Barry Jackson

Sir Barry Vincent Jackson (6 September 1879 – 3 April 1961) was an English theatre director, entrepreneur and the founder of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre and, alongside George Bernard Shaw, the Malvern Festival. Early life Jackson was born on 6 September 1879 in Kings Norton, Worcestershire the son of George and Jane ( Spreadborough) Jackson. The Jacksons were a prominent and wealthy family of merchant grocers. His father, George, was a prominent businessman who was passionate about the theatre, reportedly naming his son for renowned British stage actor Barry Sullivan. From a young age, Jackson was exposed to the theatre and to the arts, from school where he was privately educated, to regularly attending the theatre, opera and ballet. The young Jackson saw his first Shakespeare production, The Taming of the Shrew, performed by the Frank Benson Company when he was ten years old.