John Crockett

John Angus Basil Crockett (31 January 1918 – 11 October 1986) was a stage and television director.

He directed the Doctor Who story The Aztecs in 1964, one of the most highly regarded of the black and white stories. In the 2002 DVD release the actor John Ringham was effusive in his praise for Crockett. He also directed episode 4 of Marco Polo, which is entitled The Wall of Lies.

Crockett was the second son of Colonel Basil Crockett DSO. He was educated at Bryanston School In 1938 he was a student of art at Goldsmiths' College, New Cross, London, UK. He also attended the Slade School to study theatre design, along with classes at the London Theatre Studio.

In 1940 he married Anne Marguritte Stern She was the first daughter of Dr. William Joseph Stern OBE, an eminent physicist.

In 1944 he established a theatre company called The Compass Players. It was a travelling company that intended to perform high quality theatre to audiences who would not normally have access to it. Their base was Crockett's own home, an old house and estate in Gloucestershire. Crockett resigned as artistic director in 1951 and the company formally closed in the following year. In the late 1950s and early 1960s he produced a number of plays for both the Birmingham and Dundee Repertory Theatres.

From Sept.1969 until Dec.1976 he was a teacher of Art and Drama at Downside School, Somerset, UK.

The Crocketts were parents to eight children: including a daughter, Mary, and a son who was to become Dr. Antony Crockett FRCGP.

Book

• Plays Without Theatres: Recollections of the Compass Players Travelling Theatre, 1944-52, edited by Pamela Dellar - Highgate Publications (Beverley) Ltd (8 Oct 1989) ISBN 978-0-948929-27-4.