another St. Anthony Press publication, also devoted to one poem, is entitled "Morning". This is a poem by Oliver Bayldon, illustrated by Chris Shorten. Mr Bayldon is a young Leicester student who has had poems broadcast on the BBC Third Programme, and who is likely to have a successful career as a stage designer.--> . subscription . 12 November 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Twice a year now . 17 August 1960 . Leicester Evening Mail . Leicester . 15,481 . 2; col.4–5. Leicester's two privately published magazines - one devoted to the arts and general topics, the other to poetry - are to appear less frequently. When Crescent made its first appearance towards the end of last year, editor Brian de L'Throat wanted to bring it out every two months. Now he has decided it shall appear only twice a year. (...) The current issue of Crescent, first to be printed professionally, is well illustrated and has some lively articles. Writers discuss the artist's place in modern society, and there is a plea from John S. Clarke to poets with formal education not to be overcome by technique. Oliver Bayldon, an articulate and perceptive writer, whose work has found favour with the BBC, tries to define art and says society must come to terms with it.--> . subscription . 13 November 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Students' Hoax Reveals Real Relics . 10 November 1960 . Birmingham Daily Post . Birmingham . 31,846 . 7; col.1. Students at Leicester College of Arts, as a hoax to publicise their arts ball, began digging trenches on ground near the college in a bogus search for antiquities and suddenly unearthed a medieval wall, bones, and pieces of ancient pottery. Officials of Leicester Museum became interested, so Mr Oliver Bayldon, one of the students, has called off the hoax and decided to continue with serious excavations.--> . subscription . 20 November 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Convincing Tale . 10 November 1960 . Leicester Daily Mercury . Leicester . . 17. (...) Oliver Bayldon, while helping to organise the Arts Ball, had the enterprising wheeze of finding an Egyptian mercenary camp site on the demolition plot where the new college is going to be built. (...)-->. subscription . 6 July 2024--> . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Almey . Kaye . Designs for Living: 2–YOUNG IDEA . 19 November 1960 . Leicester Daily Mercury . Leicester . . 7; col.5–6. (...) Bearded twenty-one-year-old Leicester College of Art student, Oliver Bayldon, acquired his first close contact with modern domestic furniture when a local store, eager to test a young reaction to a trade show, invited him along to the Furniture Exhibition in Manchester earlier this year. His comments so impressed experienced viewers that Mr. Bayldon was invited, with a carte blanche selection of store stock, to assemble and decorate a living room and bedroom to his individual taste. Mr. Bayldon's creed for young homes is built on areas of warm colours - he carpeted his living room with vermilion, sharpened up the bedroom with citron yellow - and the gradual collection, when money is tight, of good pieces of furniture rather than making a more complete start with cheaper lines. He showed marked enthusiasm for fireplaces in the centre of a living room rather than attached to a wall. [Photo caption:] The young idea of what a living room should look like. Leicester College of Art student, Mr. Oliver Bayldon, who planned it, chose a curved settee in charcoal and deep blue, vermilion carpet and scatter cushion, a round supper table, room dividers and a low long sideboard. His own pictures on the wall.--> . subscription . 20 November 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: FINE STAGE: NO SOCIETY . 13 January 1961 . Leicester Evening Mail . Leicester . 15,607 . 6; col.5–6. It seems strange that no amateur drama society exists at Leicester College of Art and Technology where there is a fine stage. Oliver Bayldon, a student who organises the arts ball, said: "Attempts have often made to get one going, but one or two people have been left to do all the work. So many students are committed to evening study that it is hard to organise a group." At the university, Sartre plays are being read to see which one the students could best produce.--> . subscription . 20 November 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Art student wins £150 . 17 March 1961 . Stamford Mercury . Stamford . About People . 10. (...) Mr. R. O. M. Bayldon was awarded £150 by the Royal Society of Arts in the stage and television section of the competition; a set and costumes had to be designed, and Mr. Bayldon was praised for the excellence of his entry. Mr. Bayldon, an Old Boy of Stamford School, gained an award in a similar competition last year. (...)-->. subscription . 6 July 2024--> . British Newspaper Archive . .
- Industrial Art Bursaries: 1960 Competition . April 1961 . RSA Journal . 109 . 5057 . 328–338, 330 . FILM, STAGE AND TELEVISION SETTINGS. Bursaries: Richard Bayldon (Leicester College of Art: age 22). . . London . 41366885 . registration . 2 October 2023 . . .
- News: CITY EXAM SUCCESSES . 11 August 1961 . Leicester Evening Mail . Leicester . 15,786 . 5; col.1–2. Fifty-eight students at Leicester College of Art were successful in the recent Ministry of Education art examinations. Of this number, 19 gained their intermediate examination in art and crafts, while the other 39 were awarded national diplomas in design. (...) National Diploma in Design: (...) Richard Oliver M. Bayldon, 2 Lexham Street; (...).--> . subscription . 20 November 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: OLD BOY IN THE STATES - He finds their traffic a terrifying nightmare . 15 December 1961 . Stamford Mercury . Stamford . 13,012 . 8; col.2–3. Old Stamfordian, Mr. Oliver M. Bayldon, of Barrowden, who recently took an appointment with the Northampton Repertory Company, has recently returned from the United States of America where he spent about 14 weeks studying art and design on a Royal Society of Arts Industrial Design Bursary. He gained some interesting insights into life there and relates them in this and other articles to follow. (...)--> . subscription . 8 February 2024 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: WHY HE DOES NTO WANT TO LIVE THERE - Mr. Oliver Bayldon explains . 22 December 1961 . Stamford Mercury . Stamford . 13,013 . 6; col.3–6. Mr. R. O. M. Bayldon, the old Stamfordian, whose home is at Barrowden, recently visited America, and in this, his second article, he tells why he would not care to live there. (...)--> . subscription . 8 February 2024 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Mr. BAYLDON SEES THE FALL-OUT SHELTERS GO UP IN USA - Fear and insecurity felt there . 29 December 1961 . Stamford Mercury . Stamford . 13,014 . 6; col.2–5. Will there be a war? That was the great question in America a few weeks ago when Mr. Oliver Bayldon, whose home is at Barrowden, and who is an Old Stamfordian, was there. He has already written on this page in previous issues, articles in which he spoke generally of his travels. This week he discusses America's attitude to world affairs, which, he says, is a difficult problem and is affected by so many aspects. (...)--> . subscription . 8 February 2024 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Another Rutland is having to fight - Together with Oakham (Mass.) . 5 January 1962 . Stamford Mercury . Stamford . 13,015 . 6; col.6–7. Concluding his articles concerning his visit to America, Mr. Oliver M. Bayldon, an Old Stamfordian, whose home is at Barrowden and who holds an appointment at the Northampton Repertory Theatre, reveals that while Rutland is again fighting for its existence, two counties in Massachusetts, Rutland and Oakham, are also involved with a boundary commission. (...)--> . subscription . 8 February 2024 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: ART IN THE HOME AND STREET: Leicester Students Can Provide It . 16 February 1962 . Leicester Chronicle . Leicester . 1,928 . 4; col.3–4. (...) The banners at St. Mary's Church, Glenfield, came from the drawing board of Mr. Oliver Bayldon, one of the college's top students last year. He won the Arts Council award for drama and stage design and toured the United States on the bursary. He is now the stage designer for Northampton Repertory Company. (...)--> . subscription . 20 November 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Talented Young Men in the Paint-Shop . 7 June 1962 . . . 4,234 . 16; col.4. Two talented young men are to be found in Osborne Robinson's paint-shop at Northampton Repertory. They are Oliver Bayldon and John Page, both aged 22. Oliver, who has been training under Mr. Robinson since last November, holds one of the first three bursaries for stage design to be presented by the Arts Council. A former art student of Leicester School of Art, he spent three months last year touring the United States by means of a bursary awarded by the Royal Society of Arts.--> . subscription . 28 November 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Taking Over from Osborne Robinson . 2 August 1962 . The Stage . London . 4,242 . 5; col.6. When Osborne Robinson, scenic designer at Northampton Repertory since 1928, leaves for a stay in the United States in September, his job will be taken over temporarily by his present assistant, 22-year-old John Page, who has been with him for the past three years. Mr. Page will be assisted by Oliver Bayldon, who is also 22. He holds one of the first three bursaries for stage design to be presented by the Arts Council.--> . subscription . 28 November 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Babes in the Wood - Northampton Repertory Theatre . 28 December 1962 . Wolverton Express . . 3,220 . 6; col.5. Costumes designed by Oliver Bayldon--> . subscription . 30 November 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: NORTHAMPTON - Babes in the Wood . 3 January 1963 . The Stage . London . 4,264 . 29; col.3. The Northampton Repertory Company pantomime, Babes in the Wood, looks like being one of the "best-ever", for there is something for everyone to enjoy in this spirited, well-presented and melodious entertainment. There is a well-written book by Alan and K. Brown and the expensively mounted sets by John Page closely blend with elaborate costumes designed by Oliver Bayldon and made in the theatre workshop by Emily Tuckley and staff. The smooth production is a credit to Terry Craig-Browne and his back stage helpers.--> . subscription . 30 November 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: About people . 25 January 1963 . Stamford Mercury . Stamford . 13,070 . 12; col.2. Old Stamfordian Mr. Oliver M. Bayldon, of Barrowden, designed the costumes and is playing a small part in the Northampton Repertory pantomime Babes in the Wood. Mr. Bayldon is employed as co-designer at the theatre and is to have an exhibition of stage and costume designs at Northampton Museum and Art Gallery starting on February 23.--> . subscription . 25 September 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Designs on show at Northampton . 7 March 1963 . The Stage . London . 4,273 . 16; col.6. Assistant prop designer at the Northampton Repertory Theatre, Oliver Bayldon is holding his first public exhibition of costumes and scenic designs at the Art Gallery, Northampton. The exhibition was opened by Lionel Hamilton, director of productions. Mr. Bayldon came to Northampton under an Arts Council bursary in November 1961 to train under Osborne Robinson and stayed as assistant to John Page who has taken over for a period while Mr. Robinson is in America.--> . subscription . 30 November 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Blackmail underlies . 28 March 1963 . The Stage . London . 4,276 . 32; col.4. What lies under the shiny surface of TV personality Elliott Marshall is shown in a few very important days in his home life in this new play by Roy Plomley. (...) Lionel Hamilton's direction maintains a steady pace with the tension well built up particularly in the final act. The double set by Oliver Bayldon is important to the atmosphere of the play as well as being attractive.--> . subscription . 1 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Looking back at Northampton . 18 July 1963 . The Stage . London . 4,292 . 16; col.5–6. (...) Of this season's productions outstanding were The Party, with Valeric Bland and Johnathan Adams, Storm Lantern, in which David Lyn played Lloyd George, Photo Finish, with Jonathan Adams, John Cheffins, Alan Brown and Mark Lewes as the four Sams, the musical Love From Judy, with Yvonne Marlowe as a captivating Judy, Babes in the Wood, one of the best-ever pantomimes in which Lionel Hamilton again excelled as the Dame, The Rivals, with Vera Lennox as Mrs. Mala-prop, Jean Anouilh's The Rehearsal, and A Passage To India. The company's second revue Summer Heyday was a big disappointment as it was nowhere up to the standard of last year's All of a Twist. The premiere of Roy Plomley's The Shiny Surface was notable for the appearance of Vic Oliver as guest star. Other guest artists included Tenniel Evans (a former member of the company) with Chairmain Eyre in The Keep. Peter Vernon in Babes in the Wood and Love from Judy, Diana Scougall, Peggy Aitchison, Eleanor McCready, Pamela Sholto and William Gidley (in pantomime). Trainee director Kenneth Loach, who came to Northampton under the sponsorship of A.B.C. T V., left in November and his place was taken by Ronald Hayman. During the absence of scenic designer Osborne Robinson, in America, John Page and Oliver Bayldon have kept up the high standard associated with this company. (...) The company finished the season with an elegant production of Somerset Maugham's The Circle.--> . subscription . 1 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: A television designer . 6 December 1963 . Stamford Mercury . Stamford . 13,115 . 10; col.5. R. Oliver Bayldon, of 13 Cranley Gardens, South Kensington, an Old Stamfordian whose parents live at Barrowden, has joined the BBC Television design department as an assistant designer. Mr. Bayldon spent two years at Northampton Repertory Theatre, the first on an Arts Council Scholarship and the second as a designer, and he believes that these two years are standing him in good stead for his work in television. He has already worked on programmes as varied as Compact and Dr. Findlay's Casebook and various drama presentations. Mr. Bayldon had yet another of his poems, "A man in a crowd", broadcast on BBC radio (Midland Region) in the programme Midland Poets, on Wednesday (Dec. 4). Mr. Bayldon, who hopes to eventually become a designer in his own right, told the Mercury: 'Looking back, I think I was very fortunate in getting the right sort of grounding from Mr. Walter Douglas at Stamford School.'--> . subscription . 1 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: About people . 20 March 1964 . Stamford Mercury . Stamford . 13,130 . 2; col.7. Oliver Bayldon, the Barrowden BBC television designer, will have poetry read in T. D. Tosswill's programme Midland Poets in the BBC Home Service at 9 p.m. this evening.--> . subscription . 1 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Chit Chat - 'Cupid' . 31 December 1964 . The Stage . London . 4,368 . 6; col.6. (...) About March or April of next year Durwell Productions Ltd. are planning to present a new musical, Cupid, with book and lyrics by Glyn Jones and music by Kenny Clayton. The book is based on the Cupid and Psyche legend, reset in Edwardian London. The designer is Oliver Bayldon.--> . subscription . 1 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Paper making inspires local poet . 5 March 1965 . Stamford Mercury . Stamford . 13,180 . 1; col.8. Mr. Oliver Bayldon, who was at Stamford School from 1946 to 1957 (his home is at Barrowden) has had published a book of verse, The Paper Makers Craft. Mr. Bayldon, who has had verse broadcast and published over a number of years, chanced one day to visit a small paper mill, and he watched entranced the transmutation of growing things into sheets of textured paper. He subsequently returned to the mill at Leicester with sacks of stalks, roots and leaves, and stayed to turn them into paper. Later he brought to the paper maker verses, his own free translation of a 17th century Latin poem "Papyrus" by Father Imberdis S.J. of Ambert, the papermaking district of the Auvergne in France. Some of the coloured paper in the book (price £5 5s.) was made at the Twelve by Eight mill in Leicester, the only place in England where paper is still made by hand. Mr. Bayldon, a designer for BBC television in London, recently designed at the Theatre Royal, Northampton. He a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.--> . subscription . 1 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Designs for television . 9 September 1966 . Stamford Mercury . Stamford . 13,259 . 8; col.6. Old Stamfordian Mr. Oliver Bayldon, of 13, Cranley Gardens, South Kensington, who tells me he just enjoyed a holiday at Barrowden and recommends the Rutland air, has stage designed four episodes of Quick Before They Catch Us in the BBC television series and these episodes will be transmitted in September. He is also designing episodes 99 and 100 of The Newcomers, after which he will design some episodes of Meet the Wife. Mr. Bayldon was at school from 1946-57 and subsequently studies at Leicester College of Art. Then he took an appointment with the Northampton Repertory Company. Besides his interest in stage design, he paints and writes poetry and plays. He has had verse broadcast and published for several years.--> . subscription . 5 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- Back matter / List of Members . November 1967 . Journal of the Royal Society of Arts . 115 . 5136 . 8. (...) 1961: Bayldon, Richard Oliver Maxwell, 13 Cranley Gardens, South Kensington, S.W.7. (...)--> . . London . 43796568 . registration . 20 November 2023 . JSTOR . .
- News: Two Gnomes . 10 May 1969 . . . 349 . 8; col.6. Large-scale sets are also a problem taxing the brains of Peter Brachacki and Oliver Bayldon, designers of the new B8C2 Terry Scott and Hugh Lloyd series on Monday, The Gnomes of Dulwich. Terry and Hugh appear as two garden gnomes, and as they everything through gnomes' eyes, the human world has to be correspondingly bigger. Apart from odd sketches in comedy shows (Like Marty Feldman's), the BBC props department has never before been asked to equip a full series with giant-size scenery. Brachacki and Bayldon were told to go away and design everything umpteen-times bigger life. The result: cigarette ends Terry Scott has to keep fishing out of his pool are two feet long.--> . subscription . 5 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Big props made Hugh Lloyd look gnome size . 26 January 1970 . . . 28,511 . 9; col.2. Producer Sydney Lotterby had a mini problem when he came to record the Terry Scott and Hugh Lloyd comedy series The Gnomes of Dulwich, the latest episode of which is on BBC1 at ten o’clock. Big and Small are mini gnomes about a foot tall. The human world around them is normal. The answer: maxi props. It was the first time the BBC props department had been asked to equip a full-scale series with giant-sized scenery, and designers Peter Branchacki and Oliver Bayldon found themselves designing everything in sight umpteen-times bigger than life. The result - those cigarette ends Terry Scott has to keep fishing out of the pool are two-feet long. An ordinary flower pot is four feet high. The frog Hugh Lloyd holds so lovingly is four feet long. A common or garden roller has a six-feet diameter. A tree is six feet across, its leaves are two feet long, mushrooms eight feet across are matched with a pillar box 24 feet high. You can see more of them from a gnome's eye view in tonight's episode when our two tiny heroes wake one morning to find a newcomer beside their fishpond - a newcomer looking exactly like Big. Closer examination reveals that they were made in the same place, The Royal Hertfordshire Stone Gnome Company. Two Bigs by one pool is a crowd, and the inevitable happens. Guest star Roy Kinnear plays the intruder, with John Clive, Leon Thau, Ann de Vigier, and Lynn Dalby.--> . subscription . 12 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Designing shows . 6 August 1971 . Stamford Mercury . Stamford . 13,515 . 3; col.6. Oliver Bayldon, an old boy of Stamford School, whose parents live in Barrowden, is the designer for a new BBC TV series, The Onedin Line, which is to be broadcast in September. It is the story of a Liverpool shipping family in the 1860s starring Peter Gilmore, Anne Stallybrass, James Hayter and Edward Chapman. The filming recently completed in Exeter and Dartmouth involved many exciting incidents at sea, for one of which he created a period steamship complete with a 13-foot high funnel and a large boiler. Other scenes included a storm at sea and a ship on fire. The creation of bustling Victorian markets and docks presented many problems for the designer because any modern additions had either to be removed or hidden. This meant the complete removal of street signs, the covering of shop fronts, and even, on one occasion, the repainting of an entire house façade. Oliver has designed a wide variety of shows including The Railway Children, Till Death Us Do Part, Z Cars, and The Troubleshooters. He is now hoping to have exhibitions of his stage and television designs in London and Coventry.--> . subscription . 12 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Steam v. sail in spectacular race . 19 November 1971 . . . . 4; col.4–5. Paula Wilcox, star of The Lovers, makes a guest appearance in "Salvage", The Onedin Line story on BBC-1 at 9-20. She plays Agnes Bascombe, wife of a seaman in the storm-tossed Charlotte Rhodes and worried about how to feed her children. The Charlotte Rhodes is on fire and sinking after a storm. Callon sends his son Edmund on a fast sailing ship to attempt to attach a tow-line and claim salvage money which would effectively ruin James Onedin. But James refuses to give up and decides to put Albert Frazer's steam pinnace to a spectacular test at sea. Meanwhile, Fogarty reopens his old feud with James over Elizabeth. The experimental steam pinnace, Vessel, seen for the first time in this story, was reconstructed by designer Oliver Bayldon and shipping master Gerry Poolman in the Tumchappel shipyard, Plymouth. Fully practical, the small steamer was able to outrun the sailing ship Tectona manned by cadets from Plymouth School of Maritime Studies.--> . subscription . 12 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: In line for design award . 15 February 1972 . Leicester Daily Mercury . Leicester . . 16; col.6. Oliver Bayldon, winner a Sir Jonathan North Memorial Gold Medal and former student at the old Leicester College of Art has been nominated in a short list of four television designers for the Society of Film and Television Arts' award of best design of year for his work on The Onedin Line series. These awards are the British equivalent of the American Emmy awards and the final results are due to be announced at the Albert Hall on February 23. Oliver, whose mother lives at Barrowden, Rutland, is currently designing for Z Cars, and Doomwatch episodes for the BBC, while also designing some 25 costumes for Belisario, an opera by Donizetti, to be presented by the Royal Academy of Music at Sadlers Wells theatre. It is being performed from March 4 to 11 and includes a royal performance, as part of the celebrations for the academy's 150th anniversary. Some of these designs will be seen at an exhibition of his work to be held at the Herbert Art Gallery in Coventry from August 11 to September 4.--> . subscription . 12 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- Porter . Andrew . Donizetti's 'Belisario' . March 1972 . . 113 . 1549 . 259. [Artwork caption:] Oliver Bayldon's costume designs for the Goths and Bulgars in the forthcoming production of 'Belisario--> . Musical Times Publications Ltd. . . 10.2307/957130 . 957130 . registration . 21 November 2023 . JSTOR . .
- News: Guitard . Nick . Elaborate elegance . 25 August 1972 . . . 25,229 . 27; col.2–3. Also starting at the Herbert this week is a show of particularly interesting pieces by the television and stage designer Oliver Bayldon. It is refreshing to see work that is not "art for art's sake". One has the feeling that Mr. Bayldon executed these set and costume designs as purely working drawings, and would have been happy and willing to amend them at the whim of anyone whose whims mattered. Such is the mark of the professional. Mr Bayldon has designed sets for television programmes such as The Onedin Line, Dad's Army, Top of the Pops, and many others (...). His stage sets include Il Trovatore and The Magic Flute. The catalogue, with its notes on how a designer must think - boldness and simplicity in the theatre so the people squinting in the back row can see, or great detail for television so a close-up shot will have something to photograph - tells us a great deal. But one can gain even more from looking at the pictures. A designer, it appears, must stick closely but not pedantically to the original he is trying to recreate. Thus a Roman emperor must appear in garb recognisably Roman and imperial, and this means he must wear a purple cloak or toga. Now, one wonders whether it would have been possible to have dressed this fine fellow in green, say, or yellow. Would he still have looked imperial? Is the designer restricted in this way, that he has to conform not so much to the prototype as to the stereotype? (...)--> . subscription . 25 September 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Everitt . Anthony . Oliver Bayldon exhibition... at the Herbert Art Gallery, Coventry . 2 September 1972 . Birmingham Daily Post . Birmingham . 35,508 . 28; col.2–3. Oliver Bayldon's work for the theatre has a certain routine competence, but it was not until he entered television ten years ago that his talent really got off the ground. His designs for Mozart's The Magic Flute in 1962 are in the worst traditions of opera décor. The frilly greenery, classical follies and ornate interiors are larded with all the familiar rococo clichés. The costumes for Donizetti's Belisario are given a Byzantine styling. However, they have an all-purpose feel to them and, with a few alterations, they would do just as well for a setting in Ancient Rome (or, for that matter, medieval England). Nevertheless, Bayldon creates an acceptable "naughty nineties" atmosphere in a 1965 production of Cupid and Psyche. I suspect that, in fact, he is at heart a realist. The quality, both of his designs and his draughtsmanship, take a distinctive turn: for the better with the sets for The Railway Children, a BBC serial. Numerous detailed sketches include every item of furniture and decoration required and some of the most successful depict crowded Victorian libraries and drawing rooms, laden with knick-knacks and draped with doylies. Of less interest are the crudely drawn studies for a comedy series, The Gnomes of Dulwich, in which human actors dressed up as garden gnomes move among Brobdingnagian flower pots and post-boxes. Also on display are some paper collages, most devoted to life studies, which argue powerfully for Mr. Bayldon remaining the workmanlike television designer that he is, and leaving art to the artist.--> . subscription . 25 September 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Barraclough . Pete . Man behind the scenes...behind the scenes . 15 September 1972 . Leicester Chronicle . Leicester . 2,979 . 14; col.2. ... These illustrations were on show at a recent exhibition of Bayldon's work in Coventry.--> . subscription . 25 September 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Nominations for 1972 SFTA awards . 15 February 1973 . The Stage . London . 4,792 . 11; col.1. Nominations for 1972 SFTA awards THE following are the nominations for the 1972 SFTA television awards, as a result of the Members' voting and television committee decisions. (...) CRAFT AWARD The Best Design OLIVER BAYLDON AND DESIGN TEAM [for] The Onedin Line (...) The Awards will be announced and presented by HRH The Princess Anne, President of the Society, on Wednesday, February 28.--> . subscription . 16 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Nominated for second 'Oscar' . 22 February 1973 . Leicester Daily Mercury . Leicester . . 24; col.3–4. Oliver Bayldon, the Leicester-born television designer who trained at the former Leicester College Art, has received a nomination for Designer of the Year for the second year in succession in the Society of Film and Television Arts annual awards. He has been nominated with his design team for his work on BBC TV's Onedin Line. The award, which he won last year, is a British television "Oscar". It will be announced on February 28 with a presentation by Princess Anne at the Royal Albert Hall in live coverage BBC1. An exhibition of Oliver Bayldon's design work was held in Coventry last year. Many of the original Onedin Line drawings were included in this display. He is currently working on a Play for Today called "Three's One", then later a series of four plays about the Earl of Suffolk called "The Dragon's Opponent". Oliver Bayldon, an old Stamfordian and holder of the Sir Jonathan North Memorial medal, comes from Barrowden, near Uppingham.--> . subscription . 16 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Local man works on 'Poldark' . 12 December 1975 . Stamford Mercury . Stamford . 13,743 . 16; col.6. Old Stamfordian, Oliver Bayldon is the designer of the popular Sunday serial Poldark, currently being shown on BBC1. Oliver, whose parents still live in Barrowden, is known for his work on The Onedin Line and The Fight Against Slavery, and has twice been nominated for Best Design of The Year. Oliver is the designer of all sixteen episodes of the TV serial based on the novels by Winston Graham, starring Angharad Rees and Robin Ellis. Over fifty sets had to be built for the programme, and a large section of copper mine had to be constructed in the film studios for the spectacular scenes which occur in later episodes.--> . subscription . 16 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: He has designs on an award . 14 March 1977 . Leicester Daily Mercury . Leicester . . 16; col.3–4. Leicester-born television designer, Oliver Bayldon, again features in the British Academy Awards nominations. Following two previous nominations for best TV design with The Onedin Line, Oliver Bayldon is now a member of the design team on the BBC series When The Boat Comes In, a contender in the final four for this award. Other programmes he has designed include Poldark and The Fight Against Slavery, due to be repeated later this year. His latest work has been for the Velvet Glove series of dramatised biographies for which he designed those of Edith Cavell, Elizabeth Fry and the very successful play on Lilian Baylis. 'The research for these is often almost as interesting as the programmes themselves. It was somehow strange to be poring through boxes of Edith Cavell's private possessions or to search through treasured photographs at Lilian Baylis' original desk. The greatest challenge in these plays was to build a complete theatre in the studios, and also to recreate the horrors of Newgate prison in the 1800s. Actually, every programme is different, so I never get the chance to be bored. You're always learning,' he says. He is currently engaged on a Play For Today, due to be screened in early April, which he thinks will be both surprising and controversial.--> . subscription . 16 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- Burn . Gordon . All his own work - Ollie's living room sets the scene for the TV viewers . 2 October 1977 . . London . 41; col.1–4 . .
- News: Lovelace . Jennifer . Drama Reviews . So far, well up to standard . 4 January 1979 . The Stage . London . 5,099 . 16; col.3–4. The lucid and straightforward opening to James Andrew Hall's dramatisation of The Mill On The Floss (BBC1, Sunday December 31, 5.30 pm) suggested that this is a serial that will have much to recommend it. Ronald Wilson's direction was not innovative, but an effective crescendo preceded the arrival of Tom Tulliver (Jonathan Scott-Talor) and family relationships were defined with a clarity that was helpful to those unfamiliar with George Eliot's story. The slyly malicious Aunts Deane (Sheila Grant) and Glegg (Barbara Hicks) were suitably formidable and Judy Cornwell's Bessy promises well. Ray Smith's bulk and presence were nicely suited to Mr Tulliver. Georgia Slowe was an interesting choice for Maggie. There was indeed a touch of the gipsy about her - especially when equipped with the newly-shorn coupe sauvage, and her intensity accurately expressed the complexities of Maggie's rebellious nature. So far, The Mill On The Floss is well up to standard. The quality of design (Oliver Bayldon) and costume (Caroline Maxwell) is sound and a little quickening of pace in future episodes will ensure that the traditions of the BBC Classic Serial are maintained.--> . subscription . 16 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Oliver delves into the past for TV series . 16 May 1980 . Stamford Mercury . Stamford . 13,961 . 16; col.2–4. Followers of the BBC 2 series A Question of Guilt will be interested to know that the designer responsible for "Constance Kent" and "Adelaide Bartlett", which has yet to be screened, is local man Mr Oliver Bayldon. Mr Bayldon, who comes from Barrowden, went to Stamford School before going into television where he has made quite a name for himself. He has been responsible for some highly-acclaimed series and seems to have a particular affinity with the Victorian era. Both cases in the present series are set in the 1800s, although Mr Bayldon has not been involved in "Mary Blandy" presently being shown which is a tale of murder in the previous century. However he has broad experience with all kinds of production, having designed for the popular Poldark, The Onedin Line and When The Boat Comes In series. More recently he received high praise for his work in the Classic Serial version of The Mill On The Floss. Despite having worked on the comedy series Till Death Us Do Part, Mr Bayldon is most at home with historical productions. 'I always find the background research particularly fascinating. The more we delved into these A Question of Guilt cases the stranger they seemed. You cannot help getting involved with the situations, because they really happened. So much so, that when we were reconstructing some of the more intimate scenes it felt like being present as a voyeur at the real event,' he said. Setting plays in the past creates obvious problems as regards the locations and the present series has been no exception. 'It was a problem to recreate locations which either no longer existed, or had been totally changed in the name of redevelopment. We took immense pains to be as accurate as possible even to reconstructing an 1860 railway compartment in a gutted carriage, and building a realistic Victorian earth privy among the bushes. I believe we have been faithful to the facts as they were recorded,' said Mr Bayldon. But viewers will know that the team have tried not to come to any hard and fast conclusions about where the guilt must finally fall in each case. 'Naturally we all developed our own theories as to what happened, but viewers will have to make up their own minds. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of both these cases and I hope the viewers will find them equally rewarding,' he added. Next on Mr Bayldon's programme of works is Jonathon Miller's production of The Merchant of Venice being shown on BBC2 later this year. But his reputation is not confined to the television world, and he has designed both sets and costumes for Sadlers Wells opera.--> . subscription . 16 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Miller's first season of six . 16 October 1980 . The Stage . London . 5,192 . 23; col.4. (...) The Merchant of Venice will also be shown on BBC-2 before Christmas. This production has been designed by Oliver Bayldon. Wolf Mankowitz will present Shakespeare in Perspective for this play. (...)--> . subscription . 17 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Designer of Bard's plays . 17 December 1982 . Stamford Mercury . Stamford . 14,094 . 8; col.5–6. Oliver Bayldon, an Old Boy of Stamford School, who now lives in London, is the designer of four plays in the BBC Shakespeare festival to be seen on Sundays at 7.30 throughout January on BBC2. Henry VI in three separate plays, together with Richard III, make up four remarkable linked plays chronicling the violent years of the Wars the Roses, full of action and drama, while having something of the intrigue of a medieval "Dallas" mixed with the political feuding reminiscent of Northern Irish Troubles! All very exciting stuff. The plays have, therefore, been designed in a style that draws many parallels between modern and medieval images, and so are all the more disturbing in their immediacy. 'It was a very exciting serial to design. Yes, Shakespeare was the originator of the drama serial. It is so full of action and rapidly moving events that we had to build a replica set in the rehearsal rooms so that very realistic fight scenes could be rehearsed. These elaborate fights are so convincing that I am amazed no actors were seriously injured,' says Mr Bayldon. Because there are so many fast-moving changes of scene a basic permanent set was created that could be adapted to anything from castle battlements to the nave of a cathedral. The setting begins as more of an adventure playground in Henry VI Part One, which starts as a broad romp spiced with play-park battles, but slowly develops, episode by episode, into war-torn devastation like a boarded-up bomb site, where Richard III is destroyed, and the new king, Henry VII is created. There is some outstanding acting throughout. 'What I liked most myself was being able to forget one is doing a revered classic, and accept it as an exciting yet moving drama which happens to make excellent television. I think there are some stunning new actors to watch for who will become the stars of tomorrow. Viewers can sit back and make their bets. I've already made mine', adds Mr Bayldon. Among the well-known television actors featured are Julia Foster, Annette Crosbie, Frank Middlemass, Tenniel Evans, Trevor Peacock and Bernard Hill. The producers are Jonathan Miller and Shaun Sutton, and the director is Jane Howell.--> . subscription . 17 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- Wood . Robert E. . Richard III . 1 October 1983 . Shakespeare Quarterly . 34 . 3 . 340. Richard III, presented by BBC Television, 23 January 1983. Director, Jane Howell; Set Design, Oliver Bayldon; Costumes, John Peacock; Lighting, Sam Barclay; Music, Dudley Simpson; Stage Combat, Malcolm Ranson.--> . . . 10.2307/2869895 . 2869895 . 1538-3555 . 24 November 2023 . .
- News: All tuned in for more success . 12 March 1990 . Leicester Daily Mercury . Leicester . . 15; col.1–2. Leicester-born television and film designer Oliver Bayldon is set to see his work on the small screen once again with the launch of a new BBC TV serial. Mr Bayldon, a former pupil at Sir Jonathon North Community College, Leicester, is the production designer the new political thriller Never Come Back. The three, one-hour episodes are due to be screened on BBC2 starting on March 21. The series is based on a novel by John Mair about a newspaper journalist who finds himself involved in subversion and violence just before the start of the Second World War and stars James Fox. Mr Bayldon, who studied at the Leicester College of Art, is now working on a new film for the BBC Screen Two series called Do Not Disturb. He has also extended his range and has had short stories broadcast on Radio 4's Morning Story and the World Service. Some of his other designs for television over the years included The Onedin Line and Poldark.--> . subscription . 17 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Award for TV designer . 26 October 1990 . Southall Gazette . . . 6; col.7. A television production designer has won an award for his work on a programme starring actor James Fox. Oliver Bayldon, of St Stephens Road, Ealing, was presented with his Royal Television Society Design Award by news presenter Sue Lawley at the Hilton Hotel. Mr Bayldon, a BBC TV production designer, was praised for his work on Never Come Back. During his work with the BBC he has helped design television favourites like The Onedin Line, Poldark and Mill on the Floss.--> . subscription . 17 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . .
- News: Loynd . Ray . TV Reviews : O'Toole a Slick Villain in 'The Dark Angel' . 21 March 1991 . . Los Angeles . . ... Director Peter Hammond's style, suffused with Fun House mirror effects, often suggests a psychedelic movie from the '60s. Don MacPherson's script is wafer-thin, genre period melodrama. But the nightmare is salvaged by O’Toole and production designer Oliver Bayldon's sickly rich decay.--> . 24 November 2023 . .
- Cook . Hardy M. . Jane Howell's BBC First Tetralogy: Theatrical and Televisual Manipulation . 1992 . Literature/Film Quarterly . 20 . 4 . 326–331. (...) Taken as a whole, the set acts as a textured backdrop for the play that is filled with many actors and much action. In 2 Henry VI, the set looks darker than it was for Part 1. As Oliver Bayldon, the set designer, notes, "It's still a play park but it's not a place for playing games any more, it's got sinister. It's gone very sombre and textury - it's almost as though it has been boarded up and whitewashed and the whitewash has gone grey" (BBC 2 Henry VI, 20). (...) With so many characters on the set so often, costumes and flags are used to identify factions as well as to distinguish between the British and the French. However, by the time of 3 Henry VI, not much difference exists between the uniforms of the troops on either side of the civil conflict - they are all generally gray, although some of the Lancastrians are costumed in dark reds. On the whole, the costumes have become progressively darker and more practical (Fenwick, BBC 3 Henry VI, 21). John Peacock relates that Howell in Richard III wanted "the effect of three-piece suits." As for the armor in Richard III, it "is all nearly metal, very different from Part I where it was all painted." Also Oliver Bayldon points out that a touch of color was added: "Richard has these very shiny black and white banners, with a fiercely aggressive-looking boar; then when Richmond comes in his banners are green and white" .