My friend Jim Davis, who has died aged 74, was an internationally respected theatre historian, inspirational lecturer and a leading authority on 19th-century theatre. From 2004 to 2009 he was head of theatre and performance studies at the University of Warwick, where he established the department’s reputation for excellence.
Jim published widely and to critical acclaim. His most recent book, Comic Acting and Portraiture in Late-Georgian and Regency England (2015), won the Theatre and Performance Research Association David Bradbury award in 2017. Jim was joint author, with Victor Emeljanow, of Reflecting the Audience, London Theatre Going, 1840-1880, which was awarded the 2001 Theatre Book prize.
He was born in Bristol and grew up in a modest, hard-working family. His father, Robert, was a technical illustrator at the aviation company BAC; his mother, Pamela (nee Lynas), was a housewife after marriage. Attending Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital school in the city, Jim showed an interest in theatre from an early age, and studied English at Keble College, Oxford, afterwards completing a PhD on the comic actor John Liston at the University of Exeter. He taught first at a tutorial college in London and then spent 10 years lecturing in English and drama at Whitelands College, now the University of Roehampton. It was in London in 1975 that I met Jim.
Jim was a source of inspiration to friends, family, students and colleagues. He spent 18 years from 1985 at the University of New South Wales, in Sydney, where he became head of the school of theatre, film and dance, and president of the Australasian Drama Studies Association.
In 2004 he returned to the UK on his appointment as professor of theatre and head of department at Warwick. He was described by colleagues as a wonderful mentor with seemingly boundless energy. Students were encouraged to be ambitious, and Jim worked hard to enable them to flourish. He remained in the department, on reduced hours, to concentrate on supervising MA and PhD students and on specialist projects, until the end of his life.
Jim’s other books included Dickensian Dramas (2017), European Theatre Performance Practice 1750-1900 (2014) and Victorian Pantomime (2010). He also contributed chapters to several volumes, including The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance (2003) and The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Stage Actors and Acting (2015).
A champion for theatre historiography, making links across the disciplines particularly with visual arts and popular culture, Jim had a rare ability to make his research resonate with non-academics and be relevant to contemporary society. One of his friends, the TV writer Andrew Davies, remembers “long bibulous lunches discussing Dickens, May Queens and Danny La Rue.”
At Christmas Jim would be approached by radio stations for his views on pantomime. In 2012 he made an appearance on an episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, assisting the comedian John Bishop to understand his great-great-grandfather’s background in theatre.
Jim had two daughters, Catherine and Helen, from his marriage to Jane Rogers, from whom later he was divorced. He is survived by his children, three grandchildren and by his younger brother Geoffrey.
