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Sir Derek Jacobi, President of Hall Green
Little Theatre, has officially opened the theatre's newly refurbished
auditorium, mingling with members and guests and talking to
Roger Clarke from Behind The Arras. Sir Derek is only hglt's second president in
62 years incidentally, taking over from Lord Olivier, who died in 1989.
SIR Derek Jacobi might well be in his
eighth decade but that has hardly slowed him down. The 74-year-old is currently starring in
Last Tango in Halifax on TV, narrates the BBC Children's series
In the Night Garden, is filming a biopic about Grace Kelly,
Grace of Monaco, with Nicole Kidman and is soon to star in a sitcom
with Sir Ian Mckellen. Oh, and amid all that he found time to officially
reopen Hall Green Little Theatre's newly refurbished impressive
auditorium. Sir Derek may be a true international star but he
still has an affection and admiration for amateur theatre. He said: “I don't think there is that much difference, basically, between me as a professional and the part timers here. In a sense they have it much more difficult because they have to hold down a job during the day – I spend all my day thinking what I am doing and the evening show et cetera. “I know amateur dramatics is easy to send-up, or
conversely to look down upon, but I don't do either of those things. I
think if people have the fire in the belly to act, it is not an easy
thing to do, and a lot of amateur theatre is very, very good indeed. We
saw rehearsing for the pantomime here and the energy that is coming off
the stage and the commitment is wonderful. “Before I became a professional actor I acted as an amateur at Cambridge. My first part when I was six years-old in Leytonstone in the library. I had done a lot of, in a sense, of the blind leading the blind before I became a professional. I didn't go to drama school, as many of us at Cambridge didn't in those days, and I managed to get into Birmingham Rep in 1960 – I was very lucky – and stayed there for three years. Derek Jacobi as Alan and Anne Reid as Celia in BBC TV's Last Tango in Halifax That was my drama school. A different play every
four weeks over three years I got through a lot of plays. “I worked my way up through the company to sort
of leading young man and that was a great learning experience.” Sir Derek might have watched pantomime but
admitted in his 52 years as a professional actor he had never actually
appeared in one “The nearest I got to it was several years ago Ian
McKellen played Widow Twankey at the Old Vic and I went to see him and I
went round to see him afterwards and he said ‘How about ugly sisters
next year?' but it never happened. But there is still time in Sir Derek's packed
schedule. “I am filming at the moment with Nicole Kidman, who is very
nice, in a film about Grace Kelly and then early next year Ian McKellen
and I are going to do a sit-come together, with a live audience and it
is a six-episode sit-com, so I start that in January.” Sir Derek and Sir Ian were at Cambridge together
so could their new venture mean the day of the dame and ugly sisters
could come back? “Absolutely”. And would Sir Derek look forward to it?
“I don't think I am pantomime material – but perhaps I am selling myself
short. Give me the frock, put me out there, give me the ear rings, and
it could happen, It could be fun - but", with a laugh "I am not panting
for it.” Beyond that Sir Derek has little intention of
slowing down let alone retiring. “It is the great thing about this
profession. As long as everything is working, nothing has dropped off,
you can still talk, learn lines or whatever; physically and mentally if
that is all working, why retire? “When you are young you play the juveniles, I
have done the middle age parts and I'm on to grandfathers now so it is a
whole new world out there. |
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