My friend Andrew Jarvis, who has died aged 78, was an actor and drama teacher dedicated to the stage and, especially, to performing Shakespeare. Although never a star, he was a stalwart of both the Royal Shakespeare Company and the English Shakespeare Company, combining a classical focus on the playwright’s text with an openness to theatrical innovation.
He joined the RSC in 1980, appearing in productions including Henry V with Kenneth Branagh in the title role (1984). In 1986, he opted to join the English Shakespeare Company that Michael Bogdanov assembled at the Old Vic, dedicated to rethinking the Bard and challenging audiences with a Marxist focus on the political context of the plays. Andy, always a radical, flourished in this context.
