Sir John Mortimer CBE QC (21 April 1923-16 January 2009)

The Royal Court was saddened to hear this morning of the death of Sir John Mortimer. Sir John was Chairman of the Royal Court from 1990 until 2000 and President since 2000. He will be much missed by the Royal Court.

Dominic Cooke, Artistic Director of the Royal Court Theatre:
“John spent a decade as Chairman of the board of the Royal Court and another as our President, and we shall miss him terribly. As one of Britain’s most eloquent and successful, champions of free speech and campaigners against censorship, he was a peerless role model to us all. His loss will be felt deeply by anyone who met him, or who experienced his love of theatre, his passion for justice or his incomparable zest for life.”

Anthony Burton, Chair of the Royal Court Theatre:
“I served as John’s Vice-Chair at the Royal Court for many years and he became a dear friend to me, and an invaluable friend to the theatre. He was a constant source of support to the Royal Court, always accompanied with his trade mark wit and sense of mischief. I remember especially a tricky period in the late Nineties when the theatre was being redeveloped and we were trying to find the money to pay for it. His advice and his sense of humour were priceless in very difficult times.”