Michael Hasted

Michael Hasted was expelled from school at the age of 16 for spending more time backstage at his local repertory theatre, The Everyman in Cheltenham, than on his studies. Unable to accept the place he had been offered at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School because he was too young to receive a grant, he spent the next few years working in rep all over Great Britain, notably The Everyman, Theatre Royal Lincoln, Queens Theatre, Horncurch and The Dundee Rep. He appeared in various productions with Steven Berkoff, Penelope Keith, James Bolam and John Savident. He was in the controversial You’ll Come to Love Your Sperm Test by (and with) John Antrobus at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh in 1964. He also appeared in Z CARS on BBC TV. Music career

He became involved in the music business in the mid 60s and was part of the Les Cousins in London’s Soho where he designed their daily event poster and occasionally performed. He collaborated with Cat Stevens on a couple of songs, had a demo produced by Al Stewart and was backing singer on a couple of tracks of a Jeff Lynne album.

Artistic career

He continued working in the record industry as a photographer and sleeve designer photographing Hawkwind, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Ravi Shankar, Tiny Tim, Canned Heat, Free, Robert Palmer etc. etc. and did sleeves for The Groundhogs “Scratchin the Surface”, Mike Batt “Schizophonia” and classical guitarist John Williams “The Height Below”

He now works as a writer and theatre director, journalist and photographer. He created the on-line StageTalk Magazine in 2013. In 2011 he wrote a history of the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham and wrote, produced and directed a revue in the theatre’s Studio – ‘Final Daze’, featuring Robert Whelan, Wendy Abrahams and Steven Rayworth.

In October 2014, he produced and directed John Mortimer’s play THE DOCK BRIEFat the Everyman starring Tweedy the Clown and Mark Hyde.

His book THESPIANS, actors’ reminiscences of the 1940s to the 1970s with a foreword by Penelope Keith was published in December 2014.

He now lives in Holland where he publishes and edits ArtsTalk Magazine, ArtsTalk Colour Supplement and produces ArtsTalk Radio

Selected bibliography

THESPIANS by Michael Hasted, FeedARead, December 2014
A THEATRE FOR ALL SEASONS by Michael Hasted, Jeremy Mills Publishing Ltd., England. September 2011