John Chapman, who suddenly died recently, will be greatly missed by all at the Tower. Over his twelve years as a Company Member he contributed in a whole host of ways – as a director, actor, reviewer of our plays and member of the Management Committee. He appeared in about a dozen shows and directed three – Bedroom Farce, Rules for Living and The Boy who fell into a Book. But perhaps his biggest legacy was setting up and running Virtual Tower during the pandemic lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 – that initiative was a key factor in keeping the Company’s morale high and providing an outlet for our talent. In recognition of that, he was presented with the Barbara Waddell Award in 2020.
On stage, his most talked-about performance was playing Bottom in the Tower Theatre’s collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. But there were many other memorable roles – amongst them Mr Micawber in David Copperfield , Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor, the title role in Krapp’s Last Tape, and Mr. Rooney in All That Fall (his last show).
John had always been interested in the world of drama and he served as a panellist for professional stage awards – the Oliviers and, more recently, Off West End’s Offies. He was an enthusistic theatre-goer and his blog 2nd from Bottom reviewed countless shows.
Here’s a link to a page with some memories from current and former Tower members of working with John together with a selection of photos.
Anyone who wishes may make a contribution in John’s memory to MIND (a JustGiving page will be available shortly) or directly to The Cats Protection League. Jackie, John’s wife, has said that if anyone would like to get in touch with her directly, they are welcome to do so – if you would like to do so, please email the Tower.