So yesterday we recorded a few pages each for a theatre tape. It was surprisingly fun and having the Freston costume place proved useful once more. I didn’t really want to get too swept up in Carnival after but it was good to plug into the energy of it all. Rowdy and messy though, with street evangelists shouting into microphones near us all about some nonsense they’ve made up and attached to the language of the Bible.
Today a quiet day but sad news at the beginning of it. My agent rang me. Martin Tyrrell was my English teacher at Harrow and directed me in a number of school plays. He died last night.
He would set a table up and curl onto a chair in the drama studio with a mug overflowing with ash and cigarette butts, always a fag in his hand. He was bald in his notes and didn’t pull his punches which I liked and benefited from. The better he knew you the ruder he could be, but it was usually done with affection. Sometimes he’d get astonishingly drunk and then he might say things just to be horrid, but most of the time he was insightful and challenging. I loved him. I’m sure I’m not the only actor still working who will be very sad to hear of his passing. Generations of Harrow actors passed through his smokey hands. He gave us confidence and skills and a thick skin. He had been an actor himself but he had shifted to teaching as many do. He was also an inspirational English teacher – he made the texts vital and human. And he wrote very funny no holds barred school reports.
We stayed in touch, occasionally saw each other for a pint. I have been meaning to go see him at home for some time, and said as much to Ricky just two days ago. We need to act on these impulses.
I’m doubly pleased I’ve come back to the old place for Toby Belch, but sad I’ll never see him again. I owe him a great deal.
We’re at the Wanamaker on the weekend!! I need to make sure my lines are all in the right order… … I’ll dedicate this one to “Melvyn” as we used to affectionately call him. He was a true character. Absolute bastard in the best possible way.
