Theatre’s valuable legacy will endure as we strive to secure its recovery

Robert Baddeley may not be an instantly familiar name. However, he is probably the West End’s most famous bit-part player.

It was not a name that lit up any canopies when he trod the boards of Theatre Royal Drury Lane two centuries ago in productions produced by David Garrick and Richard Brinsley Sheridan. At the time, he was better known for his off-stage reputation as a dandy.

But when Baddeley died in 1794, he bequeathed a small sum that for every year afterwards, a Twelfth Night cake was to be made and punch provided to be enjoyed by the company of Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

With a few exceptions, when the theatre has been closed such as in 2021, Baddeley continues to be remembered every January 6 through this tradition. In 2022, he will be again when Theatre Royal Drury Lane’s newly refurbished lights shine brightly and the eating of his cake together, post-Covid, will hold an even greater resonance for Theatreland.

Like Baddeley, the name Nick Cordero may be unfamiliar to some readers. Over the holidays, I have enjoyed listening to his album Live Your Life. Cordero was one of Broadway’s fastest-rising stars and, despite enjoying enviable success, remained one of the humblest people in showbusiness.

He had moved from Off-Broadway to Broadway and received a Tony nomination for his performance in Bullets Over Broadway. Tragically, he died in July after a three-month battle with Covid, aged just 41. It rendered his final, self-penned title track all the more moving.

Theatre is far greater than any one individual or production – its legacy thrives through collaboration

Legacy is a word that is frequently thrown around in theatre – whether about a work, performance, season or a director, choreographer, designer or producer. However, theatre is also far greater than any one individual or production. It is an organic and ever-evolving industry, made up of many parts – one that thrives through collaboration, and depends on its workers to ensure the legacy continues into the future.

Baddeley’s bequest may have kept him remembered, but the gesture was one of unity; it was about bringing future companies together. He probably never expected that he would still be commemorated on Twelfth Night two centuries later.

Cordero’s concert album was not about ensuring his legacy. Recorded live 15 months before he died, and shortly before the birth of his son, there is so much joy, hope and compassion contained within it. The work is all the more visceral for many listeners as its release comes after many of us have lost loved ones in the pandemic.

This week marks The Stage Awards and The Stage 100 after a year like no other. Some of the names are familiar, others are perhaps less well-known, but they all epitomise the essence of theatre collaboration.

Many have helped the communities they serve, and crucially, as The Stage editor Alistair Smith says, they “recognise the individuals and organisations who have gone above and beyond to fight for the future of theatre during this most difficult of years”.

This year The Stage 100 provides time for reflection – many had to quit the profession they love in 2020

They have all helped ensure theatre’s enduring legacy through their contributions. This year’s list is therefore a cause for celebration, but it also provides a time for reflection. Many in the workforce had to quit the profession they love in 2020, some through redundancy and others because financially it was no longer viable for them to work in it.

The Stage makes no claim the list of 100 is definitive. In fact, it has 99 entries this year to show the list is incomplete. This reflects the many who have worked together to unite and carry an industry through this terrible period, from front-of-house staff working tirelessly as theatres fought to reopen and wardrobe departments making personal protective equipment to pantomime dames marching on parliament.

It includes every member of our industry’s work force who went out and did something in theatre’s fight for survival with the shared belief that theatre is essential.

All of them deserve respect and appreciation. That belief, along with hard work, determination and commitment, will be vital to our industry’s recovery.