George Eugeniou

GEORGE Eugeniou – one of Camden’s great indy survivors – had performed alongside Dirk Bogarde and was on the brink of a glittering career on the stage and silver screen when he gave it all up to start his own “radical” drama venue.

He was “the heart and soul” of Theatro Technis in Somers Town, to which he had devoted his life.

George, who has died aged 93, in the Royal Free following a heart attack, wrote and performed in hundreds of plays, musicals, short films at the theatre that he ran for more than 60 years.

The original company staged productions in George’s garage in Camden Mews, sharing a space alongside his car, before moving to a 100 seater playhouse in York Way.

It later set up its familiar permanent home in the red brick building in Crowndale Road. At a 90th birthday celebration in 2021, it was revealed he had completed his final work, A Game of Golf, despite a period of ill health.

Born in Limassol, Cyprus, he came to London in 1950 to study theatre and won a scholarship to the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.

He won Spotlight and Webber Cup awards for his acting and in 1954 he joined Dundee Repertory Theatre in Scotland as an acting assistant stage manager.

George Eugeniou at the start of the Theatro Technis story

He returned to London and joined a Cypriot amateur group with Paul Stasino, Anna Koutayiar and Theo Moreas. In 1955 he joined Sir Donald Wolfit’s company with the play The Strong Are Lonely by Fritz Hochwaeld, which toured major English cities.

In 1956, he joined Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop in Stratford East with several productions, including The Quare Fellow by Brendan Behan.

For his 90th birthday in 2021, he was given a This is Your Life-style celebration at the theatre at which he recalled: “Joan told me my accent was a problem as the part was of an Irish delinquent but took me on anyway on saying she’d make the character Irish-Cypriot.

“Nobody could understand a word I said, but Joan loved it and I never looked back. “I was inspired by her ideas and the way she worked and decided to set up my own theatre.”

George soon found himself on the books of a top agent, who secured him roles in leading films including Ill Met By Moonlight alongside Dirk Bogarde and Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom.

But he reflected later: “Being an actor was not sufficiently stimulating. I wanted to set up an alternative theatre whose roots lie in ancient Greek, playwrights like Sophocles and Euripides, great humanists who wrote about the way we live and govern ourselves. Now I am doing total theatre.”

Theatro Technis

Theatro Technis was active in supporting the Cypriot community, running advice sessions at Kentish Town Citizens Advice Bureau. Each year the national flag would be raised in an annual tradition marking the start of Cyprus Week. George kept the theatre running over the years against all the odds, without regular finding.

Chairwoman of the Theatro Technis board Marilyn Panayi said: “George Eugeniou was the heart and soul of Theatro Technis. His passion for the arts and belief in their ability to use theatre to transform lives will continue to inspire us all. “He leaves behind an indelible legacy.”

In honour of George’s life, Theatro Technis will host a public memorial celebration in the spring. He leaves his wife Maroulla, a member of Theatro Technis, and son Aris.