1. Matthew Bourne's productions contain many classic cinema and popular culture references and draw thematic inspiration from musicals, film noir and popular culture.
37 Facts About Matthew Bourne
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Matthew Bourne was born on January 13,1960, in Hackney, London, England.
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Matthew Bourne's mother was a secretary and his father worked for Thames Water.
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Matthew Bourne wrote to and received letters back from Joan Crawford, Charlie Chaplin and Bette Davis.
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Matthew Bourne was eighteen when he attended Sadler's Wells Theatre to see his first ballet, Swan Lake.
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Matthew Bourne worked as a filing clerk at the BBC and as an usher at The National Theatre for four years after graduating from William Fitt and Sir George Monoux School in Walthamstow, London.
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Matthew Bourne completed a BA honours degree in contemporary dance in 1985.
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Matthew Bourne co-founded the London-based company Adventures in Motion Pictures in 1987.
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Matthew Bourne's work stood in contrast to the more provocative dance styles of the 1980s, associated with artists such as Michael Clark and Lloyd Newson's DV8 Physical Theatre.
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Since the start of his career, Matthew Bourne's approach has involved a collaborative process with his dancers and creative-partners.
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In 2007, Sam Archer and Richard Winsor, portraying Edward in the initial Edward Scissorhands performances, confirmed that Matthew Bourne still uses this approach; where in a piece's embryonic stage, Matthew Bourne assigns the dancers tasks like creating individual dance steps that eventually form part of the choreography.
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Matthew Bourne provided his dancers with books and films about Cinderella and the Victorian and Edwardian eras that influenced his version.
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Matthew Bourne favoured the 1977 Royal Ballet version, appreciating its drama and narrative pace, despite its longer duration.
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Matthew Bourne's Play Without Words' pessimistic tone was a stark contrast to the Cultural Olympiad's more optimistic works.
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Matthew Bourne subtly caricatured the social life and mannerisms of the time realised through Lez Brotherston's costumes and stage designs.
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Matthew Bourne's concept originated from a male duet workshop titled Romeo and Romeo.
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Therefore, in the performance's original programme, Matthew Bourne credited both himself and his company for the production's choreography.
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Later, Matthew Bourne admitted the piece's contemporary setting brought an element of apprehension.
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Matthew Bourne drew on many sources of inspiration when creating Sleeping Beauty in 2012, as did his dancers for their characters.
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Matthew Bourne read multiple versions of the story, noting commonalities and differences.
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Matthew Bourne incorporated elements from each of these versions into his production.
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Matthew Bourne addressed perceived shortfalls in the original story, crediting Walt Disney for rectifying them in the 1959 animated version.
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The historical timeframe of Matthew Bourne's narrative provided anchor points for movement styles.
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Matthew Bourne's version encompasses themes of good versus evil, sleep, rebirth, and vampires.
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In 2022 Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty returned to Sadler's Wells Theatre for a seven-week residency.
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Matthew Bourne's company reprised Red Shoes for an International tour at the end of 2019.
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Matthew Bourne's The Midnight Bell is an adaptation of Patrick Hamilton's 1929 novel The Midnight Bell, which is not to be confused with Francis Lathom's gothic novel of the same name.
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Matthew Bourne subtitled the piece Intoxicated Tales from Darkest Soho, and set it in a smokey 1930s London pub called The Midnight Bell.
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Matthew Bourne is best known for his unique re-imaginings of traditional ballet, such as his 1995 production of Swan Lake, where he replaced the traditionally female corps-de-ballet with a male ensemble.
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Since 1986, Matthew Bourne has worked in dance, musical theatre and film with his dance companies New Adventures and AMP, as well as choreographed musicals for West End Theatre such as Mary Poppins and My Fair Lady.
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Matthew Bourne has reimagined many traditional Tchaikovsky ballets, such as The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty, placing them in a new, cinematic context to enliven their potential for storytelling for a modern audience.
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Matthew Bourne has adapted famous cinema and literature for the stage, such as a dance version of Tim Burton's 1990 film Edward Scissorhands, Hans Christian Andersen and Pressburger's The Red Shoes and Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.
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Matthew Bourne is described after an interview with the New Yorker in 2007 as a particularly 'audience-conscious artist'.
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The pressure to create highly profitable productions left Matthew Bourne feeling creatively stifled.
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Matthew Bourne started his dance training at the relatively late age of 22, and trained at Trinity Laban in London.
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Matthew Bourne attended the London Gay Teenage Group in Holloway, North London.
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Matthew Bourne spoke about this on the Jo Whiley show on BBC Radio 2 in 2018.