The man behind the reviews

12:06pm Monday 4th December 2000

As far as mentors for fledgeling theatre critics go, Sir David English and Jack Tinker would have to constitute a dream team.

And for one Edgware man the late Sir David, former chairman and editor-in-chief of Associated Newspapers, and Mr Tinker, the late, Daily Mail theatre buff, proved the inspiration a blossoming career.

James Inverne, 25, of Green Lane, was taken under the wing of the duo at the age of 18 and moulded into a successful theatre critic. He has written for The Guardian, The Independent and the Evening Standard and currently works for Metro and Time Magazine.

And James this week released his second book, The Impresarios, which is dedicated to Sir David who died in June 1998. Aptly his first book was entitled Jack Tinker: A Life In Review.

James was spotted by Sir David at the age of 18 playing Shakespeare's Richard III in a production at Bournemouth Grammar School. But his dream had always been to succeed on the other side of the footlights so, on the advice of Sir David, he enrolled at London University to study English.

"I showed him some of my work which he liked and he set up work experience with Jack Tinker and that went on for a couple of years.

"I used to write for Jack and he used to comment on what I did. The two of them were really magnificent and I was really, really lucky," explained James. "When Jack died they dimmed the lights outside all the theatres in the West End as a mark of respect, which is very rare. When Sir David died they said he was one of the greatest editors of the century so really it doesn't get much better than that."

Theatre, by James's own admission, has been his life. His family owned the Cumberland, a Jewish Hotel in Bournemouth, which from time to time was visited by great Jewish entertainers like Ron Moody and Bernard Kops. His great-grandmother was an opera singer at the New York Metropolitan Opera.

"I've always adored theatre," admitted James. "It was in the family a little bit but I was lucky. I was taken to my first opera Il Trovatore when I was five.

"My first theatre experience was around the same time and I have loved it ever since."

This love is mirrored in his work. "Everything I do I try and celebrate theatre, which is not to say if a production is bad you should not say so it doesn't do anyone any favours to let standards slip.

"But I think it is important sometimes to look at the glass as half full rather than half empty so in this book I've tried to celebrate the achievements of people which has resulted in some really fantastic stories."

The Impresarios is an in-depth exploration of today's major producers of commercial theatre, opera and ballet ranging from Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Bill Kenwright to Harvey Goldsmith and Barnet based millionaire Raymond Gubbay. James claims these people have "shaped our cultural tastes over a period of about 20 or 30 years".

"As opposed to subsidised theatre, these people risk everything several of them have lost their houses," said James. "One show in every ten makes its money back so to accept those odds they have got to be gamblers in the very least or either visionaries or eccentrics at the most.

"There's a lady called Thelma Holt and she brings a lot of international theatre into London. But previously her main backer for years was Robert Maxwell and she's got some great stories about him.

"Sir Cameron Mackintosh tells the story of how he came from sweeping the stages at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, to putting on Miss Saigon the longest running show ever there.

"A lot of them are real rags to riches stories and a lot of them are very inspiring. I would like to think the book has got everything because these people have been through so much."

And James has no regrets at choosing to remain out of the limelight. "I thought I wouldn't be a great actor and I wasn't really content with being an average to good actor.

"I have got too much respect for theatre to serve it with less than my best and I thought I could serve it best as a critic."

The Impresarios is published by Oberon, priced £19.99.

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