We Were All Amateurs First

BY MALCOLM RENNIE
I first met Tony & Linda when we all worked at the then newly opened Haymarket Theatre in Leicester in the mid 1970's, but it was not until 1982 that I had the great experience of working with Tony as a director when he cast me as Victor in a revival of The Price by Arthur Miller.

Having known Tony socially for a few years prior to our working together was a definite advantage for us both. We both knew each other's work and had a certain appreciation of each other's foibles and idiosyncracies.

We slipped easily therefore into a rehearsal relationship that for me, was one of the most creative I ever experienced. Tony was a brilliant communicator and an astute listener. He always said he learned from his actors, but I doubt if we ever gave him the insights and inspiration which he gave us. He created an environment where his cast felt that they were at one with their director, delving into Miller's dense text, uncovering the underlying delicate structure of perceived missed chances, shame and jealousy at the heart of the piece. The resultant ensemble feel to the playing attracted much critical praise, and the credit is largely Tony's for that. It was a unique priviledge for me to have been part of that particular production - I learned so much from him.

A further unique priviledge was the three years I spent as one of the members of Tony's rep company at Capital Radio. At the time we did not know it, but the Drama Department which Tony headed for some years at Capital was a somewhat cynical invention of the company to ensure that their licence would be renewed. Once the licence was confirmed for another fifteen years in 1985, the Drama Department, into which Tony had put so much effort and creativity, was despite our protests, immediately disbanded. However, the five years in which it flourished was a time that I look back on with great fondness. Tony had the idea of a daily soap, 8 minutes per episode, broadcast at 1:30pm and repeated at 1:30am about the life and work of a young cub reporter (Nicola Jonson) on a busy London newspaper and I was asked to play one of the main running characters.

It was a truly innovatory experience, with Tony initiating new and original methods of radio drama which were genuinely ground breaking. The pilot was made entirely on location in the West End, on the streets, in real offices, pubs, restaurants etc. Nothing like this had ever been done before in radio drama in Britain and it would be many years before the BBC would attempt the same. The result was entirely startling to all of us whose radio experience was studio based. Here was something which had total freshness and street authenticity, bringing a greater degree of naturalism to performance and playing. It was immediately commissioned by Capital and Tony assembled a group of writers, actors and directors who worked on Nicola Jonson for the next three years.

A further innovation was the inclusion in certain episodes of real news pertinant to the broadcast day. For example, one of our writers would go to Fleet Street at 1am when the first editions were coming out. A scene featuring a real news story would be written by 6am and recorded by the cast at 7, for broadcasting that lunchtime. It was a heady rock'n'roll experience, flying by the seat of our pants, but Tony was unflappable, secure in his vision and always delivering on time.

Tony was a remarkable bridge builder. He relished points of contact between apparently dissimilar areas. He saw no real difference in essence between the amateur and the professional theatre and liked to remind a certain type of professional actor that "we were all amateurs first". To a working actor, he was able to bring a sense of the academic, and to professors a feel for the intensely pressurised and practical side of theatre making. He was conscious of the need for innovation, but believed deeply in a theatre continuum which stretched back centuries.

I admired his work and achievements and I have lost a great confidant, colleague and friend. He was the director that all of us need to work with. I am so, so fortunate that I did.