'RSC was where Sir Patrick Stewart felt at home'

Sir Patrick Stewart felt "most at home" at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), its former artistic director has said.

Tributes have been paid to the renowned British actor, who died at the age of 86 on Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles, following a "brief and poignant journey" with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy Body Dementia.

Sir Patrick began his career on stage in Warwickshire, where he honed his craft by performing Shakespeare, before finding international success on screen and in Hollywood.

Gregory Doran, the RSC's former artistic director, said Stratford-upon-Avon and the theatre company remained at the heart of the actor's life, describing it as the place where he "felt most at home".

"Patrick felt that Stratford was home to him," he told BBC CWR. "Shakespeare was what he loved.

The actor, who trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School from the age of 17, joined the RSC in 1966 and performed roles including King John, Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Henry IV.

Remembering Sir Patrick's time at the company, Doran described him as "magnificent", recalling a moment when he portrayed Hamlet's uncle King Claudius in the famous Shakespearean tragedy.

"He just was a great company man, very democratic, never forgot his Yorkshire roots, always just really loved working with young actors and passing on what he knew," Doran explained.

"That was, I think, one of the great genuine things about his generosity as a human being."

In a tribute, the RSC described Sir Patrick as a "colossus of both stage and screen" and "one of the finest classical Shakespearean actors of his generation".

Well-known for his iconic role playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek, the award-winning actor also went onto to portray Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men film franchise.

Doran, who stepped down as the company's artistic director in 2022, said Sir Patrick was a "lovely person to have in a rehearsal room".

"He was at heart, a craftsman... whether that was in Shakespeare or, in a sci fi franchise, that was really at the heart of who he was and Shakespeare had been a passport through his life.

"I feel very privileged to have been able to work with him and count him as a friend."

Despite going onto to have an extensive career in Hollywood, the actor returned to the RSC on occasion for productions or campaigns, and was also involved in fundraising efforts.

He visited the theatre last year following the release of his autobiography, Doran explained.

"He was very funny, telling wonderful anecdotes about growing up in the field and about his early days at Stratford and it was a joy to have him and the audience just lapped up the fact that this Hollywood star had arrived back on home turf."

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