Brian Blessed blesses a new generation of Yorkshire actors
Actor Brian Blessed, who played in the original West End production of Cats, is returning to his acting roots in Yorkshire to see a production of the show featuring children from the Calder Valley Youth Theatre later this month.
Blessed, who played Bustopher Jones and Old Deuteronomy in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 classic, will be at the opening night at the Halifax Playhouse on 14 November. The show, performed by youth theatre members between the ages of eight and 18, will run at the Playhouse for four nights.
Blessed, the son of a miner and strong socialist from Mexborough in South Yorkshire, came to the Calder Valley in the 1950s as a 'summer student' at Calder high school. He was entranced by the drama classes in the narrow valley's wild setting, as was his fellow student there, Sir Patrick Stewart.
It was a time of intellectual ferment in the West Riding, with Sir Alec Clegg encouraging the arts in education and the trio of Richard Hoggart, Raymond Williams and EP Thompson radicalising the local Workers' Education Association. The future Poet Laureate Ted Hughes, from Mytholmroyd, was also embarking on his career.
Blessed has returned regularly and his interest has been returned by local people. Apart from his acting career, he is much in demand in this fell-walking area for chats about mountaineering and his expeditions: several to Mount Everest and one as the oldest man to trek on foot to the magnetic North Pole.
For the young people performing in Cats, his visit meanwhile looks to be a great chance to gain advice from someone actively involved in theatre and television for almost half a century.
Blessed, whose other credits include Shakespearean roles and the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves says that the Calder Valley has been dear to his heart since his time at Calder High. He says:
Some of the finest drama teachers in Britain directed and trained us. It was mind-blowing and life-changing.

Josh Elderfield is in his final year of his Sports Journalism degree at the Huddersfield University. He has been writing for various sports websites including VincoSport for athletics and for his university football club.