Artistic Director Pauline Armour, Company Secretary Richard Cornwell, Playgoer Jan Greenhough, Bar Manager & Playgoers’ Chair Pauline Pead, Publicity Director Pat Jones, Rene Meissner, President Michael York OBE, Vice-President Bill Morley, Building Development Director Keith Jeremiah, Marie Morley, Chair & Artistic Director Jane Buckland and Catherine Ross onstage at BLT
The Board and Playgoers’ Committee were delighted to welcome our President, Michael York OBE to the theatre on Tuesday 12 August 2014, for the first time since he acted here in 1960!
Although there was no show for him to see, Michael enjoyed walking down Memory Lane, and meeting Bill Morley, our Vice President, the Board and the Playgoers’ Committee, who all help to run this wonderful theatre of ours.
Michael lives in Los Angeles and so is not usually able to get to BLT, but he keeps in touch with everything that is going on by email with Pat Jones. He is very impressed with the theatre and is constantly amazed at the range and standard of our productions, the BLTins and Spotlights.
Michael acted at BLT in 1960 whilst still at school: Ravensbourne – or Bromley Grammar as it was then. A teacher there and a director of many school plays, Grace Collett-Franklin, invited him to play a leading role in My Three Angels, which she was directing at BLT. Michael also appeared in The Schoolmistress (very appropriate), directed by Adrian Brine, another BLT stalwart. The rest, as they say, is history!
Michael is recovering from an extremely rare illness called amyloidosis and is currently finishing a new book about his experiences dealing with this condition to help raise much-needed awareness. He is happy to be able to travel again and looks forward to seeing future BLT productions. Since his stem cell transplant in 2012, he has been able to return to performing – notably in My Fair Lady at Washington’s Kennedy Center and in King Lear in London.
We are so pleased that Michael managed to find time to visit us in what is a very full schedule. It was a pleasure to meet him and see him actually in BLT where it all began. We wish him well for the future. •