Frank Dunlop obituary: Founder of the Young Vic and former Edinburgh festival director

Frank Dunlop, who founded the Young Vic and led the Edinburgh international festival from 1983 to 1991, has died aged 98.

Frank Dunlop’s career in British theatre spanned many decades and several institutions. He founded the Young Vic in the late 1960s and later served as director of the Edinburgh international festival from 1983 to 1991. He worked with Laurence Olivier’s National Theatre in the late 1960s and directed productions in the UK, Europe, the United States and elsewhere. He lived for many years in New York in later life. Key facts: - Frank Dunlop founded the Young Vic in 1969 and opened landmark productions there in the early 1970s. - He was director of the Edinburgh international festival from 1983 to 1991 and programmed international directors and companies for the drama programme. - He joined Laurence Olivier’s National Theatre at the Old Vic as an associate director in 1967 and pursued a young people’s programme. - His 1972 staging of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Edinburgh later transferred to London and helped launch the show’s wider success. - He worked abroad, including helping to start a company at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1976 and regular collaborations in Belgium, Scandinavia and Australia. - He was appointed CBE in 1977 and received a special recognition Olivier award in 2017; he died aged 98. Summary: Dunlop is remembered for founding the Young Vic and for expanding the Edinburgh festival’s drama profile by bringing diverse international directors and companies. His work combined an interest in young performers with high-profile national and international productions, and he received formal honours late in life. Undetermined at this time.