Desmond Jones obituary
My father, Desmond Jones, who has died aged 87, was a pioneer of modern physical theatre. His school, the Desmond Jones School of Mime and Physical Theatre, was the longest running of its kind in the UK.
In the mid-1960s, Desmond went to see Marcel Marceau, the mime superstar, perform in London. Afterwards, he fought his way backstage and into Marceau’s dressing room to ask where he could study mime. Marceau wrote a Parisian address on a scrap of paper and the words “Go There”. He took the piece of paper and, in 1967, he went.
“There” was the mime teacher Étienne Decroux, who had taught Marceau. Desmond spent two years with this tempestuous genius studying corporeal mime – a highly disciplined technique of using the body alone to tell stories.
Desmond was born in Cambridge, to Eileen (nee Gunning) and Bob Jones, a civil servant, and attended the Perse school in the city. He took a degree in Scandinavian studies at Cambridge University, the first of his family to go on to higher education. Joining the Footlights comedy group, he performed with John Cleese and Peter Cook. But Desmond never felt he could match their vocal dexterity – he liked physical comedy.
During the 1968 Paris riots he met Marion Angus. He described a typical date: sitting on a park bench, watching as the molotov cocktails rained down on police.
He returned to London in 1970, the year that he and Marion married. He was the first mime specialist to be invited to perform at the National Theatre, and in 1979 he established his school in Shepherd’s Bush. His teaching incorporated Decroux’s technique, together with improvisation, clowning and even chimpanzee movement.
Desmond’s school quickly developed an international reputation. An inspirational teacher with devoted students, he inherited some of Decroux’s uncompromising flourishes. Classes began at 9am, and doors closed at 9.01am. No latecomers.
Many of his early students worked on the Star Wars Trilogy, while Desmond himself became a movement director of renown. He worked on the caveman movie Quest for Fire (1981), as well as Greystoke (1984).
A passionate campaigner for physical theatre on the Arts Council, Desmond believed British acting had to become more interesting from the neck down. The school closed with his retirement in 2004. He spent his final years living with Parkinson’s disease, which took from him the physical grace he had spent a lifetime mastering.
Desmond is survived by Marion, their children, Lotte and me, their grandchildren, Willa and Bibi, and an older brother, Barry.
