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Interviews
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David Ian - Actor Turned Producer Peter Lathan talks to David Ian, Chief Executive Officer of the theatrical wing of Clear Channel Entertainment Europe. David Ian was in the North East promoting the Starlight Express tour which will open the newly refurbished Sunderland Empire in December, so when I received an invitation to the launch, I grabbed the chance to have a chat with him. He introduced the show to the assembled audience of press, group bookers and CC Cardholders; we watched a film, followed by a couple of extracts which featured James Gillan (Rusty) and three of the girls, and then, as chairs, lighting and sound equipment were being removed, we talked. Clive Barnes famously said that one comes out of a British musical whistling the scenery. Could he now suggest that one whistles the technology, for Starlight is undoubtedly a very high tech show? "It's not just technology," Ian replied. "There are lots of memorable melodic tunes and a lovely story about the weak overcoming the strong." In the future, are musicals going to be built around more and more sophisticated technology? "To an extent, yes. Theatre has to keep up with the technology of other media in order to survive. It faces stiff competition from so many sides, and young people in particular expect the high tech, but the book, lyrics and music have to be good. They are the bedrock. Superb scenery and high technology without a good show it their heart - and without superb performances - will fail. On the other hand, you have a show like Chicago, which is just a black box, but because of its music, lyrics and performances is a smash hit." Ian was once an actor himself: what led him into production? "I enjoyed all aspects of a show. I was interested in the sets, the costumes, the lighting - even the design of posters, the launches and the advertising - but as an actor you aren't involved in anything other than your performance. You sit around waiting for your agent to ring, you audition and - hopefully! - get the job, rehearse and do the show, and then it all starts over again. So going into production (for all those other things I was interested in are part of the producer's job) was an obvious move." I wondered if he'd served a kind of apprenticeship with an established producer, but he learned by doing the job. "Paul Nicholas and I were in Pirates of Penzance at the Palladium in 1990, and one night Paul asked me what I was going to do next. Out of that conversation came our decision to go into production ourselves and in 1991 we toured a concert version of Jesus Christ Superstar. That's how it all started." Since then he has produced a touring version of Pirates (in which both he and Nicholas starred), Grease in the West End and on tour, The Rocky Horror Show on tour, Ain't Misbehavin' at the West End's Lyric Theatre, and UK tours of Singin' in the Rain, Chess, Cats, and Evita, as well as Saturday Night Fever at the Palladium and on tour. Soon to come are The Producers in the West End and the UK revival of The Sound of Music. But he was learning all the time. "We co-produced Grease with Robert Stigwood and he, of course, is one of the great international producers. I learned a great deal from working with him. You could say that I learned at the foot of the master!" What, I wondered finally, happened to Happy Days, a show which seemed to have all the ingredients of a success story but never really made it? "It did OK. It toured the UK and went to Sydney and Melbourne, but really it went as far as it could go. It just didn't really catch on. It needed its own identity: it needed its own score. It was, perhaps, too tied to the TV show." But it is Starlight Express which enthuses him: "It's a wonderful show for all the family, from 4 to 84. We've completely redesigned it for the tour with the same fantastic creative team - Arlene Phillips choreographs, as she did the London production, and John Napier is back onboard as designer, joined by his son Julian who has directed the 3-D film which is a feature of the touring version. Andrew (Lloyd Webber) has written some new songs. It will be playing all the major music theatre venues across the country. You'll love it!"
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