Cal McCrystal
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Director
Cal was born Cahal McCrystal on 6th August 1959 to a journalist also
named Cahal McCrystal and his social worker wife Stella. In 1964 the
family moved from Cal's native Belfast to London and in 1967 to the USA
in line with Cal Senior's job as the Sunday Times New York bureau
chief. In 1970 the family came back to London where Cal's schoolmates
noticed that he had picked up a Stateside accent and his acting
ambitions were fostered by drama teacher Helen Woodhouse. Although he
attended a catering college his ambition was to pursue a theatrical
career and in 1981 he graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of
Music and Drama, soon afterwards hosting youth programmes for Yorkshire
Television. After some ten years as an actor Cal began directing for
the Edinburgh Festival and later for the Cambridge Footlights Revue and
at Derby Playhouse where he directed Jenny Éclair in 'The Killing of
Sister George'. In 2011 he was invited by Nicholas Hytner to be the
associate director on 'One Man Two Guvnors', his title later becoming
physical comedy director - a highly important role in a fast-moving
farce in which slapstick and energetic performances, along with musical
interludes and audience involvement, hasten the plot along.
