the times | Saturday December 4 2021 9
News
Sir Antony Sher, who played some of
Shakespeare’s most iconic characters
on the stage, has died of cancer at the
age of 72.
Some of the greatest names of the
Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)
have paid tribute to the actor, writer
and artist, who made Britain his home
after arriving from South Africa.
In recent years his marriage to
Gregory Doran, artistic director of the
RSC, resulted in Stratford-upon-Avon
and its stages becoming his home.
From there, before and after their mar-
riage, he garnered acclaim for playing
Macbeth, Richard III, Falstaff and Lear.
There have been a smattering of films
including the Oscar-winning Shake-
speare in Love, a series of journals
chronicling his stage runs and love of
acting, and exhibitions of his artwork at
institutions across the country.
“As Shakespeare might well have
said: ‘We shall not look upon his like
again,’ ” Thelma Holt, the RSC asso-
ciate producer, said.
Dame Harriet Walter, who performed
with him in Macbeth and Death of a
Salesman, said that while “on stage he
was a powerhouse, bold and uncom-
promising... offstage he was surpris-
ingly unassuming, private and unosten-
tatious. He could also be wickedly
funny.”
Walter said that when they first met
early in his career he “seemed to be in a
perpetual state of wonderment to have
arrived in the theatrical mecca of
London from his native South Africa.”
She added: “I don’t think he ever lost
that feeling of surprise even when he
became part of the heart of that estab-The head of an exclusive Knightsbridge
boutique that once dressed Diana,
Princess of Wales, is suing a “fashion
connoisseur” over an alleged
£1.3 million swindle.
Bridget Hutchcroft, 60, of Pandora
Dress Agency, told the High Court in
London that she befriended Ekaterina
Barrett, 64, a designer, after buying
some of her “valuable collection” of
clothing to sell in her shop.
Hutchcroft said their relationship
soured after she loaned Barrett £1.3 mil-
lion, her life’s savings, when Barrett told
her she was going through a divorce.
The boutique owner claimed that her
“exploitative” friend refused to repay
the money, and that she was the victim
of “fraudulent misrepresentation”.
Pandora, which is near Harrods, has
been a fashion fixture in Knightsbridge
since its founding after the end of the
Second World War. Its celebrity clients
have included Catherine Zeta-Jones,
Ava Gardner and Diana. It sells second-
hand designer clothes, all seasonal and
less than two years old, from labels such
as Chanel, Hermes, Versace and Prada.
In written submissions to the High
Court, Hutchcroft claimed that Barrett
posed as a multimillionaire as a way of
inducing her to make the loans. The
loss of the money made Hutchcroft “ill”
and put her at risk of losing her home.
Barrett has told the court that she is
wealthy, with a home in the Mayfair
apartment building where Keith Moon,
the drummer for The Who, died in 1978.
She denied boasting about her
wealth to secure a loan, claiming that
the money given to her was owed for
fashion items from her collection that
she passed over for sale at Pandora.
Other money given by Hutchcroft, she
said, was reimbursement for expenses
she had incurred during the pair’s
business trips to Monaco.
In court documents Daniel Burkitt,
Osborne:
culture wars
won’t deter
museum
David SandersonGeorge Osborne has defended the Brit-
ish Empire, Winston Churchill and JK
Rowling and promised that the British
Museum will not “shrink in the face of
the culture wars”.
The former chancellor, recently cho-
sen to chair the institution, said it had to
put its head above the parapet and not
fear being injured in battle.
Osborne, writing for The Times to-
day, expressed his admiration for indi-
viduals such as Rowling, who have “en-
gaged in the public debate”. She has
been criticised for her views on gender.
“Most people in positions of author-
ity, and most institutions, choose to
keep their heads below the parapet and
hope that the battle will leave them un-
scathed,” he said. “Given the animated
conversation about our country’s his-
tory, that is not possible for the British
Museum.”
He argued that most people thought
“the British Empire achieved many
great things while regarding the Amrit-
sar massacre as an abhorrent crime”.
He said that while the museum was
not “dismissive” over claims it has no
rights to many of the objects it holds,
most prominently the Parthenon, or
Elgin, marbles, neither was it “embar-
rassed or defensive” about its history.
“We remain one of the very few
places on earth where you can see the
great civilisations of the world side by
side,” he said. He said it was “open to
lending our artefacts to anywhere that
can take good care of them and ensure
their safe return — which we do every
year, including to Greece.”
Osborne, 50, added that “some years
ago” he bought a T-shirt from his gym
with WOKE emblazoned across it.
“I wanted to say: I’m liberal too — I’m
pro-immigration, worried about the
climate and understand that transgen-
der people feel unsupported.
“A few years later ‘woke’ has become
weaponised and the T-shirt remains
unworn. I find running on the treadmill
hard enough without having to explain
that no, I don’t think Winston Churchill
was a war criminal, and yes, people who
have cervixes can be called women.”
George Osborne, It’s right to be proud of
the British Museum, page 29Boutique owner
sues friend who
‘cheated her out
of life savings’
Jonathan Ames Legal Editor the barrister representing Hutchcroft,
said that the two women met at the
Knightsbridge shop in 2017. Hutchcroft
“took a shine” to Barrett’s two grey-
hounds and began dog-sitting for her
shortly after that meeting.
Burkitt said Barrett told Hutchcroft
that she was a “multi-multimillionaire”
who did not have to work because she
was the beneficiary of a large trust set
up by her grandfather. Hutchcroft
claimed that she was told by Barrett’s
bank manager that her wealth was
“equivalent to a Rothschild”.
Hutchcroft claimed that later in the
year Barrett told her that she needed
money after encountering problems in
gaining access to the trust, and asked
her for a loan. Barrett is alleged to have
then increased her request as she
needed to pay her divorce lawyers.
According to the claim, Hutchcroft
eventually pleaded for repayment in
increasingly desperate terms — but
Barrett told her that if she did not let her
pay in her own time she would have to
“wait 100 years”.
The barrister said that throughout
that period, Barrett continued to send
Hutchcroft “photos on WhatsApp of
her very expensive shopping sprees”.
Edward Cumming QC, representing
Barrett, denied the claims, and said that
his client was a wealthy woman with a
home in Curzon Square, Mayfair, who
did not boast about her riches.
As well as defending the claim to
repayment of the alleged loans, he told
the court that Barrett had filed a
counter claim for the return of items
from her collection which she alleged
Hutchcroft had retained.
Hutchcroft obtained a court order at
a pretrial hearing last month freezing
Barrett’s assets. Judge Sam Grodzinski
QC refused Barrett’s attempt to replace
the freezing order with personal under-
takings.
The case is set to return to court for a
full trial next year.
Hall of fame The American actress Jerry Hall makes her modelling comeback at
65 as the face of Saint Laurent’s spring-summer 2022 campaign. She was a
favourite of Yves Saint Laurent and first appeared on the brand’s catwalk at 17DAVID SIMS/YSLSher, Shakespeare colossus, dies at 72
David Sanderson Arts Correspondent lishment. I think he always felt like an
outsider and his outsider’s vision was
his strength.”
Sir Patrick Stewart said Sher could be
“terrifying on stage, but often, also very
funny... the one aspect that character-
ised Tony’s stage performances for me
however, was his humanity. There was
a fragile, living being, behind all those
performances, which breathed truth
into everything he did.”
Sir Mark Rylance, who became
friends with Sher in 1982, said: “I
remember his infectious laugh and
sense of humour most, his meticulous
artwork and visual imagination. A gen-
tleman and devoted man of the theatre.
A great loss.”
The RSC said that Doran, who has
been on compassionate leave since
September when Sher’s condition was
made public, was expected to return
to work next year. Erica Whyman con-
tinues as acting artistic director of the
organisation.
Obituary, pages 82-
Sir Antony Sher
played Richard III,
Falstaff and LearAcademic quits after being
abused for her trans views
Nicola Woolcock Education EditorAn academic who faced abuse from
colleagues over her transgender views
has quit the Open University.
Jo Phoenix, who has been research-
ing sex, gender and justice for two
decades and believes biological sex can-
not be changed, was one of two academ-
ics to receive an apology from Essex
University after a talk was cancelled.
She said that conflict with colleagues
at Open University, where she is profes-
sor of criminology, has led to post-trau-
matic stress disorder. She is taking the
institution to an employment tribunal.
Phoenix said that she would be start-
ing a new role at Reading University.
She had set up a network at Open Uni-
versity to study gender-critical views,
held by those who do not believe bio-
logical sex can be changed. An open let-
ter denouncing the network was signedby 380 people. It said: “We do not
believe that freedom of speech or
academic freedom should come at the
expense of marginalised groups.” It
added that the network was “hostile to
the rights of trans people”. A manager
likened her to a “racist uncle”.
Phoenix tweeted yesterday: “I re-
signed from Open University last night.
The university has allowed things to es-
calate to a point beyond repair. My trust
and heart have been broken.”
An Open University spokesman told
the Daily Mail: “Our role as an institu-
tion is not to take sides but to facilitate
these debates while ensuring they take
place in accordance with the law and
that colleagues are provided with
support where necessary.”
In October Professor Kathleen
Stock, a philosopher who holds similar
views to Phoenix, left Sussex University
over accusations of transphobia.