Gerald Chapman (director)  Gerald Chapman (8 November 1949 – 25 September 1987) was an English theatre director and educator who was best known for his work with the Royal Court Theatre, London, Gay Sweatshop, the New York City Young Playwrights Festival, the American Repertory Theatre, the Circle Repertory Company, and the Double Image Theatre. Chapman was born in Torquay, England, the younger son of hotelier Peter Chapman, whose father had been manager of London's Savoy Hotel in the early 1900s. He spent his early years at the Castle Hotel, Taunton, Somerset, where his father was manager, and which is now owned by his elder brother, Christopher (Kit) Chapman. His mother was of Greek origin, and his summers were spent with his mother's family in Thessalonica. Gerald Chapman appeared in several school drama productions when he was a pupil at Taunton School, (along with his contemporary Ian McNeice), and began his involvement with play production as a student at Cambridge University. In 1974, at a time when Gay Liberation was just beginning in the UK, Chapman joined other gay activists and playwrights to set up one of the first Gay Theatre seasons in the UK. The intention of the group was to counteract the prevailing conception in mainstream theatre of what homosexuals were like, therefore providing a more realistic image for the public. They realised that a great deal of hard work was required and came up with the name The Gay Sweatshop. This later became one of the best known gay theatre companies in the UK, with former members including Antony Sher, Simon Callow, Tom Robinson and Miriam Margolyes. In the mid-1970s Chapman was appointed to the Royal Court Theatre, London, in charge of the Young People's Theatre Scheme. This had originally been set up in 1966 to develop and produce the best new writing by young people under 25, encouraging writers from all sections of society to find their voice. In 1976, as part of a drive to invigorate the group, Chapman developed the YPTS idea and held a competition to give the group a shorter and snappier name. The winning name chosen was "The Activists"; the logo of which was the letter "A" formed of nails, to signifying the driving edge and hard grittiness that typified the group's work. This group had two main branches of activity – the first was a mainstream group that worked with influential writers and directors such as Edward Bond, John Schlesinger, Max Stafford-Clark and many others.