Vale Jon English

When I was ten years old my parents took me to see Pirates of Penzance. It was at that time a nearly 4-hour drive to get to Brisbane, and I had to dress up to go. I'd never been to a 'proper' theatre before and I remember my excitement well.

That night I fell in love with the theatre and in particular musical theatre. Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance has remained a sentimental favourite of mine ever since. The performance I saw starred Simon Gallaher and Marina Prior with Jon English as the Pirate King. The energy and enjoyment he brought to the role was magical and I became a fan.

I later saw the revival, again with Jon English as the Pirate King. I also saw him in HMS Pinafore.

Many years later The Hub saw Jon English at a coffee shop and approached him, asking for his autograph on my behalf and telling him how 'the wife is a fan'. I still have his autograph tucked safely away.

All these years later and I still love going to the theatre and still smile everytime I hear the music to 'A Cat Like Tread'. Australia has lost one of it's great entertainers.