Thomas Charles Fairbairn (usually credited as T. C. Fairbairn) (26 March 1874 – 1978) was a British theatre impresario, particularly known for his productions of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's Hiawatha.
Fairbairn first produced his dramatised, costumed version of Scenes from the Song of Hiawatha in 1924. Held at the Royal Albert Hall, and featuring the Royal Choral Society, it raised funds for the Royal National Institute for the Blind. The eight performances were so successful that he rebooked the hall and choir for the following year. He repeated the show every year until 1939, apart from 1926, the year of the General Strike. All but the first show featured 1,000 performers, 200 of whom were dancers. The production also toured other venues in the greater London area.
In 1939, Fairbairn was living in Hampstead, London.
Fairbairn appeared as a castaway on the BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs on 18 May 1974.
Fairbairn died in Hammersmith, London in 1978.
References
- "Birthdays today and tomorrow". The Daily Telegraph. 26 March 1977. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ "Coleridge-Taylor Hiawatha". Gramophone. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
- ^ "Hiawatha at the Royal Albert Hall, 1924-1939". Museum of Music History. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
- "June Story of the Month: the Royal Choral Society and the Royal Albert Hall". Life at the Hall. 7 June 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
- "1939 England and Wales Register". Ancestry. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- "Desert Island Discs - Castaway : T C Fairbairn". BBC Online. BBC. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
- "Death registration". FreeBMD. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
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