My friend Kevin Berry, the arts journalist, has died at the age of 68, following the diagnosis of a brain tumour last year. Although he covered many aspects of the entertainment industry – including theatre, music-hall and cabaret – and had two left feet, dance was his passion. His particular loves were contemporary and ballet, but his expertise encompassed styles as diverse as clog, tap, aerial and hip-hop.
Kevin was born in Mexborough, South Yorkshire, son of Jessica and Harold. His father had been a Butlin’s Redcoat and then worked at the Sheffield Telegraph and the Sheffield Star as circulation manager and head of sales. Kevin got his first typewriter at four and always wanted to be a journalist, but his father said he wasn’t tough enough. So he trained as a teacher and started writing in his spare time. It wasn’t until he was 50 that he was able to take it up full-time.
He began by writing for the Dalesman in the 1980s, doing pieces for its Yorkshire Humour short stories. He covered local races for Cycling Weekly, and one July nearly froze in snowy weather reporting on the Tour de France stage at Val-d’Isère. Kevin wrote for the Yorkshire Post, the Times Saturday supplement and the TES (Times Educational Supplement) and contributed to Child Education magazine.
Living in the remote Yorkshire village of Airton did not hinder him, and in May 1993 Kevin did his first review for the Stage. He travelled all over the north to submit reviews and features, and went on to become one of the paper’s longest-standing and most prolific contributing editors and dance specialists. He was one of the first regional reviewers to be admitted to the Critics’ Circle.
Having written for the Stage’s Showpeople interview column since 1996, he edited both that and its 60-Second CV column from September 2007 until May this year, and was also the paper’s scholarships and dance supplements editor. I wrote for him for almost seven years and he was a dream editor. His final interview appeared in May and, fittingly, his last feature – on Ghost Peloton by Phoenix Dance – combined his loves of dance and cycling.
He was also the northern dance correspondent for Dancing Times and Dance Today for many years.
Kevin was a committed Quaker and a true family man. He was smitten on meeting Pat Young at college in 1967, and they married four years later. He is survived by her, their daughters, Katharine and Elizabeth, and grandchildren, Jessica, Megan, Connor, William, Lewis and George.
