Farewell to the greats

AS the new theatrical year takes time to get underway, I find myself thinking back to some of the great names we lost in 2019: in particular, an actor, a dramatist and two directors between whose lives there are strange connections and who all, in different ways, had a profound impact on British theatre.

I felt a particular pang over the death of Albert Finney for personal reasons. Growing up in the Midlands, I found myself, in my late teens, becoming a devotee of the old Birmingham Repertory Theatre in Station Street. One day in 1956, I chanced to see a piece ofby Donagh MacDonagh. The play included a chorus of dancing tailors and I couldn’t take my eyes off one who was square-shouldered, moon-faced and exuded a sense of mischief. I discovered his name was Albert Finney and, over the next couple of years, I saw him play Henry V, Archer in and Face in .