New Adventures |

GAYDAR NATION TALKS TO RICHARD WINSOR - JULY 2009

For his latest production, Matthew Bourne has taken Oscar Wilde’s only novel, The Picture Of Dorian Gray, as his starting-point. Its story revolves around a beautiful man who remains eternally young due to a magical portrait, so casting a looker in the lead was essential. Enter Richard Winsor in the principal role. Tall and chiselled with an athletically sinuous physique – which he displayed in all its glory for Attitude magazine’s annual ‘Naked’ issue last month – Winsor is so ridiculously good-looking the role could have been written for him.

It’s also a role that is, in his eight year tenure with Bourne’s New Adventures company since graduating from the Central School Of Ballet, also arguably his most challenging because although Winsor has danced principal parts before this production – simply titled Dorian Gray – demands much more versatility because he has to convey the complexities of an anti-hero.

During a break in rehearsals for a UK and European tour, we talk to Winsor about how he became a dancer, what it’s like to work with an industry legend and dance versus rugby.

How faithful is the production to Wilde’s original concept?
 It keeps close to the general themes of the novel – obsession with beauty and youth, jealousy, murder – but we’ve set it in a modern, contemporary London where Dorian becomes this kind of model icon. So we have switched it around slightly. We also changed the gender of some of the characters to mix things up a bit.

What can audiences expect from the production? 
A highly erotic, dark fairytale. It’s also a comment on the rise and fall of celebrity and glamour, I suppose. When we were putting the show together originally we looked at some of the car-crash celebrity stories of the past few years and also the public’s obsession with celebrity culture and we’ve really played on that in the character of Dorian; I’ve tried to delve into that feeling of wanting to be famous and the perks and pitfalls that come with that. I think the show is an interesting take on the paparazzi age we live in right now.

Why do you think we’re so interested in the whole cult of celebrity?
I think it fills a void in our lives. We like gossip. We’re interested in what other people are getting up to. Maybe we prefer to concentrate on other people so we don’t have to concentrate on ourselves.  

Were you a fan of Wilde before working on this? 
Well, I was after I read the novel. I hadn’t really read any text of his beforehand. We did this show for the first time last year at Edinburgh, but about a year prior to that Matt [Bourne] said he wanted to create this role around me so I really started reading and researching then and I just fell in love with this story. It is such a dark, enthralling work. I wouldn’t say I was a fan beforehand, but I certainly am now.

How do you approach a new production?
I work very closely with Matt on character ideas, deciding on a character to base it on, how he should look. Matt also likes to give his dancers films to watch, books to read, trying to flood our heads with different ideas and perspectives. For this production specifically, I looked at Jonathan Rhys Meyers’ character in the film Velvet Goldmine and Patrick Bateman from the novel American Psycho, just so I could explore various aspects of Dorian’s personality.
Also, we workshop the work early on coming up with ideas. The main stumbling-block with this one was we wanted to make two men dancing together natural, fluid, beautiful and passionate, so we had a group of five guys workshopping to see how we could make the choreography look authentic and smooth.

What is it like with someone as revered as Matthew Bourne? 
It’s hard to answer that because I’ve worked with him for a few years now. To me, he’s just Matt. He’s such an easygoing, lovely guy you sort of forget how much he’s achieved. But if you stopped and thought about it, though, it is amazing to be working with a genius.

Why is New Adventures such a successful dance company when others often struggle? 
What Matt has done is taken dance to audiences who wouldn’t have necessarily been a fan of dance beforehand. The dance world can feel a bit closed to people outside of it so what Matt wanted to do was make shows that wouldn’t alienate possible new fans; essentially he wanted to get rid of the intimidation factor that often scares away people who aren’t into dance.
I think Matt’s work is so narrative and deep with character that it’s accessible to a whole range of people, from non-theatregoers to people who love musical theatre to people who love classical ballet. Ultimately, the basic ethos behind the company is we want to entertain, which audiences always respond to.

What made you decide to become a professional dancer? 
My mum had her own dancing school so I used to go to that from the age of four or five, up until about 12. I didn’t actually enjoy the classes. What I really looked forward to was the end-of-year show when I got to perform in front of people so I knew I wanted to perform from a very early age. When I was 12, I stopped and started playing a lot of rugby. I played rugby to quite a high standard, so when I got to 16 I had to make a choice between being a professional sportsman and a professional dancer. I think I made the right choice.
"When I got to 16 I had to make a choice between being a professional sportsman and a professional dancer. I think I made the right choice."

Are there any comparisons between rugby and dance? 
Absolutely, there are. Physicality, obviously. Both take strength, mental as well as physical, determination and technique. Dance actually helped me with rugby because it gives you agility and speed and rugby gives you a toughness, which has helped me with being a professional dancer.

Being a professional dancer can be a hard life?
Yes, it can be. Finding sustained work can be difficult. Also, there are a lot of rejections. But that’s part and parcel of the job so you have to accept it.

What’s the best thing about being a performer? 
What I enjoy most about my work is merging acting and character-driven roles with dance. I get to combine two of my passions in one show. Getting to go on stage every day is just such a great job because once you’re out there in front of an audience it’s exhilarating because they feed off you and you feed off them. It’s mutual transaction.

Do you ever get nervous?
I used to get nervous, but not any more, really. Over the past four or five years, I’ve relaxed about it all and have started really relishing going on stage and doing my job well. It’s a great feeling, certainly better than having terrible nerves.

Has any specific dancer or chorographer been an inspiration for you? 
When I was growing up, I saw Christopher Gable’s Romeo & Juliet and Dracula performed by the Northern Ballet Theatre and that was a big inspiration. I met Christopher Gable when I went to Central, which is what he set up, so I think he was quite a big factor when I was growing up. Also I saw Adam Garcia in Saturday Night Fever when I was about 15 and just thought, 'Wow!', so that was also a really big push.

Do you ever read your own reviews? 
Yes, I do, and I have to say I’m not too thrilled when I get a bad one. Actually, I don’t get to read many bad ones. Not because critics always think I’m fantastic – it’s because I think my dad vets the ones I see.

How do you relax outside of work?
I am actually quite work-orientated. I love going to the cinema; I love films. I love going out with friends for cocktails. I love getting away in the sun. If I have a clear week, I like to get out of London, jump on a flight and head to the sun. The week before we started rehearsals for this, my girlfriend and I went to Tunisia and had a little spa holiday, which was great.

If you could sell Dorian Gray to someone who maybe wouldn’t ordinarily go to a dance show, what would you say? 
If you want to see a modern take on a classic story told with beauty, passion, great music and great dancing, then you can’t lose because the show has the full package that is the basis of providing an audience with great entertainment.

Rehearsal photography by Mikah Smillie