He was awarded the C.B.E. (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2002 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to drama.
He was awarded the 1983 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Awards) for Best Modern Director for "Men Should Weep".
His stage adaptation of "David Copperfield", at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, Illinois was nominated for a 2001 Joseph Jefferson Award for New Adaptation.
He was elected as a Fellow to the Royal Society of Edinburgh in Edinburgh, Scotland.
His play, "Travels with My Aunt" at the Writer's Theatre in Chicago, Illinois was nominated for the 2011 Equity Joseph Jefferson Award for Production of a Play (Large).
Director of the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland. (January 2010)
He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1987 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to drama. He is the artistic director of the Glasgow Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland.