From Peter Clarke, Vicki Volkoff and family
We think that many of us in the Brisbane diaspora always saw Errol, who stayed “home”, as our rock and anchor. In a sense he was the guardian of our formative home, its details, its secrets, its uniqueness and universality. And a constant source of inspiration.
Perhaps even more significantly, Errol researched and documented and made art from the details of Queensland’s and Brisbane’s social and political history that many further afield, know little about. This has been a huge gift to all of us – to understand the past and to see ongoing changes within an historical and artistic context.
Errol was a fine actor. Naturally, because of our direct involvement, we remember him especially in the roles of Chief Joseph in Arthur Kopit’s Indians at La Boite and Jesus Christ in Denis Potter’s Son of Man, staged in a geodesic dome at the University of Queensland. And the excitement and attack of the radical reviews at the Schonell Theatre.
His sensitive portrayal of Kamran, an Iranian migrant in Australia escaping persecution in Iran in ‘A Beautiful Life’ at the Malthouse in Melbourne in 2000, was not only very moving but also significantly important in drawing us into the horrifying anguish of those and these times.
The shock of losing Errol is still very sharp. Bewildering. Of course we shall remember him as an actor, writer, playwright and activist, but right now, we are realising with deep sadness that we will never again hear his distinctive voice, share his insightful conversation, his rock solid ideals and analyses of life, politics and morality or his wry sense of humour and infectious laugh.
We will remember Errol as a lifelong friend of deepest decency, integrity and the warmest hospitality, and we will miss him terribly for the rest of our days.
