Matthew Bourne Interview: Matthew's Early Theatre Memories
Title
Matthew Bourne Interview: Matthew's Early Theatre Memories
Date
14 November 2018
Description
Oral history interview with Matthew Bourne of New Adventures, a unique dance-theatre company, a regular visitor to the Theatre Royal.
What's the story?
Sir Matthew Christopher Bourne OBE was born in Hackney, London in 1960. He started training as a dancer at the age of 22. He later went on to become sole artistic director of Adventures in Motion Pictures (AMP) and subsequently his latest company New Adventures in 2002.
Glenn Graham was born in Nottingham in 1980 and was educated at Top Valley Comprehensive School and Clarendon College. He was professionally trained at the Rambert School of Ballet & Contemporary Dance before joining New Adventures in 2003.
In this interview Matthew talks about his early visits to London theatres with his parents.
“My earliest memories: I was lucky to be born in London to parents that liked going to the theatre and obviously there’s a lot of theatre in London, not that everyone in London goes to the theatre. So I think I was lucky that I had parents that loved it and they would take me from when I was very young to see musicals, usually, in the West End. I guess the odd panto. We saw a lot of big singers and people of the time. They used to take me to the London Palladium to see singers quite a lot, which they loved. And I think my earliest memories of seeing theatre and being involved with theatre as well, because they go hand in hand a little bit. I used to like putting on shows when I was a child so I think they must have gone hand in hand a little bit because I must have been inspired by what I’d seen. And from the age of about even 5 onwards I was always putting on a show for people to come and watch. Usually song and dance shows of some kind, sketches. Or sometimes I’d go and see a film or a show and I’d want to come home and recreate it from memory! How long these show lasted, I don’t know. Maybe about ten minutes, probably. But it was very much in me to want to do that. But I saw a lot when I was young. I loved it and I felt very instantly attracted to it and very much wanting to be part of it, I think. It took a long time for that to actually happen in a professional way, but I think it was there from the beginning.”
Glenn Graham was born in Nottingham in 1980 and was educated at Top Valley Comprehensive School and Clarendon College. He was professionally trained at the Rambert School of Ballet & Contemporary Dance before joining New Adventures in 2003.
In this interview Matthew talks about his early visits to London theatres with his parents.
“My earliest memories: I was lucky to be born in London to parents that liked going to the theatre and obviously there’s a lot of theatre in London, not that everyone in London goes to the theatre. So I think I was lucky that I had parents that loved it and they would take me from when I was very young to see musicals, usually, in the West End. I guess the odd panto. We saw a lot of big singers and people of the time. They used to take me to the London Palladium to see singers quite a lot, which they loved. And I think my earliest memories of seeing theatre and being involved with theatre as well, because they go hand in hand a little bit. I used to like putting on shows when I was a child so I think they must have gone hand in hand a little bit because I must have been inspired by what I’d seen. And from the age of about even 5 onwards I was always putting on a show for people to come and watch. Usually song and dance shows of some kind, sketches. Or sometimes I’d go and see a film or a show and I’d want to come home and recreate it from memory! How long these show lasted, I don’t know. Maybe about ten minutes, probably. But it was very much in me to want to do that. But I saw a lot when I was young. I loved it and I felt very instantly attracted to it and very much wanting to be part of it, I think. It took a long time for that to actually happen in a professional way, but I think it was there from the beginning.”
Type
Oral interview
Location of item
Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall Nottingham
Rights
Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall Nottingham
Contributor
Interviewers: Jennifer Sherwood and Diane Jones
Transcriber: David Chilton
Transcriber: David Chilton
