Features

Matthew Bourne's darkly seductive dance interpretation of Dorian Gray is coming to Curve as part of a national tour.

The adaptation of Oscar Wilde's cautionary novel will play at Leicester's newest theatre for four consecutive nights.

The internationally acclaimed choreographer Bourne hopes this will be the start of a long relationship with Leicestershire audiences.

In 2007 he was made an Honorary Doctor of Arts by De Montfort University.

A modern moral tale

Set in the image-obsessed worlds of contemporary art and politics, Bourne modern adaptation tells the story of an exceptionally alluring young man who makes a pact with the devil:

"I felt the themes of the novel were very relevant to today which was to do with obsession with youth, a power of youth, the wanting to attain youth, which is a very modern obsession.

"Delving into that more, it became a story about what it's like to be a modern celebrity, what is it like to be famous for the way you look, only the way you look sometimes.

"So many car-crash celebrity stories surround us all the time, it started to feel a lot like that and when I went back to the novel I felt like there was some aspect like that in it."

In the 1890s setting of Wilde's original novel the focus is on one hidden painting, but in the 2000s we are surrounded by hundreds of images everywhere - something Bourne wanted to reflect in the piece.

"We started out on a minibus, six of us touring round the country, rolling out our own dance floor, ironing our own costumes, doing shows in tiny little venues.

"We'd get to the box office and ask 'How many booked tonight?' and they'd go, 'Fifteen, and we think we might get to double that for tonight', and we'd go 'That's good, that's great!'.

"Everything that's come since then has been such an incredible bonus."

Bourne came to professional dance late, only starting his training at the age of 22. However he believes a little bit of the magic was always there:

"Looking back, I'd always as a kid put on shows. From the age of five onwards I got all my friends down the street to put on a review in the garden or in my spare bedroom, or whatever you know.

"So I've always done it, I've always had that desire to put on a show in a very Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland kind of way."

From dancer to choreographer

After 10 years as a dancer Bourne turned his attention to choreography, a position he feels at home in:

"I absolutely loved performing, but I don't miss it now I've stopped performing, because the work out there when I watch it, it feels like it's me up on stage. It represents my taste, my feelings about things, and I feel completely part of it."

Amongst his achievements is the ground-breaking all male-version of Swan Lake, which has won a number of prestigious awards and had featured in successful film 'Billy Elliot'.

Bourne says it was a "lovely surprise" to be offered the doctorate from DMU; "That's what has excited me about coming to Leicester with the new theatre, Curve, to do our piece and I hope it continues that way because I feel it's the beginning of a journey for us with he Leicester audience."

He hopes that the company will bring other examples of their work to the city in the future, including Swan Lake and Cinderella, "we would like to keep building that audience in Leicester and making friends there."

Dorian Gray at Curve

Dorian Gray is at Curve from Tuesday 15 to Saturday 19 September 2009.

For more information call 0116 242 3595 or visit curveonline.co.uk