An evening with Ivor Novello
On Wednesday evening, we were delighted to welcome guests to MCS for a special celebration of the life and work of Ivor Novello, bringing together performances, archive material and film.
Novello joined MCS as a chorister in 1905 and went on to become one of the most celebrated figures in British theatre during the 1930s, 40s and 50s. A renowned songwriter, composer, actor and playwright, his connection to the School continues today through the Ivor Novello Centre, home to Music and Drama at MCS.
Guests had the opportunity to explore a fascinating collection of artefacts from the MCS Library and Archives, highlighting Novello’s life, career and connection to the School. Among the items on display were a 1907 photograph of the Choir of Magdalen College featuring MCS choristers including Novello, sheet music and a postcard signed by Novello, as well as a programme from *Salute to Ivor Novello*, the memorial concert held at the London Coliseum following his death in 1951. The exhibition also featured a silk handkerchief bearing the music for one of his best-known songs, Keep the Home Fires Burning. We are grateful to Alan Cooper, who generously loaned many of the items featured in the exhibition to the School.
We were thrilled to see such a fantastic turnout for Celebrating Ivor Novello, an MCS production led by Mr Alex Thomas, Head of Drama, alongside Old Waynfletes. Through songs and scenes from Novello’s works, the cast brought his remarkable career to life, with plenty of laughter along the way, and paid fitting tribute to the man affectionately known throughout the entertainment industry as ‘Dear Ivor’.
Later in the evening, guests returned for a screening of The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog, starring Ivor Novello and directed by a young Alfred Hitchcock. The gripping 1927 silent thriller is widely regarded as the film in which many of the themes and techniques that would later define Hitchcock’s work first emerged.
‘The Lodger is such a gripping film with wonderful music. Watching it was a fitting close to our evening of celebrating Ivor Novello, who was naturally spectacular as the titular character’.
Isobel Cree, MCS Archivist
It was wonderful to celebrate Ivor Novello here at MCS and to reflect on the extraordinary journey that began during his time at the School.
