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Hawthorne spent much of his long acting career in theatre, where he won over audiences with his roles in plays as diverse as Oh What A Lovely War, Privates On Parade and a seminal if ultimately unsatisfactory RSC production of King Lear. Infamously, as he prepared to attend the Oscars as a nominee, he was unceremoniously "outed" by the press.
It was a low point for a very private man. Rightly, he could not see what his personal life had to do with anybody other than himself and those around him, notably his long-term partner Trevor Bentham. He did not think he should have had to declare himself homosexual any more than other people have to declare their heterosexuality. His book makes it clear that he made no secret of his sexuality to his friends and colleagues if approached about it, but saw no need to emphasise it or make it an issue.
In Straight Face we get an intimate portrait of a fragile and self-deprecating man who jumped feet first into all manner of situations, only to suffer from a lack of confidence later. The scene is set in the last chapter for the past to merge with the present, and a starkly contrasting prose style takes over for the epilogue, written by Trevor Bentham. After the hilarity and shared humour of the rest of this book, Bentham's highly moving summation of Hawthorne's life is a well-judged and beautiful end.
It is clear that Sir Nigel had an ability to touch people's emotional depths both on stage and away from it, not least in this book. He will be, and is, greatly missed.
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