Blog Post 12: Excellence is a habit: Personal reflections on the death of my friend - Joss Bennathan, Artistic Director Present Moment Theatre.

The group of young people in this photo look pretty happy with themselves. And so they should. This was taken on 27th September at the Boathouse, Barking and captures the energy of the day and indeed of the whole project. These excited smiley faces belong to some of the 27 young actors who took part in the Present Moment Theatre Lab production of The Tempest this summer, directed by the company's Artistic Director - Joss Bennathan.

Joss Bennathan. April 2 1958 - November  26th 2014

It was a feat of innovation, creative imagination, endurance and acute intelligence. I was privileged to work on the project with Joss and a fantastic team of theatre practitioners, who sought to give these young actors from 8 north east London schools the experience of being in a professional theatre production. Indeed for some the experience of being in their very first theatre piece.

It was with deep sadness that we were told of Joss' death by his children, Ella and Matt on Wednesday, November 26th. Joss died peacefully surrounded by his family after a brief illness borne with great dignity and bravery. The following article appeared in the Evening Standard Londoner's Diary on Thursday 28th November

Fond memories of Joss Bennathan

“This is going to take you to a very dark place but fear not. I know how to bring you back,” director Joss Bennathan told his actors last year. After a short illness the teacher and theatre maker, son of late Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm and brother of Editorial Intelligence’s Julia, died on Wednesday at just 56.

“I cannot stress enough how much I admired and respected him,” said Munira Mirza, London’s deputy mayor for education and culture, who was involved in Bennathan’s Present Moment Theatre Lab project, which puts on Shakespeare plays with east London schoolchildren.
“He spoke with conviction about how drama teaching could raise its game. He believed in the need for theatre which transforms young people’s world view and helps them transcend their own experience.”

I have known Joss for over 20 years and as well as colleagues we were close friends. We met at a mutual friend's party in 1992 when Joss was Curriculum Leader at New Rush Hall School in Redbridge. It was at this time he was thinking seriously about leaving teaching and becoming a freelance director and teacher trainer. We hit it off immediately and had a great deal in common. Our conversation, intense, robust and usually challenging went on for much of the past 22 years. 

Soon after leaving New Rush Hall Joss joined Arc as an Associate Director and remained so until his death. He worked for us extensively, writing support materials for teachers and directing and performing in a number of pieces over many years. In this role he brought a great deal to the company, with his ability to act as a bridge between the worlds of education and the theatre. And in particular drama education. 

Joss always had a huge commitment to disadvantaged young people, believing in the power of drama and theatre to unlock potential and encourage their 'seeing' of the world from a wide range of perspectives, rather than getting locked in immediate experience. He was a firm believer in the potential for excellence.This was at the heart of his desire to work with young people to enter the world of Shakespeare, to reveal it to them through the process of dynamic rehearsal. 
                                  

Joss and I also had a special 'peer' relationship as directors.  Never more so than when he set up Present Moment Theatre in 1999. Directors are a funny breed, very protective about our work and sometimes reticent to let other directors into our rehearsal rooms. I am never entirely sure of why this is, maybe its a level of vulnerability, perhaps a nervousness about exposing the mess and emotions that often rear their heads in rehearsal, an innate protection of the actors ? In spite of this rather 'precious' tendency Joss and I supported each other enormously, whether by coming up with ways of approaching a text, exercises, casting, or simply as critical friends in each other's rehearsals. We always had a sense of commonality and an artistic comradeship.

And Joss was a personal friend too for all those years. He was very good at friendship, as all those close to him would tell you. Indeed over the past eight weeks of his illness as well as the huge love and support of his family - he was surrounded by many friends, either in person or through the endless text messages and emails which I know gave him comfort. This was a testament to his enduring ability to 'show' up for his friends.  Over the years he would check in with me regularly, particularly if he hadn't heard from me for a while, and he'd invite me over for dinner where we would vacillate between stories of our children and those of our work challenges. Joss was truly a loyal friend.

For the first time this summer I found myself working for Joss rather than the other way round. It was strange initially and indeed I got to see him in action close up in a way that I hadn't quite before. He was a hard task master no doubt - tough on the professionals and on the young people. He always had the goal in mind - a transformational experience through theatre for actors and audience. He passionately believed in inviting his young actors into the world of the play, in this case of The Tempest, revealing to them the universality and connectedness of the characters, ideas and themes and bringing the play alive to them. There is a certain prophetic irony too that The Tempest should be Joss' last play as indeed it was Shakespeare's - as is clearly pointed in Prospero's final speech.

Now my charms are all o'erthrown,
what strength I have's mine own,
Which is most faint: now, 'tis true,
I must be here confined by you,
Or sent to Naples. Let me not,
Since I have my dukedom got
And pardon'd the deceiver, dwell
In this bare island by your spell;
But release me from my bands
With the help of your good hands:
Gentle breath of yours my sails
Must fill, or else my project fails,
Which was to please. Now I want
Spirits to enforce, art to enchant,
And my ending is despair,
Unless I be relieved by prayer,
Which pierces so that it assaults
Mercy itself and frees all faults.
As you from crimes would pardon'd be,
Let your indulgence set me free. 

Cemone Collins as Prospero in The Tempest. Photo by Claire Williams 

I find it hard to believe that Joss left so quickly. Only on the 20th September were we presenting the GALA performance of the piece at RADA and on the 27th we gathered at The Boathouse to evaluate the experience. Two days later Joss was showing signs of his illness. In the short few weeks that followed he worked like a trojan, went to New York and was texting and emailing until a couple of days before he died. He was concerned to tie up loose ends and to ensure the safe passage of his Present Moment projects. It was extraordinary to see that he could not leave until he was sure of his legacy. And we promised him we would look after it for him.    

Sam Palmer as Prospero In The Tempest. Photo by Claire Williams

Of course this is all secondary to the loss experienced by his children, Ella and Matt and their partners, and his two beloved granddaughters, the youngest who was born in May this year, his mother and indeed all of his large family. Joss was a very proud father and grandfather and we often regaled each other with funny and touching stories about our respective children.


I will miss my friend enormously and will do my best with Ella, Matt, Rae, Jules, Mike and Mary to ensure that we do justice to Joss' work going forward, although we recognise that his was a unique voice in drama and education. He would wish to be remembered as having left a mark on generations of teachers and young people as well as the audiences who so much appreciated his bringing to life of classic texts. 


Goodbye my friend.


Joss' funeral takes place next Friday - December 12th in North London.