Philip Hedley, former Theatre Royal Stratford East artistic director, dies aged 85

Clint Dyer leads tributes to director who ran the London venue for 25 years and was a pioneer of diversity in British theatre'

Tributes have been paid to Philip Hedley, who spent a quarter of a century as artistic director at London's Theatre Royal Stratford East, where he was committed to staging work that fully represented local communities. Hedley's death, at the age of 85, was announced on Friday.

Clint Dyer, the National Theatre's deputy artistic director, said that Hedley was without any doubt one of the pioneers, if not the pioneer, of diversity in British theatre. He ran what was at one time the only major theatre that regularly commissioned and programmed new works written, starring and directed by British Black artists about Black British lives. His mighty influence is immeasurable, not only for the output of work but also for his desire to champion and train practitioners from working-class backgrounds of all races."