Ahead of his appearance at The Exchange, Sir Derek Jacobi’s music choices offer a glimpse of the gentle, unscripted evening he will share with Richard Clifford
‘Good old entertainment, really… a fun, gentle evening,’ Sir Derek Jacobi tells me of his upcoming appearance at The Exchange in Sturminster Newton.
It is a modest description for a career that has taken in six decades across stage and screen – from the Royal National Theatre, which he helped to establish, to roles in I, Claudius, The Crown, Last Tango in Halifax and Gladiator, alongside a shelf of awards including a BAFTA, Olivier, Emmy, Tony and a knighthood for services to theatre.
Beside him, and very much part of the evening, is his husband Richard Clifford – actor, director, and long-time collaborator, with his own film, television and theatre credits spanning everything from Kenneth Branagh adaptations to the West End and beyond.
Richard chimes in to explain what audiences can expect: part conversation, part reflection – childhood memories, including octogenarian Jacobi’s evacuation during the war (he was born in Leytonstone in 1938), and moments gathered across a long and varied career. ‘It changes each time,’ he says. ‘The evening is shaped as much by the audience as by anything we prepare in advance.’
There is no grand performance promised, despite the inevitable Shakespearean inclusions. Instead, something looser, more human – extracts, anecdotes, digressions. ‘It’s a very gentle evening. An enlightening evening, hopefully,’ says Jacobi. ‘It’s an interesting entertainment, nothing too scholastic. Although there’s Shakespeare plays, there’s nothing to be frightened of! It’s a gentle conversation between the two of us, and taking questions from the audience, on whatever they are curious about.’
It feels, in other words, rather like our conversation: relaxed, full of fun, and occasionally nudged along by Richard, who sits beside him, prompting memories and filling in the edges.
A life in music
And so to Sir Derek Jacobi’s selected Dorset Island Discs, in no particular order, along with how and why they have stuck in his life:
Baby Love –
Diana Ross and the Supremes
‘I saw Diana Ross perform live. It was wonderful, and Baby Love was my favourite. But this song is also a special memory from the 1960s, when I was in Hay Fever at the National. Maggie (Dame Maggie Smith) had a dressing room next to Dame Edith Evans, the other star of the show, who was in her late 70s at the time.
‘On matinee days, I used to go to Maggie’s dressing room, and we had tea – Kenneth Williams often used to pop in and join us, and Maggie used to play Baby Love, very LOUDLY, just to make sure Dame Edith couldn’t sleep!’
Yesterday When I Was Young – Charles Aznavour
‘I love it… it’s a classic song about aging and nostalgia. It’s just a beautiful song, beautiful lyric, beautiful tune. And he had this fabulous voice … It’s a song that’s grown with me. I used to play it a lot when I was young, but of course, I relate to it much more now because I’m old!’
Mon Dieu –
Édith Piaf
‘This is one of her great songs – I saw her perform it live on stage in Paris. She was known as the little sparrow, and she was a tiny creature, a ti-i-i-iny lady, out of whom came this HUGE, fabulous voice. And it was thrilling to watch her – such a tiny creature on the stage – FILL the theatre with this voice. It was magic.
Over the Rainbow –
Judy Garland
‘Oh well, who of my age wouldn’t choose Garland? It was a noise, almost, more than a voice!
She was unique, and Over The Rainbow was such a unique song, and forever linked to Judy Garland. It was so evocative, and thrilling to hear.
It’s particularly special to me as my parents took me to see her at the London Palladium, when I was a teenager. Of course this was her theme tune, and the moment she launched into it, the audience was ecstatic… and again, she was another tiny creature with this huge voice. It was wonderful.’
Any song – Pink Martini
‘Do you know, I used to listen to Pink Martini a lot… they were a HUGE part of my life at one stage. And now I can’t recall a single title… I’ve rather moved on, I suppose, or else I’ve got old and forgotten! I loved all that they do.’
‘They were a large shifting collective,’ says Richard. ‘They constantly changed the grouping, but they always sang in a number of languages.’
‘And the music was very jolly, and spirited,’ adds Derek. ‘I would have sworn I listened to them when I was young, but Richard says it was in the 90s. The trouble is, I’ve got so old that everything seems all squashed together! But whenever it was they came into my world, they were very welcome, and perfect.’
Vivaldi’s Concerto No. 1 in E major, Op. 8, RV 269, Spring (La primavera)
‘There’s no story here, I’m afraid, it’s just wonderful… absolutely wonderful. The marvellous tune is such a thrilling evocation – I’m looking out at my own spring view as we speak, and the garden is bursting with new life, just as the music describes so beautifully.
You’ll Never Walk Alone –
Carousel
This song is a paean to one’s achievements in life. It’s more of a hymn than a song, with a great lyric. I simply find it very uplifting.
Im Chambre Séparée –
Élisabeth Schwarzkopf
‘Again, what a wonderful, wonderful noise she made! She caressed the song almost, it was a unique sound that she had. It was so … so comforting. She took her time with it: it was gentle, it was lyric, it was … beautiful.’
Presented by Clive Conway Productions
The little luxuries
Beyond the music, Derek’s chosen book for his island retreat is Shakespeare Identified by J. Thomas Looney: ‘I am an ardent fan – because I am one of those who finds it very difficult to believe that the man from Stratford was the author. Thomas Looney wrote this wonderful book, Shakespeare Identified, saying it was the Earl of Oxford. I firmly believe that is so, and he was my introduction to the authorship question.’
And his luxury item?
‘Now. I’m not a lush. But I do like white wine. So yes, a never-ending supply of white burgundy, please. Every time.
‘I don’t really get under-the-table drunk, but I do get quite jolly, quite friendly – friendlier than is my usual nature. But I don’t fall about. I’m a very sweet drunk!’
You can see Sir Derek Jacobi in conversation with Richard Clifford at The Exchange, Sturminster Newton, on Wednesday 10th June 2026. Tickets are £30, and can be booked via stur-exchange.co.uk
Listen to the entire playlist of music choices here
