Great moments of theatre

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Once upon a time, that great theatre photographer, Zoe Dominic, took this picture of me—as an off-duty producer.

Zoe died on January 11, 2011 at the ripe age of 90.

Zoe had been a dear friend since 1963, when she photographed my first West End production, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, starring Frankie Howerd. She photographed every production I presented over the next 25 years.

Zoe was one of the 20th century’s great photographers. Her uncanny ability to capture the spirit of the stage, endeared her to such luminaries as Laurence Olivier, Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev, Maria Callas, Maggie Smith and Judy Dench.

She was a friend and much more. She honored me by becoming the chairman of the Theatre Projects Trust, from which she graduated to the Council of the London Academy of Music and Drama (LAMDA), where she served for many years.

Zoe was a deeply human, caring person. That quality illuminated all her exquisite portraits of some of the great moments in over 50 years of theatre history.