George Eugeniou [Theatro Technis]

“I DID it my way” would be a fitting epitaph for Theatro Technis founder George Eugeniou, who died last month at the grand old age of 93.

Under his leadership, the Cypriot theatre powered its way from cramped garage and windswept railway shed to establish itself as one of London’s most innovative fringe theatres, garnering the praise of leading stage critics like Michael Billington and helping to kickstart the careers of scores of those who passed through its doors as writers or performers.

A product of a country burdened by depression and war, George was driven by a passion to shine a light on society and give a voice to those suffering injustice. He also sought to develop new talent and provide a platform for other minority groups. Artistic director, playwright and poet, for him art was a weapon and he was unafraid to stage a heavy mix of ancient Greek classics, political satire and social realist drama.

There were many sparkling sell-out productions but also those that played to half-empty auditoria.

But it was not about putting bums on seats and making money, he insisted, it was about getting the message across.

The trials and tribulations of Cyprus, where he hailed from, were always close to his heart and Theatro Technis, based as it was in the heart of Camden’s large Cypriot community, provided space for welfare services and a focus for political campaigns both at home and abroad.

Every year George would solemnly raise the Republic of Cyprus flag during the theatre’s Cyprus Week Festival, his dream of a united island never dimmed.

Running an independent theatre was never going to be easy amid diminishing arts funding. But he declared, “You make sacrifices for the things you love.”

And when the public money all but dried up in the 1990s, plunging the theatre into crisis, he soldiered on, breezily quoting Aristotle’s dictum: “A convincing improbability is to be preferred to an unconvincing probability” – in other words, don’t be put off by the seemingly impossible.

By Theatro Technis’s 60th anniversary celebrations in 2017 he was talking about the next 60 years and plans to expand facilities on a strip of vacant land next door.

Warm and welcoming, it was always a pleasure to talk with George. He had a razor sharp mind and his passion for theatre and his determination to keep Theatro Technis going, no matter what, were inspiring.

Invariably dressed in black, his slight, diminutive frame belied his extraordinary energy.

George Eugeniou adressing the 2019 flag-raising ceremony ceremony. Standing next to him is Lucy Christofi Christy  [Angela Cobbinah]

“My father was a true leader who touched so many people’s lives,” said George’s son, Aris. “It was amazing to witness him at work. He wasn’t practical but his drive and passion were incredible. He had a phenomenal strength of character and he stayed on the path with no hesitation or doubts. He was on a mission until he dropped and was still writing his final play when he passed. His body was failing him but his mind was like that of an Olympic athlete.”

One of five children and a twin, George was born in humble circumstances in Limassol. His father, a carpenter, died early on and his mother eked out a living shelling broad beans from her kitchen, telling her children folk tales as she did so. Perhaps this unleashed his thespian imagination.

After winning praise for his performance in a play at the local gymnasium, George resolved to train as an actor and in 1950 aged 19 he took the well-worn route out of Cyprus to join his sister in Soho.

Following stints working in the rag trade and restaurants, he was offered a drama school scholarship in 1952 and became a prize-winning student. He found work quickly and within a few years he was on the West End stage and appearing alongside matinee idol Dirk Bogarde in the Powell and Pressburger film Ill Met by Moonlight.

But disenchanted by the bright lights and also shaken by events in Cyprus where a bloody uprising against British rule was under way, he famously abandoned a promising acting career to start his own theatre, inspired by working with Joan Littlewood who was shaking up theatrical norms over in Stratford.

Using a garage in Camden Mews as rehearsal space, Theatro Technis’ first production, featuring George’s wife-to-be Maroula Sekkidou, was A Night Without End about a British army-imposed curfew in Cyprus.

In the years to come, the theatre took over a converted railway shed on a bleak stretch of York Way in King’s Cross before permanently moving to Crowndale Road, Somers Town, in 1978.

Amid a prolific theatrical output, which included George’s own plays, it managed to expand the welfare provision it had established years before, all the more desperately needed following an influx of refugees fleeing Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus in 1974, and also set up Cypriot Village, a project to provide homes for elderly Cypriots on a small new-build estate in Kentish Town.

As the Cypriot community changed and moved on, Theatro Technis evolved to serve a wider base, all the while maintaining George’s core philosophy.

“We cannot imagine Theatro Technis without George,” said actress Lucy Christofi Christy, a Theatro Technis board member who first began performing there 30 years ago. “The plays he directed were never just fancy and fun but were always an enjoyable experience. George did things in a different way, which included a lot of improvisation. At the same time he was the boss and if you didn’t turn up on time or learn your lines he would put you in your place. I learnt so much from him.”

She added: “He leaves a remarkable legacy. There will never be another George – we know that – but he will always be there on our shoulder guiding us.”

• George Eugeniou’s funeral service takes place at Theatro Technis, 26 Crowndale Road, NW1 1TT, tomorrow (Friday, January 10) at 2pm. Theatre open to the public at 1pm. At 3pm the coffin will be taken away for a private cremation.