Claud Sykes

Claud SykesProfessional actor, co-founder of the English Players, writer, and MI5 agent. Born in Ipswich, England, in 1912 Sykes married Annie "˜Daisy' Race (1885-1969), his co-star in Octavia Kenmore's and Leigh Lovel's London company. Sykes acted in two dozen productions of Ibsen between 1908 and 1914 before he and his wife relocated to Switzerland in 1915, ostensibly for Sykes's health. He and JJ first encountered one another in early 1917, and by the end of the year, Sykes was overseeing typescript production on the early episodes of Ulysses. With a mix of professional and amateur actors, JJ and Sykes formed the English Players, whose first performance was The Importance of Being Earnest in April 1918. Through late 1919, the Players produced nineteen plays in Zurich and toured Switzerland. Sykes returned to England in 1920. In 1927 Sykes read proofs and provided suggestions for the German translation of Ulysses, published that year. In the 1920s, he wrote adventure fiction in the mold of John Buchan before, in the 1930s, establishing himself as a translator and author of First World War aviation writing, often under the pseudonym "˜Vigilant'. His translation work from German proved an effective cover for counter-intelligence work and, by the mid-1930s, he was reporting to his MI5 handler using the code name 'M/S'. In 1939, he worked briefly as a double agent, feeding disinformation to a Gestapo agent in Berlin. His interests in the theatre continued: he produced plays for the Letchworth Citizens' Company in the 1920s and published the Rutland-theory inspired Alias William Shakespeare? (1947). He died in Malta in 1963. William Brockman and Ronan Crowley

克劳德·赛克斯（Claud Sykes）：职业演员、英国剧团（English Players）联合创始人、作家兼英国军情五处（MI5）特工。1912年生于英国伊普斯威奇。赛克斯与安妮·"黛西"·雷斯（Annie "Daisy" Race，1885-1969）结为夫妻，二人曾在奥克塔维亚·肯莫尔（Octavia Kenmore）与利·拉夫尔（Leigh Lovel）的伦敦剧团中搭档出演。1908年至1914年间，赛克斯参演了二十四部易卜生戏剧作品；1915年，他与妻子迁居瑞士，对外宣称是为了赛克斯的健康疗养。1917年初，赛克斯与J.J.首次相识，至当年年末，赛克斯已负责《尤利西斯》（Ulysses）早期章节的打字稿制作工作。赛克斯与J.J.携手一众专业与业余演员组建了英国剧团，剧团的首场演出为1918年4月的《不可儿戏》（The Importance of Being Earnest）。至1919年末，该剧团已在苏黎世上演十九部戏剧，并完成了瑞士境内的巡演。1920年，赛克斯返回英国。1927年，他为当年出版的《尤利西斯》（Ulysses）德语译本审读校样并提供修改建议。20世纪20年代，赛克斯以约翰·巴肯（John Buchan）的创作风格为范本撰写冒险小说；至30年代，他以笔名"维吉兰特"（Vigilant）为大众所熟知，成为一战航空题材作品的译者与作者。他的德语翻译工作实则为反情报活动提供了有效掩护；至30年代中期，他已以代号"M/S"向其MI5联络员汇报工作。1939年，他短暂担任双面特工，向驻柏林的盖世太保（Gestapo）特工传递虚假情报。赛克斯始终对戏剧抱有热忱：20世纪20年代，他为莱奇沃思市民剧团（Letchworth Citizens' Company）编排戏剧；1947年，他出版了受拉特兰理论（Rutland-theory）启发的《别名威廉·莎士比亚？》（Alias William Shakespeare?）一书。1963年，赛克斯在马耳他逝世。本文由威廉·布罗克曼（William Brockman）与罗南·克劳利（Ronan Crowley）整理撰写。