Olivier and Tony award

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O
livier and Tony award
winning director
and choreographer
Matthew Bourne is gracing
Peckhamplex with his stage
presence at a screening of his
production The Car Man, writes
Laura Burgoine...
The East London born dancer,
choreographer and director has
been running his dance company
New Adventures for 30 years, and
first staged The Car Man, based on
the music of Georges Bizet’s opera
Carmen, in 2000 at Theatre Royal
and later the Old Vic. This screening
is a filmed version of last summer’s
production at Sadler’s Wells. Filmed
during a one-off performance the
piece was shown on Sky and now
it’s coming to cinemas, Matthew tells
the Weekender. “It’s a very cinematic
piece. It’s not really the sort of ballet
people normally see at the cinema;
it’s much more contemporary,” he
explains. “It’s great that people get to
see it. I think ballet has become a lot
more accessible. Although we’re a
touring company there’s still a lot of
places we can’t get to.”
The Car Man is set in 1960s smalltown America, around an Italian
American community. “It’s the music
of Carmen rearranged but it’s not
the story of Carmen at all,” Matthew
reveals. “It’s more based on film
noir movies from the ‘40s and ‘50s
and Italian cinema. It’s full of filmic
references, lust, blood and all those
kinds of things. The story we made
up, but it’s most like The Postman
Always Rings Twice.”
Matthew’s choreography spans
theatre, film and television, including
Cameron Mackintosh’s production
of Oliver!, My Fair Lady, and
the National Theatre’s revival of
South Pacific. In 2004 Matthew
co-directed with Richard Eyre
and choreographed with Stephen
Mear the hit West End musical
Mary Poppins for which he won
an Oliver Award for Best Theatre
Choreographer and two Tony
nominations when it opened on
Broadway.
Having studied at Deptford’s Laban
Centre for Movement and Dance in
1982, Matthew thinks the industry
has improved dramatically in his time.
“Things have changed for the better
in the last ten years,” he begins.
“There’s certainly much more interest
in dance and a lot of that has to do
with TV and shows like Strictly Come
Dancing. I don’t think anyone would
have guessed when Strictly started
that a dance show would become
the most popular show on television;
there was some genius behind that.”
Running his own dance company
allows great creative freedom,
Matthew says. “I love creating stories,
I love movies. Because we’re not a
traditional company we don’t have to
rely on doing traditional choreography
and can be really open and free and
creative,” he continues. “Whenever
I approach a famous thing, I think
‘what can I do that’s different? How
can I get people to listen to music in a
new way?’ You realise everything has
been done in some way or another.”
Training as a dancer, at what’s
considered by the industry as a late
age (22 years old), Matthew says he
was “kind of naïve” about the dance
world. “My parents were very into
whatever I wanted to do. I did a lot of
amateur stuff and was always putting
on a show, getting people together.
Now I just have a bit more money
to spend on costumes!” he laughs.
“Nothing’s changed but it took me a
long time to get round to realise that
training was important. 22 is very
late. Girls tend to start early, from age
five and boys tend to go into it a little
later – even famous male dancers
can start at 16. I was the oldest of the
college,” he remembers.
“You peak so early. People are
professionals at a very young age
and your career isn’t long – it’s the
same for athletes. The sad thing for
dancers is that mentally you keep
growing but the body lets you down
after a while. The physicality is sad for
a lot of people.”
Matthew Bourne’s Car Man is
screening at Peckhamplex, 95a Rye
Lane, SE15 4ST, on Wednesday 2
March at 7pm, followed by a Q&A.
Admission: £9.99.
Phone: 0844 567 2742.
www.peckhamplex.london
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FROM BLOODY battlefield
to spectral banquet table,
audiences take on the role
of Banquo to experience
Macbeth from the other side
(in more ways than one…)
writes Michael Holland...
With wireless headphones, video
projections and a solo dancer, Goat
and Monkey recreate the last hours
of Banquo’s life in a pervasive first
person adventure. The audience is
placed behind Banquo’s eyes using
the original text of Shakespeare’s
Macbeth recorded as binaural
www.weekenderlife.co.uk
sound (recordings that create a 3D
effect) positioning them in the action.
This sensory production, much of
which takes place in partial or pitch
darkness, starts on a battlefield
smelling of rain and fir trees, and
ends at the spectral banquet table.
The script will be intertwined
with recordings of interviews with
ex-servicemen, giving context
to Banquo’s behaviour through
the lens of Posttraumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD), a condition not
widely recognised until the 19th
century when it was known as
“shell-shock” or “battle fatigue”. By
casting Banquo as a battle-weary
soldier returning home, Goat and
Monkey create a sense of the
surreal as Banquo’s disorientated
mind tries to make sense of the
world he’s returning to, and shed
light on the faith he places in his
brother-in-arms Macbeth.
PHOTO: Sam Holden
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The Devil Speaks True is in the
Vaults, Leake Street, SE1 7NN,
from February 17-27 at 7:15pm.
Running time: 60 minutes. Suitable
for ages 14+. Admission: £16.
Phone: 0207 401 9603.
www.goatandmonkey.co.uk
February 19 2016 3