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| FEATURES | BY KIM JANSSEN |
 Revd Basil Jellicoe, right, with Prince George, the Prince of Wales, centre in the Hope and Anchor in the bar of the Anchor pub with its manager Charles Eddington, in April 1930  Writer Rob Inglis with St Aloysius pupils Alexalyu Owandey, rear, Winnie Bojang, left, and Bindu De Stoppani. |
IT’S not often you see a vicar dancing backwards down the middle of the street in a cloak. But then the Reverend Basil Jellicoe, a familiar, if eccentric, sight in Eversholt Street, Somers Town, 80 years ago, was no ordinary vicar. And next Thursday the man who became a Camden hero for his successful campaign against slums, dances again in Jellicoe – The Musical. The culmination of a three-year community arts project, the musical being staged at the Shaw Theatre was scripted by veteran writer Ron Inglis, a long-time Somers Town resident. Camden Central Partnership, King’s Cross developers Argent St George, London and Continental Railways, and St Pancras Housing Association have backed the project financially. With a cast of professional actors and amateurs, it tells how the Revd Jellicoe led the community in its campaign to convert hideous hovels into decent social housing in the 1920s. The vicar’s never-say-die spirit, which made him a firm favourite with children, is well documented. He even opened a pub, inspiring the musical’s lyrics: “What? A parson running a pub? From the pulpit to the bar, it’s really going too far!” But, according to Inglis, who trawled Camden Council’s archives before writing the play, there was a darker, private side to the vicar’s character. “He was what, if he lived today, people would call a manic-depressive,” Inglis explains. “He was just 36 when he died and it’s fair to say he worked himself to death. He was incredibly aware of the suffering of others. No matter what he achieved in Camden he couldn’t rest because he knew there was suffering in other parts of the country, too.” In addition to founding what became St Pancras Housing and Humanist Association, Revd Jellicoe helped set up similar groups up and down the country. Inglis, who hopes the play will help bring the community together, added: “From the minutes of the housing association meetings it is clear how hard other people had to work when he was gone – after the vision comes the spadework.” The lead role is taken by Mark Burdette, a boxer, juggler and former projects manager at the Shaw Theatre whose resemblance to Jellicoe struck Inglis. And Father Rob Wickham, of St Mary’s, Jellicoe’s church, will play Father Percy Maryon-Wilson, a colleague of Basil Jellicoe. Osahan Umweni, who plays Kathie Thomas, a black girl adopted by Jellicoe who, in turn, adopted 14 children herself, met Kathie’s sister, 94-year-old Felicia, as part of her preparation. Pupils at St Aloysius Junior School will perform songs such as The Bugs of Somers Town. And there is still a chance for other young people to get involved. Inglis is looking for members of the Somali and Bangladeshi communities to take part in the show’s finale. He says: “We really do want to involve the communities who now live in the area in the celebration of what the vicar did for Somers Town. There will be Somali singing and Bangladeshi rhythms. People don’t need to be experts, we just want them to join in.” He also wants anyone who remembers Tattershall, the coal merchant, known as “quite a character”, to help the actor who will play him by sharing reminiscences. n Jellicoe runs at the Shaw Theatre, 100 Euston Road, from October 16-19 and October 23-26. Tickets are £10/£5 from 020 7387 6864. To take part in the finale, call Rob Inglis on 020 77387 4942. |
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