 His association with playwright Michael Frayn, which began at the Lyric Hammersmith with "Make and Break" (1980) and "Noises Off" (1982), continued with Frayn's "Benefactors" (Vaudeville, 1984), Frayn's translation of "Uncle Vanya" (Vaudeville, 1988), and his original plays, "Here" (Donmar Warehouse, 1993) and "Now You Know" (Hampstead, 1995).In 1980, Blakemore was invited to direct a series of four plays at the newly reconstructed Lyric Theatre (Hammersmith) by Artistic Director Bill Thomley.The Board made it known that they were looking for a new Artistic Director, and Blakemore decided to put his name forward.