ABSTRACT
Some years back, I was approached to organise and direct a gala evening of music, drama and dance in the ballroom at Buckingham Palace to raise money in support of young people hoping to make a career in the arts. The performers would be drawn from the major training establishments. I chose a programme of quartets selected from chamber music, opera, musical theatre, dance and drama for them to present. It was a joyous evening in which brilliant young artists gave stunning performances in Barber’s Adagio, Fidelio, West Side Story, As You Like It and a new contemporary dance piece. The audience consisted of the ‘great and the good’ and a contingent of the eye-wateringly wealthy. In addition to raising money, we wanted to raise awareness of the importance of the arts for young people, to which end I asked Stephen Fry to make an address on this subject. Well, the technical rehearsals and dress rehearsals ran frighteningly late, so we ended up with a very short supper break. As we were chatting over sandwiches, it became clear that Stephen had not yet written a single word of what he was going to say in his speech. Occasionally he would jot down the odd phrase on a scrap of paper. Only his nonchalance reassured me.
