Unfinished Work

BY SCOTT TRUDELL, TUFTS STUDENT 1998-2002, PH.D. STUDENT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
I knew Tony while I was a student at Tufts, but got to know him better after he retired and we were both living in London. I would visit his flat above the fast food shop he never tried, with the skylight windows that (he liked to brag) Simon had designed to keep out the street noise, and we would go out for lunch or a drink.

Tony would slyly and gracefully make fun of everything (the people around us, the people we were talking about, me) during these meetings, because he knew I enjoyed that part of him, but he would also talk a lot about his plays, his life, and his friends. Linda just wrote that Tony “lived to work,” and this was always my experience of him, particularly since his work consisted not just of his life in the theater but of the great network of people he brought together.

Last spring, Tony told me about a new project and ambition of his, to write an autobiography. To prepare for it, he asked if I would come over and help him alphabetize the stacks of old programs lying deep in his closet, picking out those from plays he had directed. I thought it was a little ridiculous to crawl through dust so Tony could relive his glory days, but I agreed and it turned out to be fascinating. We sorted through hundreds of programs while Tony told me many sarcastic, hilarious, and proud memories of what he had seen and done in the theater.

Part of the sadness of Tony’s death is that he didn’t have time write his autobiography. But I have found it inspiring and comforting to page through this website and realize the scale of his legacy. Tony’s impact on the world has emerged in a new way for me since I’ve read these postings, and I know he’d be pleased to see his life’s work continue like this.