Page 60 - OO_2019

FEATURE
A lifelong masterclass
In the year of the 40th anniversary of the Stahl Theatre, former School House Housemaster Jeremy Firth pays tribute to its founder, John Harrison, who died in 2018
Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises, Sounds and sweet airs, that give
delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling
instruments
Will hum about mine ears; and
sometime voices
That, if I then had wak'd after long
sleep,
Will make me sleep again: and then
in dreaming
The clouds methought would open,
and show riches
Ready to drop upon me; that when I
wak'd,
I cried to dream again.
In the 1980s something of this nature was often the experience of those of us – actors, back stage, front of house and audience – who were blown by the tempests of our workaday lives into the enchanted island of the Stahl Theatre, a separate yet pertinent world, created and sustained by the vision, toil and inspiration of John Harrison.
The Stahl was the ultimate achievement of a career at Oundle, which began in 1962, when John arrived from his first teaching post at Gresham's School, where he had met Amrei, who joined him at Oundle after their marriage two years later. At Gresham's he taught Classics, produced plays and coached an unbeaten 1st XV. That
last item might surprise some who associate him chiefly with Classics and the theatre, but besides playing Oxford college rugby, he was also a cricketer, who played for the Authentics. As a sportsman of some distinction, John was always aware of the strengths and limitations of sport in educational terms.
The 1960s were a crucial period in the development of Oundle, in which a talented group of younger masters, among whom John was a leading light, did much to change emphasis at and civilise the School. John laid the foundations of his work with drama then and, besides Classics, taught English A level and Russian, the last having been developed as an interpreter during National Service in the Navy.
In 1965 he took over the Classics department and ran it with great success for 21 years. John's erudition, personality and eloquence gave him a natural authority, which enabled him to run the department with the lightest of touches. He was, too, a brave and obdurate defender of the cause of Classics as it came under threat in the educational world as a whole. That Classics now flourishes even more at Oundle is due in no small measure to John's influence in earlier years and it was a legacy of which he was particularly
proud. In his time a steady stream of accomplished classicists emerged from Oundle, many bound for Oxford or Cambridge (in that order), and it is significant how many kept in touch with him.
In 1969 he was appointed Bramston’s Housemaster and he continued and strengthened its uniquely individualistic and cultured tradition, while Amrei's gift for gracious and welcoming hospitality was given its proper setting in that lovely house. The life of the House and the lives of individuals flourished under the wise pastoral care and creative inspiration that John brought to Housemastering for 10 years.
His work as Housemaster and Head of Classics could have been ample testimony to his abilities on their own. However, the opportunity to create a theatre in the School arrived with the Stahl bequest and John was appointed Theatre Director in 1979, when he left Bramston. He had no theatre, but he did have a platonic conception. He brought tireless and meticulous planning into the conversion of the congregational church in West Street.
After its opening in 1980, the programme at the Stahl became a wonderful blend of professional companies and school productions, with the educational dimension
John Harrison with his Bramston House pupils. He is in the middle of the seated row
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THE OLD OUNDELIAN 2018 –2019