Matthew Bourne

Dancer

1960-01-13

Books by Matthew Bourne

National Theatre
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Matthew Bourne and his Adventures in Motion Pictures
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Matthew Bourne and His Adventures in Dance
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Quotes by Matthew Bourne

I went to church as a kid, but mainly for the showbiz aspect. I remember doing a solo of 'The Little Drummer Boy' and everyone singing the rup-a-pum-pums.
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I'm very interested in storytelling and anything that plays with structure.
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People strangely revere dance. They see it as another world, and dancers are somehow mysterious - just because they don't speak.
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I've always been excited by the strangeness of ballet, but I can't bear it when people just come forward and do a turn in the air for no reason.
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My parents were an ordinary East End family and very supportive - they would have supported me no matter what I wanted to do.
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When it comes down to it, it's giving people a good night out in a basic way and I think my company guarantees that. There's always something new and something to excite us and surprise us, and that's why people come back, I hope.
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My company is known for being funny as well as moving. You get a bit of everything in these shows. I think people know they're going to have a surprising experience.
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People think I got rich out of 'Swan ,but I didn't at all: it's the royalties from 'Oliver' and 'My Fair Lady' that have kept me going.
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People get excited about things like 'Swan Lake' because they generate a personal involvement. If you set up the story properly, audiences respond to the ambiguity. People ask, 'What exactly is happening in Act Four?' and I never say. I can't put it into words, but they've got a feeling about it, and that's good enough.
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People know that they're going to see something which is entertaining but challenging as well because of the form it's in. It's dance theatre and it requires you to use your imagination - it's not straight forward.
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My family home was a rented house in the East End of London. My parents could have bought it at one point, but they preferred to spend their money on holidays and theatre tickets. It was strange to see it handed on to someone else when my father passed away.
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The reason I'm travelling so much is because of reasons that weren't completely planned. Several of the shows became successful and were invited to go to other places and they've all happened at similar times.
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My mum was ill when I was originally making 'Edward Scissorhands' in 2005. I was virtually visiting her every night after rehearsals, and she never got to see it.
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The reason I think the shows I do are successful with a wider public is because they tap into something that's beyond dance and is about being told a story. That's what people want.
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I love Tennessee Williams; as a playwright, he's so poetic.
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I had daydreamed through many performances of Swan Lake, thinking the dancing tutus only ever conveyed one aspect of swans: their beauty gliding on water. I wondered what it would be like to use male dancers and bring out swans' aggressive, muscular side.
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