Ken Hill (28 January 1937 – 23 January 1995) was an English playwright and theatre director. Ken Hill was a protégé of Joan Littlewood at Theatre Workshop. He was known for his chaotic musicals on the tiny stage of the old Theatre Royal Stratford East, Theatre Workshop's home in Stratford, London, but he also had hits in the West End and abroad. Among them were The Invisible Man and the original stage version of Phantom of the Opera, which inspired Andrew Lloyd Webber to create his musical blockbuster of the same title. Biography Ken Hill was born in Birmingham, England on 28 January 1937. He was educated at King Edward VI's Grammar School, Camp Hill, Birmingham, after which he joined an amateur theatrical company, Crescent Theatre, sweeping the floor, making props, writing and directing. His first play, Night Season, was put on at the Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, in 1963. For a time, he worked as an investigative journalist for ATV and it was there that he caused controversy with his report on corruption in Birmingham's local government. In 1970, Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop returned to the Theatre Royal Stratford East. A satire on local authorities was discussed as a good subject for a new production, and Hill's name was put forward as a possible writer. The result of the collaboration Hill's Forward Up Your End (1970) was criticised by some of the press for its juvenile humour but Joan Littlewood liked it and Hill stayed on. Hill worked as an actor in numerous productions but preferred writing. He was made associate director and resident writer at Theatre Workshop from 1970 to 1974 and from 1974 to 1976 he took over as artistic director, Joan Littlewood by this time having left for projects in Tunisia. Hill's productions there included Is Your Doctor Really Necessary? (1973), a collaboration with songwriter Tony Macaulay, The Count of Monte Cristo (1974), Gentlemen Prefer Anything (1974) and Dracula (1974). He then became artistic director of the Musical Theatre Company, directing for the West End: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Westminster Theatre (for Andrew Lloyd Webber), The Mikado, and Fiddler on the Roof. Other West End credits include playdoctoring productions of Drake's Dream and Wren. Shortly after, he was commissioned by the National Theatre for a version of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. He then wrote and directed for television: All the Fun of the