Obituary: Playwright, teacher and more, Stuart Olesker has died aged 81

Stuart, a man with an unlimited appetite for both ideas and food, was for many years a well-known and well-loved Southsea figure – instantly familiar to local residents as well as the generations of students who learnt from him at Portsmouth University, where he taught English, Drama & Creative Writing.

Displaced from London due to the war, Stuart was born in Driffield, Yorkshire, in 1942, and grew up in Richmond and Eastbourne. From an early age his love of theatre, film and literature was apparent, and at the age of 17 he gained a place at Cambridge.

Despite his undoubted academic abilities Stuart did not enjoy Cambridge, and chose to leave to train as a teacher at Oxford before finally graduating from Bristol. His response to his own negative experience in academia was to become an educator who inspired so many.On graduation Stuart taught in Bristol and the National Star Centre for people with physical and learning disabilities. This led to a research project in pre-revolutionary Iran, and a trip to Israel to explore his Jewish heritage by joining a kibbutz.

While Stuart revelled in Jewish culture he was not suited to the practicalities of kibbutz life (indeed, practicalities in general were never his strong point) and so was delighted to meet the innovative Nesher Puppet Theatre company with whom he toured Israel and the United States, before joining a creative and groundbreaking teaching program for students with disabilities in Colorado.

Stuart travelled widely in the States and Europe, before returning to the UK to teach and run creative projects in Milton Keynes.He came to Portsmouth in 1978 to run a photography and video project at the Deaf Center, and was invited to teach at Portsmouth Art College and subsequently the University, where he worked for over 25 years.A prolific writer, Stuart staged numerous plays, many inspired by curious historical events, overlooked moments in Portsmouth’s history, and Jewish culture.

He met his life partner Anna, an artist, in 1980 and they subsequently produced three sons, Max, Leo and Huw, who have all inherited their parents’ creativity and work in the arts.

At Stuart’s recent 80th birthday celebrations, the Portsmouth Guildhall was filled with family and loved ones from across the world, who gathered for an afternoon of Klezmer music, poetry, copious amounts of food, and performance - including a staging of Chelm, his musical based on traditional Jewish folktales .

Stuart particularly loved to champion under-read authors; discovering their volumes in secondhand bookshops was one of his great delights.

The number of books in his formidable study, his life’s store of knowledge, was legendary. So many conversations with Stuart were punctuated by the phrase: “I think I have a book about that.” He invariably did.Stuart spent his final days at home, surrounded by his family and visited by friends. All who knew him will miss him greatly.He is survived by his three sons, and his wife Anna.

Born: October 30, 1942

Died: August 6, 2024Stuart’s funeral will take place at The Oaks Havant Crematorium, 4pm on Wednesday, August 14.No flowers or gifts please, but donations to charities supporting dementia and Alzheimer’s are welcome.