Performing Arts
Kevin Jackson’s career stretched across many decades. Photo: NIDA.
One of Australia’s leading acting teachers, Kevin Jackson, has died after a long illness.
Jackson, whose decades-long career saw him working as an actor, director and theatre critic as well as being one of the most illustrious teachers at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), died last week, on Wednesday 18 January.
Having cut his teeth as an actor in the late 1960s in productions such as The Winslow Boy and The Importance of Being Earnest at the Genesian Theatre, Jackson went on to study acting at NIDA, graduating in 1971.
He then worked as an actor and director with the Old Tote Theatre Company (1973-1974) before helping Q Theatre (The Q) settle in Penrith with Doreen Warburton and a group of friends.
Jackson subsequently taught at NIDA in various capacities from 1984 until 2011, including as Head of Acting in the mid-80s, as well as teaching at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.
Many of the actors he taught, such as Richard Roxburgh, Miranda Otto, Cate Blanchett, Essie Davis and Sam Worthington, went on to have stellar careers in Australia and overseas.
NIDA CEO Liz Hughes said: ‘Kevin’s contribution to Australian acting is immeasurable. During his almost three decades teaching at NIDA, he was known for a fierce intelligence and phenomenal knowledge of theatre and performance, together with [being] a generous, sensitive and nurturing soul. Uncompromising. Devoted. It was clear he wanted the best from people. He made a difference.
‘The NIDA community mourns the loss of one of our great teachers, and celebrates Kevin’s life and profound contribution to our national storytelling,’ she said.
Close friend and colleague Augusta Supple told ArtsHub: ‘Kevin was as fearless in his friendships as he was with his engagement with art. Fearless, not in the sense that many might assume as abrupt, but in an unerring and unyielding caring concern for the whole person. Which really meant, in essence, honesty was a non-negotiable element of every conversation, particularly in matters of art, but most of all in regards to love.
‘My friendship with him was developed over years of lunches and dinners – where we would share our respective personal epics, and bathe in the resonances, finding solace in mutual support. He was unwilling to compromise, when it came to the company he kept and the art he experienced. Even when he became unwell, he chose quality of life over longevity of life. After an intimate piano recital by Stephanie McCallum, Kevin turned to me, tears in his eyes, voice dark and solid: “This, this is what excellence is – and it lives in our cities, it’s right there. And why aren’t we mobbing her in our streets? We don’t know what talent we have right here.’
Describing their friendship, Supple said: ‘Kevin handed me books he’d read in a steady conveyer belt – books by women, trailblazers, topics across a spectrum: the Uluru Statement, politics, history, film. He drew his inspiration from the global literary community, ever edging nearer to understanding humanity’s pain and fortunes. And sought to share it.
‘For those he loved – his loyalty was palpable. His commitment to love, unflappable.
‘On his 70th a group of friends arranged a literal busload of friends, colleagues and lovers to travel through the streets of the eastern suburbs in a “this is your life” site specific activation. There was the stop outside his alma mater, ex-lovers from the US flown over for motorbike rides and ice-creams, a stop outside the Randwick Ritz, all ending at NIDA before the Bearded Tit showed rare footage of Kevin’s performance for the Mr Drummer [competition].
‘Kevin’s was a life of passion and love, without compromise,’ Supple said.
Sydney theatre company Sport For Jove paid tribute to Jackson’s huge influence and boundless passion, saying that his ‘dedication as a drama teacher spans multiple generations of actors in this country’.
The tribute continued: ‘His values of the discipline and focus required to be an actor, commitment to research, the respect for knowing your script properly and his insistence that the playwright’s vision be upheld are forever imprinted into the minds of those who worked with him – values that will continue to be upheld by many, long after his passing.
‘Kevin would push students out of their comfort zones and stretch them to a performance many didn’t even know they could achieve. He wanted his students to be not only actors but complete artists. His impact on the industry will be sorely missed, but not forgotten,’ Sport for Jove’s tribute read.
Griffin Theatre Company paid tribute to ‘the decades of dedication [Jackson] invested in the education of Australian actors, and his unquestionable love of Australian stories on stage’ while Australian Theatre for Young People acknowledged his dedication and insight as a theatre critic.
‘Kevin strove for truth in storytelling and carried that value through to his theatre critiques. Kevin’s reviews of ATYP productions didn’t shy away from truth and honesty, treating our young performers with the equal weighting and respect he would seasoned industry professionals. His contribution and impact on the acting and theatre industry will be long lasting,’ ATYP’s tribute read.
Jackson’s Theatre Diary, covering multiple productions between 2008 to 2022, is an important documentation of the numerous live performances he saw in that time.
His many stage appearances are documented by the Australian Live Performance Database while his contribution to the Australian theatre sector was commemorated in a Stages podcast, in an interview conducted by Peter Eyers in June 2018.
A gay man, Jackson was also prominent in Sydney’s leather community. He entered and won the Mr Australian Drummer competition in 1991 and was the second runner-up in the Mr International Drummer in 1992.
As noted by Australian Queer Archives on its Facebook page, prior to departing Australia for the International Drummer competition, Jackson said: ‘I’ve been flat out working in theatre in Sydney and San Francisco for the last few years and felt it was time to give some recognition to the subcultural side of me. I was also greatly inspired by Sir Ian McKellan, who used his position in the theatre so effectively to fight against Clause 28 and gain some recognition for gays within the wider community. I would like to use my position to demystify the world of leather and S/M so it is not as frightening to newcomers as it was at first to me.’
He is survived by former partner and loving friend George Khut.
A memorial service for Kevin Jackson is planned for February, with details yet to be announced.
Richard Watts is ArtsHub’s National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM, and serves as the Chair of La Mama Theatre’s volunteer Committee of Management. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, and was awarded the status of Melbourne Fringe Living Legend in 2017. In 2020 he was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards’ Facilitator’s Prize. Most recently, Richard was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Green Room Awards Association in June 2021. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts
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