Alan Dossor and I were contemporaries as undergraduates at Bristol University’s drama department in the 60s. The picture accompanying his obituary, of Alan as Jimmy Porter in Look Back in Anger, made me recall that he was something of an “angry young man” himself in those days. In the political and social senses, yes, to an extent, but more so in his intellectual and practical approach to drama and the theatre.
He was never hesitant to challenge the orthodox and usually believed there was an alternative and better way of thinking or doing things. Alan was forthright and forceful in his views but, unlike Jimmy Porter, he was not condescending or bullying, and tried to convince by reason. I am sure this quality contributed much to his later success as a director.
Alan and I made our TV acting debuts together. The independent broadcaster for the Bristol region produced a show called Treasure Chest, possibly the earliest of the now ubiquitous antiques-based programmes. Alan and I played the auction-room porters. It was not very demanding stuff and we probably earned nearly as much for one day in the studio as the real person in the real job earned in a week.
Our paths next crossed a decade later, in the early 70s, by which time Alan was artistic director at the Everyman Liverpool and I was administrative director of Contact theatre in Manchester. I had founded Contact with the aim of it being to Manchester what the Everyman was to Liverpool and the Young Vic was to London. In the event it evolved in a different direction, becoming a resource centre for arts in the youth community. It still flourishes in its new incarnation, and it could be said that its conception owed something to the fertility of Alan’s work at the Everyman.
