Obituary: Inverness theatre group director and costume designer was former society hairdresser in London
John Claudius spent his early life in India, where he was born in 1931.
He moved to England, just after Indian independence, with family members.
Having met through the amateur drama scene in London, John and his wife Jean began their own theatre club called the Lambeth Players in 1960.
They performed many works by Shakespeare and other period plays in venues such as the Edinburgh Festival, Hampton Court, the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey.
They were often works adapted or written by Jean and featuring John in leading roles. A play by Jean about Thomas More was performed in the Tower of London with John as lead.
Jean had attended Slade School of Art and was an extremely talented professional theatrical costumier.
John was a society hairdresser, working in a top-class Mayfair salon, catering to many titled ladies such as Lady Churchill and Lady Mountbatten.
He very quickly became a skilled amateur costume designer under the tutelage of his wife.
John moved to the Highlands from London with his family in 1974 to run an inn in Strathconon.
Shortly after, he became involved with the Florians as a performer and director.
His first production with the Inverness club was Ring Round the Moon in Eden Court, for which Jean and John designed the elaborate period costumes.
They brought many of the costumes Jean had designed in London with them and these were stored in their home near Loch Ness.
When they moved out of the house, the Florians offered to store the costumes and eventually John donated the whole collection to the club.
In addition to all his other talents, John was a skilled artist who enjoyed painting.
The walls of many club members are adorned with pictures John did of them in one of the productions he directed over the years. The last play he directed for the club in 2015 was Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream which he had previously directed in 1992.
John died in December.
Obituary by Trevor Nicol
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