LORD OF THE FLIES
TWO TRIBES As Matthew Bourne’s exciting new dance version of Lord of the Flies opens in Glasgow, Charlotte Harrison meets some of the Glasgow boys and young men performing alongside the professionals
Roch’s Secondary, working with one of the dance world’s biggest names is quite a prospect. ‘I went to see his Swan Lake,’ says Docherty during a break from rehearsals, ‘and it was amazing, it really was. I’m really, really excited about working with him. When I told my drama teacher at school that I was doing a Matthew Bourne project, she said “Oh my God, you’re so lucky”, she absolutely loves him.’ Like Summers, Docherty has had to withstand some ribbing from his peers, but seems similarly unperturbed. ‘Some people say, “That’s brilliant”, others have made fun of it,’ he says. ‘But it just washes over me. It felt amazing to be chosen, because this is the first
I t’s not easy being a young boy in the dance world – just ask Billy Elliot. Things may have moved on since that fictional character swapped his narrow-minded small town for the Royal Ballet School – but only a fraction. The stigma attached to male dancing is still alive and well in many places, which is one reason behind a unique collaboration between Glasgow Theatres and Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures company.
Awarded over a quarter of a million pounds by Creative Scotland, as part of the National Lottery’s Inspire Fund, the two organisations have spent the past year working with boys and young men in schools, community groups and colleges. From an initial pool of almost 300 boys in the West Dunbartonshire and Glasgow area, 150 went on to make a short film, Beastie, inspired by William Golding’s classic novel, Lord of the Flies. And now, 15 of them have been chosen to appear in an ambitious stage adaptation of the book, performing alongside professional dancers from Bourne’s company. It’s an amazing opportunity for all concerned, and for many, an introduction to a whole new world. At 13, Bruce Summers of Dumbarton Academy is one of the youngest boys taking part. ‘I didn’t really think of it as a boy’s sort of thing, to be dancing,’ he says. ‘But when they came to my school and I heard about it, I didn’t think it was dance, I thought it was just steps, and that it would pretty good to go along to it.’
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A year later, Summers is hooked, despite admitting to being ‘slagged’ by his friends at school. ‘I don’t care what they think, because I like it,’ he says. ‘It’s good because we’re working as a team and cooperating with each other. You get to make new friends, talk to new people and do things which are different from school.’ Watching the boys rehearse at Glasgow’s RSAMD, Summer’s point about them ‘working as a team’ becomes patently clear. While a group of older boys practise some tricky jumps, the younger ones bandy together to form a human tank, gliding across the floor ominously. It’s impressive stuff, and this is only the start. Until now, the boys have been meeting only once a week with Glasgow Theatres’ dance artist in residence Natali McCleary and New Adventures’ Adam Galbraith (who will also play the key role of Jack). As opening night at the Theatre Royal approaches, the boys will step up to full-time rehearsals with Bourne himself.
For 14-year-old Matthew Docherty of St
‘IT’S GOING TO LOOK LIKE A BUNCH OF FERAL LADS ON STAGE, ACTUALLY CREATING A WAR’
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