Sir Tom Stoppard will forever be a huge inspiration to me. He was an extraordinarily kind & generous person who supported me hugely at the start of my career.
When I first caught the producing bug, I decided to take over a West End theatre to raise money for
@chooselove . A group of 30 of us assembled that day to perform our favourite love poems under my former production company. When Tom arrived, the whole room fell silent—everyone in awe of this formidable wordsmith—yet he turned out to be the warmest, chattiest presence among us.
A few years later, Covid hit. I was desperate to keep the theatre community alive & to support those in need. In the first week of lockdown, I called Tom & said, “I’ve got a bonkers idea. I want to hire everyone we would for a play, but we’ll do it online—on this new platform called Zoom—so people can watch from home & we can raise money for
@thefelixproject ”
He replied, with typical generosity, “Gala, I’ve got a play, it’s yours.”
@samyates2020 directed A Separate Peace, with the brilliant
@jenna_coleman_ @denisegough1 David Morrisey, Ed Stoppard & Maggie Service.
I couldn’t believe it—there we all were, each in our own homes, tuning in to live theatre & willingly suspending disbelief. The next morning I woke up to five stars in The Guardian—five stars for all the angels who made it happen, one of whom was Sir Tom Stoppard. 🕊️
(Photograph mid rehearsal in between Andrew Scott &
@jadeanouka )
