Julian Battersby: The Passing of a Great Christian Actor

By Janet Randell
Special to ASSIST News Service

LONDON, UK (ANS) -- Both the acting profession and the Christian Church have lost a man who left a significant mark in both these worlds. Julian Battersby was seventy-five years old, when he went unexpectedly to his beloved Lord on July 13th 2011. I was one of the many Christian artists who were touched by Julian's prayerful encouragement and Christian example.

Julian Battersby (Photo: Claire Grogan)

Julian was a great and talented Shakespearian actor who, having won a Gielgud Scholarship to study acting at the Central School of acting, went on to perform alongside Sir John Gielgud, and many other distinguished actors from the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. He played many roles in the theatre, television and on film. One of his greatest performances was as the lead role in Chekhov's Uncle Vanya at the Belfast Lyric Theatre, where he imbued the hero of the play with a tragic compassion that truly touched the soul. I flew to this beleaguered city during the Irish troubles, when civilians had to undergo searches at virtually every corner of the city, to attend the performance. I watched the audience rapt in awe, as Julian transported us to another world.

Julian was one of those rare individuals who could to touch and reach people, not only through his great acting, but also as a committed Christian through whom the love of God shone. He always humbly attributed his talents as a unique gift from God, and he loved the Lord so intensely that the fruits of his faith shone like a beacon of light whether on stage or among his fellow Christians. Julian quietly and thoughtfully guided and assisted countless actors throughout his life, and he performed untold acts of kindness to many artists and Christians alike, setting a shining Christian example in the theatre world. Not once did Julian compromise his Christian faith, sometimes at great personal cost to his career.

He was a faithful supporter of the Arts Centre Group in London, whose "vision is to support artists in every arts discipline to be fully Christian and fully professional." He was often there to listen and encourage gently, and to welcome everyone as a friend.

His was a rallying spirit that came to the rescue and this is how I first met Julian. It was a hot summer's day at an ACG festival gathering at the Wycliffe Centre, way back in the early seventies. I had just given quite a controversial a talk on my post graduate studies on the history of dance, symbolism and Christianity, and was in deep discussion with the supportive Professor Hans Rookmaaker.

Janet Randell

As a prelude to one of the early performances by our newly formed Christian dance company Cedar of Lebanon, now called The Cedar Dance Theatre Company, I wanted an actor to read a selection of the Psalms, and Nigel Goodwin, leader of the ACG seized me by the hand and introduced me to Julian. Without delay, this kindly man stepped into the breach. And that was the start of Julian's interest in both the artistic and spiritual side of my work, and the work of many young artists from the ACG, whom Julian took such pains to encourage and pray for.

Julian loved the visual arts - in particular painting and dance. He was a rock of support to Cedar Dance from giving of his time both practically and artistically.

He was the reader at an Easter service lead by Cedar Dance, and he was one of the actors in Foxes in the Vineyard, an award winning modern Christian radio play, which was adapted as a sound track to Cedar's modern ballet of that name, which was performed at the Edinburgh Festival in the mid-seventies, to critical acclaim.

He could be extremely funny, and have you in stitches with his comic impersonations. In those early days, running a professional dance company which was performing to both church and theatre audiences was chaotic: our motto was to "Consider the lilies of the field" from Matthew 6, and sometimes God granted us our desires in the most bizarre of ways. One week we had no transport for our heavy and long dance floor: the only person Julian and another helper could find at such short notice was a Christian undertaker, who offered to use his hearse. I can still hear Julian chortling at the joke about the reliability of the undertaker, because he was the last person to let you down!

Julian could turn cartwheels with joy and was surprisingly nimble on his feet - he was once an extra when the Russian Ballet came to Covent Garden, although he told us that he stood on the costume of one of the ballet stars and was severely reprimanded by her! He never tired of quoting his movement teacher at the Central School of Acting, who said, "Julian danced like an elephant", but as he was quick to retort, he performed with the stars of the Russian ballet! Julian loved movement, but he loved the spiritual meaning behind movement, and another of his favorite quotations was from the first chapter of Genesis, where in the beginning "the spirit of God was moving over the waters", even before Creation began.

There was a profound and deep side to Julian. This came out in one of his most endearing performances acting the part of Monsieur Givet in the International Films Production of Treasures of the Snow from the book by Patricia M St John. This has been widely viewed around the world on film, video and public television. The narrative of the film follows the story of three children and their developing Christian faith through the exploration of love, hate, death, disability, repentance, self-sacrifice, forgiveness and reconciliation. [1]

Set in the period just after World War II, Julian had a devastating firsthand experience of the destructive nature of the war. His father was vicar of Emmanuel Church Hastings, and one day when Julian was a boy, he decided to take his son on one of his scheduled trips to preach in another part of the country. Julian recalls that this was unprecedented and quite unplanned. However, The Lord was behind this plan. Later that day a lone German bomber was returning from a heavy bombing raid on London. He had one single bomb left and decided to unload it on the landmark Emmanuel Church. It sailed past and landed on the vicarage and Julian's beloved sister Deidre was instantly blown to pieces. His mother was thrown downstairs, but survived. Julian was very close to his sister and was devastated when he returned, but had he remained, Julian would not have lived until this year, and the Lord would not have used him so mightily.

I am convinced that it was because of this profound experience that Julian was such a good actor and a deep and committed Christian, who was able to feel and empathize so deeply for Christians and artists.

Julian was a staunch member of All Souls Church, Langham Place. When he was invited to do the readings from the Gospels, the delivery of his words moved so many members of the congregation. On a personal note, when I fell seriously ill in the early nineties, and was unable to attend All Souls, he assiduously posted me a copy of the service sheet each week, and we used to sing the hymns together over the telephone the following week. In fact Julian was a prolific letter writer, and many a Christian artist and friend will have received one or more of his little homilies.

Julian loved the countryside: he visited the wheelchair access at our charity Woods Hills & Tracks in Wales. Just before his death he spoke of the beauty of the kingfisher, which flew down to the stream where he was standing, and sang for him at his last visit.

Above all, Julian loved the Lord; he spoke to the Lord each day; he moved to Hastings a few years ago, and never tired of looking at the sea and the light playing on the waters, which reminded him so much of his favourite verses from the Bible.

We thank God for such a faithful servant, who loved you and set such a shining example in the world of acting and who loved his fellow Christians so deeply.

Julian was never tired of quoting and living out these words from Matthew: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Mat 11:28)

[1] Katrina Lybbert (November/December 2002). "Beacon Book of the Month". Truelight Academy. Retrieved 2010-08-09.

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Janet Randell, BA (Hons), AISTD, international choreographer, digital dance animator, teacher, lecturer, author, researcher and musician, is the founder and Artistic Director of The Cedar Dance Theatre Company and Cedar Dance Animations. She is a committed Christian and shares the aim the Arts Centre Group, a Christian Organization of which she is a member, to be fully Christian and fully professional in her work. Randell has choreographed many modern and contemporary dance works for The Cedar Dance Theatre Company, which emerged in the early 70s as one of the leading professional dance companies in the UK. One of Randell's aims has been to make contemporary dance/modern ballet accessible to a wide audience, including the church. The Cedar Dance Theatre Company has performed in theatres and church venues in London and throughout the UK. Randell has also freelanced for many years as a choreographer for stage and TV, and has choreographed, directed and taught in the UK, New York, China, Australia, Holland and the Republic of Ireland. For some years, Randell has been exploring her choreography and pushing the boundaries of creative dance through digital animation and the integration of live performance with 3D animation, motion technology and film. This has provided a new and innovative platform for her artistic expression. Most recently she has been choreographing and directing independent dance film productions for Cedar with an international group of young soloist dancers. Venues include the Robin Howard Dance Theatre, The Place, London and Theatre Severn, Shropshire. In addition to her choreography, dance animation, film and theatre dance work, Janet is actively researching and developing digital dance for education. She is producing a new major digital resource for dancers, choreographers, teachers and lecturers called The Tutorial Guide To DanceForms. Together with an introduction by Merce Cunningham, The Tutorial Guide will soon be released. Janet continues to dedicate her time and expertise to disability and dance. This year Janet Randell is exploring t he themes of disability and enablement in her ongoing pilot dance film with live dance and animation called Passing Moments, with The Cedar Dance Theatre Company and Cedar Dance Animations. For further details see: http://www.cedardanceanimations.com. Janet Randell is also founder and chairman of Woods, Hills & Tracks, a registered charity, one of whose aims is to provide dance therapy and rural access for all and challenges to people with all types of disabilities. Janet also runs dance therapy courses, arts and dance projects, also using the outdoor Woodhill site as a backdrop to her film projects. She is currently involved in projects with Prospects, a Christian organization which values and supports people with learning disabilities so that they live their lives to the full. For further details see: http://www.woods-hills-tracks.com