Ashgate Hospice: Sheffield's amateur theatre community loses one of 'best known and loved members'

Mike Richardson sadly passed away at the Ashgate Hospice in Chesterfield after spending a lifetime on stage. He first took the the stage at 15-years-old as part of the Woodseats Operatic Society, where his father was a founding member.

Looking back on his life many decades after growing up within the theatre family, Mike said: “It was really part of the family when I was growing up because my mother Marjorie was the company’s secretary for many years. My father took many of the lead roles in the late 1940s and early 1950s - shows like The Damask Rose, Good Night Vienna, The Yeomen of the Guard, The Mountebanks, Ruddigore, Veronique and The Quaker Girl.”

Mike only retired from performing when the Covid-19 pandemic closed theatres across the country, having had a career of memorable moments. In particular, when the company worked with Sheffield City Council to move a show to Sheffield City Hall, just days after a fire had gutted the Montgomery Theatre and destroyed their scenery, 95 per cent of the costumes and the venue itself.

Mike was a big supporter of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, and also an excellent cricketer, playing with the Sheffield Bankers Cricket Club for a number of years. He is survived by his children - Mark, Julie and Matthew - grandchildren Charlotte, Amelie, Sydney, Emily, Gemma and Noah Richardson and former wife Jackie.