Gervase Farjeon
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Gervase Laurence Farjeon (23 October 1920 - 6 August 2001) was an English theatre producer, director, manager and designer. Born into a theatrical and artistic family he became director of productions at the
Players' Theatre The Players' Theatre was a London theatre which opened at 43 King Street, Covent Garden, on 18 October 1936. The club originally mounted period-style musical comedies, introducing Victorian-style music hall in December 1937. The threat of Worl ...
in London and co-commissioned and produced '' The Boy Friend'', a British musical of the 1950s. He nursed it through its record-breaking five-year run in London's West End and in the 1960s produced further shows in London and elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Later he was in demand as a producer and set designer for pioneering companies who used theatrical techniques for corporate conferences, product launches, and cabarets. An animal lover, in later life he worked voluntarily with the
Born Free Foundation The Born Free Foundation is an international wildlife charity that campaigns to "Keep Wildlife in the Wild". It protects wild animals in their natural habitat, campaigns against the keeping of wild animals in captivity and rescues wild animals i ...
inspecting zoos around Europe for the European Community. From 1965 he was the literary executor of his aunt, the English author and poet
Eleanor Farjeon Eleanor Farjeon (13 February 1881 – 5 June 1965) was an English author of children's literature, children's stories and plays, poetry, biography, history and satire. Several of her works had illustrations by Edward Ardizzone. Some of her cor ...
and allowed her hymn ''
Morning Has Broken "Morning Has Broken" is a Christian hymn first published in 1931. It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon and was inspired by the village of Alfriston in East Sussex, then set to a traditional Scottish Gaelic tune, "Bunessan". English po ...
'' to be recorded by the pop singer
Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and musician. He has sold more than 100 million records and has more than two billion st ...
. It became an international hit.


Early life

Farjeon was born in
Bucklebury Bucklebury is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Berkshire, England, about north-east of Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury and north of the A4 road (England), A4 road. The parish has a population of 2,116, but the village ...
,
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
, England on 23 October 1920. He was the third child and only son of
Herbert Farjeon Herbert (Bertie) Farjeon (5 March 1887 – 3 May 1945) was a major figure in the British theatre from 1910 until his death. He was a presenter of revues in London's West End, a theatre critic, lyricist, librettist, playwright, theatre manager and ...
"Obituary: Gervase Farjeon", ''The Independent'', London, 17 August 2001 (1887-1945), a presenter of revues, lyricist, playwright and theatre manager, whose father had been a novelist and playwright and a friend of
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
Lewis Melville, "Farjeon, Benjamin Leopold", ''Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement)'', Smith, Elder & Co, London, 1912 and whose mother was descended from the
Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer) * Jefferson (singer) or Geoff Turton (born 1944), British s ...
acting dynasty of the United States. Farjeon's mother was Joan Farjeon (1888–1989), née Thornycroft, the daughter of the sculptor Sir
Hamo Thornycroft Sir William Hamo Thornycroft (9 March 185018 December 1925) was an English sculptor, responsible for some of London's best-known statues, including the controversial statue of Oliver Cromwell outside the Palace of Westminster. He was a keen stu ...
RA. She was a first cousin of the poet
Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World ...
. Farjeon's wider family was almost exclusively artistic: an uncle,
Harry Farjeon Harry Farjeon (6 May 1878 – 29 December 1948) was a British composer and an influential teacher of harmony and composition at the Royal Academy of Music for more than 45 years. Early life and studies Harry Farjeon was born in Hohokus Township, ...
, was a composer, another uncle,
Joseph Jefferson Farjeon Joseph Jefferson Farjeon (4 June 1883 – 6 June 1955) was an English crime and mystery novelist, playwright and screenwriter. His father, brother and sister also developed successful careers in the literary world. His "Ben" novels were reissued ...
, was a novelist and playwright,"Obituary: Joan Jefferson Farjeon", ''The Independent'', London, 22 September 2011 and his aunt,
Eleanor Farjeon Eleanor Farjeon (13 February 1881 – 5 June 1965) was an English author of children's literature, children's stories and plays, poetry, biography, history and satire. Several of her works had illustrations by Edward Ardizzone. Some of her cor ...
, was an author of children's stories and plays, poetry, biography, history and satire.Annabel Farjeon, ''Morning Has Broken: A Biography of Eleanor Farjeon'', Julia MacRae, London, 1986 Farjeon grew up surrounded by musicians, actors, artists and writers and listened to stories and gossip about many of the artistic figures of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was entranced by the theatre. His father often took him to first nights and encouraged him from an early age to criticise shows and their performances and staging. Farjeon longed to be an actor. Outside the artistic milieu of his family, in early childhood he also developed a love of animals. After unhappy experiences at an English preparatory school, he was educated at the small and progressively liberal
Bedales School Bedales School is a coeducational boarding and day public school, in the village of Steep, near the market town of Petersfield in Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1893 by Amy Garrett Badley and John Haden Badley in reaction to the li ...
at
Petersfield Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own Petersfield railway station, railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rai ...
in
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
, England where he was put in charge of the school's theatre. From Bedales, even though he still harboured ambitions to be an actor and had an intensifying interest in the theatre, he started training as an architect at the
Architectural Association School of Architecture The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest private school of architecture in the UK. The AA hosts exhibitions, lectures, academic conference, symposia and publications. Histo ...
in
Bedford Square Bedford Square is a garden square in the Bloomsbury district of the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden in London, England. History Built between 1775 and 1783 as an upper middle class residential area, the square has had many disti ...
, London. The outbreak of World War II in 1939 brought Farjeon's studies to an abrupt end. Like his father, he had been a
pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...
from childhood, and when called up under the
National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939 The National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939 ( 2 & 3 Geo. 6. c. 81) was enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 3 September 1939, the day the United Kingdom declared war on Germany at the start of the Second World War. It supersede ...
he declared himself to be a
conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...
. Expecting a prison sentence, he faced a tribunal chaired by a judge, but being able to prove a lifelong pacifism he was granted exemption and began work on the
home front Home front is an English language term with analogues in other languages. It is commonly used to describe the civilian populace of the nation at war as an active support system for their military. Civilians are traditionally uninvolved in com ...
with evacuees. Farjeon's father, being the son of a Jew and a prominent figure in Britain, was at risk of detention and possible deportation should
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
forces invade the United Kingdom. When invasion seemed likely in June 1940 his father sought reassurance from his cousin Harry, who lived in the United States, that the family, including his children, would be able to find safety with him in New York. In the event, the Farjeons did not need to leave Britain. Released from his architectural studies and exempted from service, Farjeon was able to pursue his passion for the theatre, starting as a
stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including overseeing of the rehearsal proce ...
, and playing small parts in the many shows touring wartime Britain. Several productions in which he appeared were produced under the auspices of the
Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. It was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England (now Arts Council England), the Scottish Arts Council (lat ...
, the forerunner of the
Arts Council of Great Britain The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. It was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England (now Arts Council England), the Scottish Arts Council (l ...
, where Farjeon was noticed by
Sybil Thorndike Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike, Lady Casson (24 October 18829 June 1976) was an English actress whose stage career lasted from 1904 to 1969. Trained in her youth as a concert pianist, Thorndike turned to the stage when a medical problem with her h ...
and
Lewis Casson Sir Lewis Thomas Casson (26 October 187516 May 1969) was an English actor and theatre director, and the husband of actress Dame Sybil Thorndike.Devlin, DianaCasson, Sir Lewis Thomas (1875–1969) ''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' ...
and invited to work for the Council in the theatrical field as part of its duties to promote and maintain British culture.


The Players' Theatre and ''The Boy Friend''

In 1946, Farjeon was invited by
Leonard Sachs Leonard Meyer Sachs (26 September 1909 – 15 June 1990) was a South African-born British actor. Life and career Sachs was born in the town of Roodepoort, in the then Transvaal Colony, present day South Africa. He was Jewish. He emigrated ...
, its director, to become stage director at the
Players' Theatre The Players' Theatre was a London theatre which opened at 43 King Street, Covent Garden, on 18 October 1936. The club originally mounted period-style musical comedies, introducing Victorian-style music hall in December 1937. The threat of Worl ...
in London's West End. In this role he took over the control of the nightly Victorian-type music hall productions staged by the company, with the programme changing every two weeks. Under his direction were many performers who in the post-war years were to achieve fame. Among them were
Ian Carmichael Ian Gillett Carmichael, (18 June 1920 – 5 February 2010) was an English actor who Ian Carmichael on stage, screen and radio, worked prolifically on stage, screen and radio in a career that spanned seventy years. Born in Kingston upon ...
,
Maria Charles Maria Zena Schneider (22 September 1929 – 21 April 2023), known professionally as Maria Charles, was an English film, television and stage actress, director and comedienne. She was probably best known for her performance as the overbearing mot ...
,
Clive Dunn Clive Robert Bertram Dunn (born Robert Bertram Dunn; 9 January 19206 November 2012) was an English actor. Although he was only 48 and one of the youngest cast members, he was cast in a role many years his senior, as the elderly Lance Corporal ...
,
Patricia Hayes Patricia Lawlor Hayes (22 December 1909 – 19 September 1998) was an English character actress. She is best known for playing the titular Edna in the ''Play for Today'', ''Edna, the Inebriate Woman'' (1971), for which she won the British Ac ...
,
Robin Hunter Robin Ian Hunter (4 September 1929 – 8 March 2004) was an English actor who was also a performer and writer in musicals, music halls, and comedy.Newley, Patrick (16 April 2004)Robin Hunter.''The Stage'' Life and career The son of actor I ...
,
Hattie Jacques Hattie Jacques (; born Josephine Edwina Jaques; 7 February 1922 – 6 October 1980) was an English comedy actress of stage, radio and screen. She is best known as a regular of the ''Carry On'' films, where she typically played strict, no-no ...
,
James Robertson Justice James Robertson Justice (15 June 1907 – 2 July 1975) was a British actor. He often portrayed pompous authority figures in comedies, including each of the seven films in the ''Doctor'' series. He also co-starred with Gregory Peck in seve ...
,
John Le Mesurier John Le Mesurier (, born John Elton Le Mesurier Halliley; 5 April 191215 November 1983) was an English actor. He is probably best remembered for his comedic role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the BBC television situation com ...
,
Bernard Miles Bernard James Miles, Baron Miles (27 September 190714 June 1991) was an English character actor, writer and director. He opened the Mermaid Theatre in 1959, the first new theatre that opened in the City of London since the 17th century. He was ...
,
Maggie Smith Dame Margaret Natalie Smith (28 December 1934 – 27 September 2024) was a British actress. Known for her wit in both comedic and dramatic roles, she had List of Maggie Smith performances, an extensive career on stage and screen for over seve ...
,
Eleanor Summerfield Eleanor Audrey Summerfield (7 March 1921 – 13 July 2001) was an English actress who appeared in many plays, films and television series. She is known for her roles in ''Laughter in Paradise'' (1951), '' Final Appointment'' (1954), '' Odongo'' ...
, and
Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, director and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits for much of his career. Ustinov received #Awa ...
. Sachs left the Players' in 1947 and Farjeon, now Director of Productions, was joined by the stage designer Reginald Woolley and his partner, actor-producer Don Gemmell, to form the new board of directors.Deborah Philips, ''And This Is My Friend Sandy: Sandy Wilson's'' The Boy Friend'', London Theatre and Gay Culture'', Methuen Drama, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, London 2021 By the early 1950s the Players' Theatre Club had over 3000 members and had achieved "world-wide fame". In 1952 Farjeon and his colleagues decided to commission their own musical to take the stage at the Players' as a filler for part of the variety programme and it was Farjeon who telephoned an actor and writer of revues,
Sandy Wilson Alexander Galbraith "Sandy" Wilson (19 May 1924 – 27 August 2014) was an English composer and lyricist, best known for his musical '' The Boy Friend'' (1953). Biography Wilson was born in Sale, Cheshire, England, and was educated at Harrow ...
, to invite him to discuss writing a musical.Sandy Wilson, ''I Could Be Happy: An Autobiography'', Michael Joseph, London, 1975 In his autobiography, ''I Could Be Happy'', Wilson recalls that at the first meeting with Farjeon and Woolley, when he suggested doing a musical in the period of the 1920s, Farjeon quickly replied: "That would be fine". Wilson was commissioned to write a one-hour show, called ''The Boy Friend'', to be staged in a three-week run at the Players'. It opened to good reviews in the spring of 1953. In the autumn of that year it was lengthened and opened for a season at the Embassy Theatre in
Swiss Cottage Swiss Cottage is an area in the London Borough of Camden, England. It is centred on the junction of Avenue Road and Finchley Road and includes Swiss Cottage tube station. Swiss Cottage lies north-northwest of Charing Cross. The area was ...
, London. Following that success, as Director of Productions Farjeon was instrumental through family theatrical connections in opening ''The Boy Friend'' at
Wyndham's Theatre Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by actor/manager Charles Wyndham (the other is the Criterion Theatre). Located on Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, it was designed c. 1898 by W. G. R. Sprague, the arch ...
in the West End on 14 January 1954.Programme, ''The Boy Friend'', Wyndham Theatres Ltd, London, 1954. With Farjeon remaining at the production helm it ran for a then record-breaking five years and 2,048 performances, taking £650,000 at the box office and playing to 1,250,000 people.JP Wearing, ''The London Stage 1950-1959: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel'', Rowman & Littlefield, Plymouth UK, 2014 With the money-spinning"''Johnny the Priest'' loses £25,000", ''The Daily Telegraph'', London 26 April 1960 success of ''The Boy Friend'', Farjeon and his fellow directors of the Players' Theatre nursed ambitions to produce more shows that might succeed in the West End. They set up a production company, Players' Ventures Limited, with Farjeon as Managing Director. Their first attempt, ''Twenty Minutes South'', a musical by
Maurice Browning Maurice Browning (11 May 1919 – 4 December 1983) was a British television actor. He appeared in many series, including '' The Avengers'', '' The Saint'', ''The Champions'' and ''Doctor Who''. His film credits included roles in '' The Last Da ...
and Peter Greenwell, opened at the Players' Theatre in May 1955 and after restaging in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
and a week in
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
it opened at
St Martin's Theatre St Martin's Theatre is a West End theatre which has staged the production of '' The Mousetrap'' since March 1974, making it the longest continuous run of any show in the world. The theatre is located in West Street, near Shaftesbury Avenue, i ...
in the West End in July 1955 and ran for 101 performances, closing in October 1955. A considerably less successful venture followed: an "implausible Oxonian farce", ''Commemoration Ball'' by Stanley Parker. After a try-out in
Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...
in September 1955 it opened at the
Piccadilly Theatre The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at the junction of Denman Street and Sherwood Street, near Piccadilly Circus, in the City of Westminster, London. It opened in 1928. In its early years the theatre presented a wide range of ...
in the West End in April 1956 where it ran for only six performances, the gallery booing the opening night. After a couple of years Farjeon and his fellow directors staged another musical. This was ''The Crooked Mile'' by Peter Greenwell and
Peter Wildeblood Peter Wildeblood (19 May 1923 – 14 November 1999) was a British-Canadian journalist, novelist, playwright and gay rights campaigner. He was one of the first men in the UK to publicly declare his homosexuality. Early life Peter Wildeblood wa ...
. After two weeks in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
and two in
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, it opened at the
Cambridge Theatre The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, London, Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929–30 for Bertie Meyer on an "irregular triangular site". Design and const ...
in the West End in September 1959. This show was welcomed enthusiastically by the first night audience and brought stardom for the performer
Millicent Martin Millicent Mary Lillian Martin (born 8 June 1934) is an English actress, singer, and comedian. She was the singer of topical songs on the weekly BBC Television satirical show ''That Was the Week That Was'' (known as TW3; 1962–1963), and won a ...
but it ran for only 164 performances and closed in January 1960, having lost £15,000. Another musical, ''Johnny the Priest'' by
Antony Hopkins Antony Hopkins (born Ernest William Antony Reynolds; 21 March 1921 – 6 May 2014) was a composer, pianist, and conductor, as well as a writer and radio broadcaster. He was widely known for his books of musical analysis and for his radio progra ...
and Peter Powell was in production at this point (it was destined to run in the West End for only eleven performances and lost the Players' Theatre £25,000) but Farjeon, by now setting up as a producer, had decided to break away from the Players' Theatre and Players' Ventures, resigning his directorships in March 1960.


Producer

While at Wyndham's with ''The Boy Friend'' Farjeon had met Richard O'Donoghue, a former actor working as Wyndham's manager, and together in 1959, they set up a theatrical production partnership. They produced a number of shows during the following six years. The first was ''The Doctor and the Devils'', an adaptation of a
screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...
by the Welsh poet and writer
Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Un ...
. It was based on the true story of William Burke and William Hare, who in 1828 in Edinburgh, Scotland, murdered at least 16 people and sold their bodies for anatomical
dissection Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause of ...
. After being first seen in
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
in 1961 it took to the stage at the
Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...
to some "considerable controversy" in 1962. A children's play, ''New Clothes for the Emperor'' by Nicholas Stuart Gray, followed in 1963, and then a comedy, ''Domino'' by
Marcel Achard Marcel Achard (5 July 1899 – 4 September 1974) was a French playwright and screenwriter whose popular sentimental comedies Garzanti p. 3 maintained his position as a highly recognizable name in his country's theatrical and literary circles ...
with
Denholm Elliott Denholm Mitchell Elliott (31 May 1922 – 6 October 1992) was an English actor. He appeared in numerous productions on stage and screen, receiving BAFTA awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for ''Trading Places'' (1983), '' A Private Fu ...
and
Judy Campbell Judy Campbell (born Judith Mary Gamble; 31 May 1916 – 6 June 2004) was an English film, television and stage actress, widely known to be Noël Coward's muse. Her daughter was the actress and singer Jane Birkin, her son the screenwriter and di ...
in the cast. There was a run of this show in
Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
and it was booked to open in the West End at the
Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy ...
but Farjeon and O'Donoghue decided at the last minute not to bring it in to London at that stage, "because they were not satisfied that they had achieved its true potential". It toured provincial theatres while work continued on it, but its final appearance was at the
Lyric Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a nonprofit theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London."About the Lyric" > "History" ''Lyric'' official website. Retrieved January 2024. Background The Lyric Theatre ...
in the summer of 1963. Subsequently, another comedy, ''Every Other Evening'', an adaptation of a French play with mother and daughter leads,
Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...
and
Julia Lockwood Julia Lockwood (born Margaret Julia Leon; 23 August 1941 – 24 March 2019) was a British actress. Daughter of Margaret Lockwood, her career began as a child actress at the age of 4 and spanned 30 years in film, television and the theatre. ...
, toured the UK for eight weeks in 1964 before having a respectable run at the Phoenix Theatre in the West End. April 1965 saw the opening at the
New Arts Theatre The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. It opened on April 20, 1927. History It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre cen ...
in London of a first play, ''Kindly Monkeys'', by Milton Hood Ward, to generally poor reviews. In the six years of their producing partnership Farjeon and O'Donoghue also produced a variety of concerts and cabarets in the West End of London, in Dublin and in the English provinces. Farjeon and O'Donoghue's final production was ''An Evening of Music Hall'' opening at the
Chichester Festival Theatre Chichester Festival Theatre is a theatre and Grade II* listed building situated in Oaklands Park in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, it was opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Mart ...
in 1965, with the comedian
Cyril Fletcher Cyril Fletcher (25 June 1913 – 2 January 2005) was an English comedian, broadcaster, pantomime impresario, actor, gardener and businessman. His catchphrase was 'Pin back your lugholes'. He was best known for his "Odd Odes", which later fo ...
, the actor and musical star
Jessie Matthews Jessie Margaret Matthews (11 March 1907 – 19 August 1981) was an English actress, dancer and singer of the 1920s and 1930s, whose career continued into the post-war period. After a string of hit stage musicals and films in the mid-1930s, suc ...
, and members of the Players' Theatre.


Corporate theatre

Farjeon and O'Donogue's partnership ended by mutual agreement in 1965, with O'Donoghue becoming Registrar of the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...
and Farjeon joining the actors
John Hewer John Hewer (13 January 1922 – 16 March 2008) was an English actor and business manager who became familiar with audiences for playing Captain Birdseye in ads for Birds Eye. Biography Hewer was born in Leyton, Essex, the son of an engine dr ...
and Mike Hall in their newly-established and pioneering London production company which was set up to use the talents and techniques of
show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...
to stage corporate conferences, product launches, cabarets, shows and films. For many years Farjeon was responsible for the design of all of Hewer-Hall's many productions throughout the UK and much of Western Europe and found himself in demand to create stage designs for other new companies entering the same field. His obituarist noted in ''The Independent'' that "his designs were ingenious, painstakingly crafted and planned, combining all he knew of art, architecture and theatre". He was remembered for "working all night to perfect models, create effects and tiny intricate details".


Born Free Foundation

Throughout his life Farjeon had cared deeply for animals, in particular those kept in captivity in appalling conditions, and for three years in the early 1990s he was able to exercise his compassion and concern for them by working with a friend,
Bill Travers William Inglis Lindon Travers (3 January 1922 – 29 March 1994) was a British actor, screenwriter, director and animal rights activist. Before his show business career, he served in the British Army with Gurkha and special forces units. Earl ...
of the
Born Free Foundation The Born Free Foundation is an international wildlife charity that campaigns to "Keep Wildlife in the Wild". It protects wild animals in their natural habitat, campaigns against the keeping of wild animals in captivity and rescues wild animals i ...
. Farjeon accompanied him on many inspection trips to "slum" zoos in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, sharing their interests, their convictions, and their unhappiness at what they saw of the disturbed behaviour of thousands of wild animals held in deprived and pitiful conditions.Virginia McKenna, ''The Independent'', London, 17 August 2001 In 1992 Farjeon and Travers made a comprehensive study of European zoos as part of a delegation on behalf of the
European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
. "It was dire," reported Farjeon about one of the zoos they visited. "We gagged at the stench from the prison-like cages. Many animals were sick and undernourished. The vet with the delegation said euthanasia would be kinder for some." The Born Free Foundation holds films and photographs documenting Farjeon's and Travers' investigations abroad.


Literary archivist

Farjeon's family life had brought him close to his aunt, the author and poet Eleanor Farjeon, for whose estate he became
executor An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, is sometimes used. Executor of will An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker o ...
. As well as managing her estate and being her
literary executor The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works, including film rights, film, translation rights, original manuscripts of published work, unpublished or partially ...
(a duty which took on new and unexpected responsibilities in 1972 when her hymn ''
Morning Has Broken "Morning Has Broken" is a Christian hymn first published in 1931. It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon and was inspired by the village of Alfriston in East Sussex, then set to a traditional Scottish Gaelic tune, "Bunessan". English po ...
'' became an international hit when recorded by
Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and musician. He has sold more than 100 million records and has more than two billion st ...
) he was the curator of a large archive of her literary papers, letters and photographs and of many papers concerning her close friend the British poet Edward Thomas. Farjeon was also the "meticulous cataloguer" of other literary and artistic archives passed down to him from both his father and mother and their families. As a result he was often consulted by writers, researchers, programme makers, curators of national museums and the producers of literary festivals. In the 1980s and 1990s he became increasingly involved as an ''éminence grise'' in literary
biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...
and
memorialization Memorialization is the process of preserving memories, especially the collective memory, of people or events. It can be a form of a memorial, and address or petition, or a ceremony of remembrance or commemoration. Memorialisation and transitiona ...
and was able to assist with the biographies of
A. A. Milne Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winnie-th ...
,
Edmund Gosse Sir Edmund William Gosse (; 21 September 184916 May 1928) was an English poet, author and critic. He was strictly brought up in a small Protestant sect, the Plymouth Brethren, but broke away sharply from that faith. His account of his childhood ...
,
John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud ( ; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Britis ...
,
Joseph Jefferson Joseph Jefferson III (February 20, 1829 – April 23, 1905), often known as Joe Jefferson, was an American actor. He was the third actor of this name in a family of actors and managers, and one of the most famous 19th century American comedians ...
, Edward Thomas and Eleanor Farjeon.


Personal life

Farjeon married the
musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...
actor Violetta à Beckett Williams early in 1949. They lived in a Georgian house in
Gospel Oak Gospel Oak is an area of north west London in the London Borough of Camden at the very south of Hampstead Heath. The neighbourhood is positioned between Hampstead to the north-west, Dartmouth Park to the north-east, Kentish Town to the south-ea ...
in North London, in a country home known as "Newfoundout" with acres of garden and woodland near
Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...
in
West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...
, and at a farmhouse in the French Pyrénées. There were no children. In later life, for twenty years until his death, Farjeon shared his life with the actor, broadcaster and poetry and literary anthologist Anne Harvey, though he and his wife remained married. Both women survived him. Harvey recorded that Farjeon was "a man of many talents who remained modestly self-effacing, never convinced he had met the successes of better-known members of his family". Bill Travers' wife, and partner in the Born Free Foundation, Dame
Virginia McKenna Dame Virginia Anne McKenna (born 7 June 1931) is a British stage and screen actress, author, animal rights activist, and wildlife campaigner. She is best known for the films '' A Town Like Alice'' (1956), ''Carve Her Name with Pride'' (1958), ' ...
, described him as a "gentle, modest man" who never forced his opinions on others, and remembered him for "his kindness, his loyalty and his generosity but, above all, his friendship". Sandy Wilson wrote affectionately that he had "a charmingly shy manner which bordered at times on incoherence". Farjeon died from prostate cancer in London at the age of 80 on 6 August 2001. He was cremated at
Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and is one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £136,000 in 2021), ...
in North London and his ashes were scattered at his request at his and his wife's property in West Sussex, "under the copper beech tree".Probate, District Probate Registry at Brighton, United Kingdom, 3 January 2002


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farjeon, Gervase 1920 births 2001 deaths Deaths from cancer in the United Kingdom Farjeon family People from Bucklebury People educated at Bedales School English theatre directors English theatre managers and producers