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John Dexter (1925-1990), who was born at 15 Leyland Street, Derby

On the face of it there would seem to be no direct link between an address in Leyland Street, Derby, and the higher echelons of the worlds of theatre, opera and film.

Perhaps that is why the man who provides the unlikely connection was never keen to promote it to 'his public'. Indeed it has been written that he consciously kept his Derby origins under wraps whenever possible because he was rather ashamed of his humble start in life. It simply didn't fit with the image 'dah-ling'.

That may or may not be true, and we can no longer ask the man himself - the acclaimed but often controversial stage and film director JOHN DEXTER - for he died two decades ago.

If the name fails to ring with great clarity it is because Dexter was not an icon in the 'popular' sense. But in theatrical, operatic and film circles he was widely admired and respected, both as a man and for his lasting work. As such he must take his place as a You and Yesterday 'Famous Derbeian' whether he likes it or not!

JOHN HENRY DEXTER was born on 2 August 1925 at 15 Leyland Street, Derby. The son of a lorry driver, he attended Gerard Street School, but failed to make a strong impression academically. He left at fourteen and worked in a factory.

But he was evidently drawn to the performing arts. After doing his National Service he found work in repertory theatre in Derby, and he had a brief dalliance with popular culture when he played the character of PC Geoff Bryden in the then new BBC Radio series The Archers - had Dexter stayed with that now cult broadcasting phenomenon he might well have become a 'celebrity' in the wider sense, but in the event he opted for something more highbrow.

In the mid-1950s he made the move away from his home town which was, it is fair to say, to be his making. He joined the staff of the Central School for Speech and Drama in London, and in 1957 went to the Royal Court Theatre as a director. Although lacking experience, his flair and imagination, backed by great enthusiasm, soon enhanced his reputation. Indeed no lesser a figure than Laurence Olivier backed his judgment by appointing Dexter as associate director of the National Theatre in 1963.

His productions, often 'modern' and controversial, created great interest, and were staged in both London's West End and New York's Broadway to equal acclaim. In 1967 Dexter was nominated for a Best Director Tony Award for Peter Shaffer's Black Comedy and in 1975 he won a Tony award for his work on Shaffer's Equus. A second Tony award followed in 1988.

Parallel to his work as a theatrical director, Dexter staged several productions for the Hamburg State Opera, and in 1974 was appointed to the prestigious post of Director at New York's Metropolitan Opera House. It seems fair to assume that there was little talk over bagels and coffee of 15 Leyland Street, Derby. He remained in the post for ten years, often ruffling feathers, and in 1981 stepped down to the more lowly role of production adviser.

And we mustn't forget his films. Dexter's debut feature film as director remains his most famous - The Virgin Soldiers (1968), adapted from a Leslie Thomas novel. And again Dexter was no stranger to controversy - his I Want What I Want (1972) explored a young man's experience of a sex-change, a much more shocking subject in the early-1970s than it would be today.

John Dexter occasionally revisited Derbyshire professionally - he directed at the Buxton Festival in the 1980s - and he returned to Derby to visit friends and family, but any conscious effort to be 'true to his roots' was difficult to discern.

After suffering deteriorating health for a number of years he died in London on 23 March 1990, aged 64. He was unmarried. His autobiography The Honourable Beast was published posthumously in 1993.

Sir Peter Hall said of John Dexter that he was 'fun, courageous and obsessive, the most organised and tunnel-visioned director both in preparation and casting.'

And what would his fellow Derbeians say of him? Perhaps there are some former pupils of Gerard Street School in the 1930s who remember the lorry driver's son. Or did you see John Dexter act at Derby Playhouse? Maybe you have read his autobiography and can reveal what he said about his early life in Derby.

If you have any memories to add, just click on the 'edit' link at the top of this article and start writing.

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County:  Derbyshire

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