
Lance died on 14 November 2021 at the age of 74. He was at home in Fulham surrounded by family and upheld by the love and prayers of his friends. Lance had been diagnosed with cancer in July and things developed very quickly.
Lance was born in London in 1947 and grew up in Highgate with his mother Catherine, an actress. He went to Eton College and then Oxford to read English and Theology. He became a teacher and taught at Lancing between 1969 and 1971 and later worked for Scripture Union as an organiser of drama productions, holidays and magazines in Schools. From 1978 he worked freelance as an actor, writer, speaker and trainer. Then in 1998 he went full time as a performer using his talents to entertain.
From 1998 until 2016 he toured the UK with his one-man shows. From St Paul's Cathedral to church halls across the country he entertained congregations with Biblical presentations, while his cricket, poetry and music hall shows were seen from the National Gallery to the Edinburgh Fringe. Lance also toured with Belinda Yates and Heather Chamberlain as part of the words-and-music trio 'In Voice and Verse'.
He stopped touring in 2017 but continued to lead guided ‘poetry walks’ around London as well as the Hammersmith and Fulham Poetry Enjoyment Group. He also became heavily involved with both the Gerard Manley Hopkins and John Betjeman Societies.
Lance married Sue Tydeman in 1979 and together they had two children: Joy and Robin.
Robin Pierson