ALAN MACDONALD

(23 June 1956 - 30 August 2017)

The British production designer Alan MacDonald, who has died aged 61, was responsible for the look of many high-profile and varied films in recent years. Early on in his career he designed record album sleeves and was part of a design collective. He worked on stage productions and, following some short films for John Maybury, his first TV job was on Maybury’s Man to Man (1992), with Tilda Swinton, for the BBC. He worked with Maybury again on Love Is the Devil, with Derek Jacobi as the painter Francis Bacon. Other films included Rogue Trader, Nora, The 51st State, Kinky Boots and then, for Maybury again, The Jacket and The Edge of Love. MacDonald also designed The Queen, Chéri, Tamara Drewe, Philomena, The Program, Florence Foster Jenkins and Victoria and Abdul, all for director Stephen Frears. He also worked on John Madden’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Sing Street for John Carney, and designed Henry V for the BBC’s The Hollow Crown. He worked for Kylie Minogue on her 2002 tour and also collaborated with Boy George, Sinead O’Connor and Neneh Cherry on their music promos. In his time Alan MacDonald was nominated for several awards from the Art Directors’ Guild and the British Independent Film Awards. At the time of his death he was working on the Mamma Mia! film sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.

MICHAEL DARVELL