IN FONDEST MEMORYWYLLIE LONGMORE (1940-2023) We first met Wylie (as he was then) on the first day of Student Group 16 in September 1961, and discovered that he had only just arrived from Jamaica that very summer. A party was being thrown to welcome us newbies and we found ourselves spending the whole evening talking to Wyllie about this and that and everything in between. Parties became the norm in between work, Stanislavsky, speech, and movement classes. Wyllie even threw a party in his flat share in Bayham Road. Indeed a few parties later, it had snowed, and we walked through the falling snow, noticing the look of sheer delight on Wyllie's face as he had never seen real snow before. We unceremoniously dumped him on the ground and rolled him down the hill in Montpelier Road, until he was covered in it, amid much laughter. What followed was a two-year interlude where we worked and learned together. We all went on holiday together with fellow students Estelle (then Hampton, later Longmore!) and Mary Holland and her sister, Ruth. Cruising firstly the Norfolk Broads in a 45-foot cruiser then in our second year in an old rust bucket cruising on the Thames in Oxfordshire. Happy times that still bring anecdotal smiles to our faces. What became apparent very quickly was what a rare talent Wyllie was. We always tried to emulate him but never managed to do anything more than hang on to his coat tails. Except on one occasion when Wyllie was late on stage (we know, unbelievable, but due to a quick-change malfunction) which we were both anticipating and allowed us the luxury of having a good old improvisation (about the weather). It was fortunately a modern new play and not Shakespeare, always a challenge to improvise. It was the only foot he put wrong on stage. It was almost a given that, when we finished our student course, Wyllie would take over as the course tutor (yes, he really was that good). And, after graduating from our student group, he went to study at Rose Bruford, returning to The Questors in 1969 as 2nd year tutor to Group 23. From student to tutor with alacrity. What a rare talent. Whilst at The Questors he starred in many shows from Saunders to Shakespeare, he also turned out to be a director of some note. It's truly amazing how he managed to fit so much in. When the new playhouse opened in 1964 he was part of the company that performed on the opening gala night of Ibsen's Brand to the Queen Mum and managed to corpse us on stage. Naughty Wyllie, naughty us. Although in true coarse acting style, the audience didn't notice a thing. There are so many stories from our brief few years together and reading about his achievements since then, with Estelle, shows him to have been an exceptional human being, much loved by those who were fortunate enough to have been taught by him, directed by him, acted with him, and crossed his path, Good night, sweet prince… John Turner and Mike Langridge "He was lovely to work with. He was directing The House of Bernada Alba for the Student group and I was invited back to play, the old lady Maria Josefa, You just felt really comfortable with him as an actor. He was a really good director.' Barbara Marker
Wyllie contributed to the recent Questors PlayBack "Home is..." project celebrating the rich diversity of our membership. You can watch extracts of his and other's interviews on YouTube, Follow this link: https://youtu.be/8Ynegsze0iU A further review of his professional career and as co-founder of the Arden School of Theatre in Manchester can be read on the The British Theatre Guide website. Follow this link: |
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It is with immense sadness that we heard about the death of our dear friend Wyllie Longmore on 4 January 2023.