Farewell Jerry Hodgson – an unsung stalwart of the National Youth Theatre

There are those whose names become known in their field. But there are countless others whose names do not; the unsung heroes whose contributions are just as remarkable – but in an unassuming, below-the-radar way.

Their influence is no less pronounced, particularly if you were one of those whose lives they touched along the way.

Jerry Hodgson, who passed away towards the end of November, was one of those people.

If you were in the National Youth Theatre’s electrics team between 1983 and 1994, Jerry touched your life. He’d come to the NYT by way of the Shaw Theatre, which was then the company’s home. As he put it, he’d “accidentally” become chief there in 1981, having first been called in as cover and eventually employed full time despite founder Michael Croft’s objection to the “boy with long hair”. He became the NYT’s chief electrician when it left the Shaw in 1983.

A generation of people who came through the NYT in that time went on to do great things, some in life beyond our world, others across the entertainment industry at all levels. The qualities they’ve taken with them make them easy to spot, even if you don’t know their background – it’s easy to label them as ‘NYT qualities’. Now one can’t help wonder whether they were actually ‘Jerry qualities’. Never taught, just lived – leading by example.

This includes making room in the back of a packed trailer so he could fit his wetbike in – a lesson that work shouldn’t win over life. Or keeping everyone amused as we discovered the particular joys of long overnighters in a cathedral in Edinburgh – a lesson in humour and a light touch.

Eveything was done with remarkable patience given that Jerry was surrounded by a bunch of teens who often thought we knew it all

Solving any problem presented, even if that meant a bit of surreptitious drilling, was a lesson that the goal was to get the show on – before adjourning to the pub. Eveything was done with remarkable patience given that he was surrounded by a bunch of teens who often thought we knew it all.

Over the longer term, his relationship with Elaine, which began back in 1989, never ended. That’s always been an inspiring lesson in stability to those who knew them both.

Jerry didn’t do so much theatre latterly; he’d spend his summers sorting out power for festivals and events, then shift back into an entirely different life he’d taught himself: as a blacksmith.

But throughout, he loved the NYT as an idea and as an organisation. He was a bridge between its original era under Michael Croft and that of his successor, Edward Wilson. He helped deliver a remarkable series of shows along the way, though I’m sure it was the people that he enjoyed most.

We were lucky to have him there, lucky to know him afterwards and lucky to keep in touch. Even if you didn’t speak to him often, you knew he was there, for a chat. Though we can’t do that any more, hopefully that sense of being looked out for will never go away.