Talk:Robert Saxon

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I first saw Saxon giving an informal student talk after his production of Macbeth in 1999 at The Broadway Theatre in Essex. He came into the theatre bar and sat with the students who were discussing the play they had just seen and how it related to what they were studying. I thought I was a good teacher till I heard the man speak. He is younger than I by several years, but his grasp of the play and the characters was incredible, and his enthusiasm both for the story and for the young minds he was engaging phenomenal. He sat as one of them, and wasn't at all patronising. He bought a round, graciously refused many, telling the students to save their money, and was completely honest about what he found difficult and what fell into place, and most impressively, those parts of the production he had yet to resolve in his own mind. When engaged in talk of teaching in schools and universities, he was blunt about policy and supportive of teachers, which won me over. He stayed until an assistant called him to the telephone, and I got the feeling he was disappointed to leave us. Many of my students continued to correspond with him via email, and even though he was engaged in an horrendous workload with his company and other activities, he continued somehow to find time to answer all the questions put to him as fully as he could. I did not always agree with his take on texts or characters, especially that of Hamlet, but I can't dispute that he had a firm take on his subject and debated with skill and articulation. We went back as a class to see his adaptation of A Christmas Carol and loved every second of it. I cannot understand why he was so ill used by so many in political circles. When I heard he was ill I felt very sad. Unfortunately his company email is dead and the theatres have no forwarding address for him so I have lost contact. Myself and a former student have been working on and off on a biography of Saxon, but he was always intensely private in himself, even though he gave so much so readily, and it's been a difficult task. We continue to look for information, and one former student, now a working actress in London's West End, has been asking questions. We'll add to the page when we get more information.

--JeriHayes 18:21, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] References for article

The contents of this article have been put together from the biography information of the Phoenix Project Trust (the link is included in the article) and from material printed in various programme notes from plays and media articles gathered from different places over the last few years.

If anyone has further information please forward it.

Thanks --JeriHayes 18:09, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Jeri, add a reference section at the foot of the article and then link to it wherever relevant within the text. See Brigitte Bardot for examples of how this is done.

LittleOldMe 14:00, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] About Robert

I did a Google on Robert and found this page! How cool?! I scanned an old program photo and added it. Hope the author doesn't mind! I was going through my exams pre university when I met Robert. He was playing Richard III with a touring company and I saw him in Glasgow. After the show some of us went to talk to the cast and Robert was really cool. He answered all our questions and asked us about all kinds of stuff about our courses and what we wanted to do. He was really interested and paid alot of attention, and even gave us an email address to contact him if we had questions. We stayed in touch for ages and when we found out he had this theatre near London and was running a program for students we went to see him. He remembered all of us and even took time out later on to coach some of us in our audition pieces. He was a really nice man and not at all like his reputation. At his theatre he was very much with the lady in charge of the dance company. I can't remember her name. She was very pretty and they were working together on a dance show of some kind and you could tell when he looked at her how in love he was. It was very sweet. My friend Maddie had a massive crush on him and was heartbroken. I don't have any contact details anymore and we've lost touch which is a shame but I hope he gets to read this because he helped shape my life and I'd love to see him again and find out how he's doing. Robert Saxon is the best! xxxx Bobbijomoore 17:18, 21 November 2006 (UTC)