Lindsay Kemp

Dancer, choreographer, actor and mime, Lindsay Kemp reminisces about his time with Rambert from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Lindsay first saw Rambert perform in 1955. Shortly after, he hitchhiked to London to audition for the Rambert School. In this interview, he tells us of his first meeting with Marie Rambert and his memories of the Mercury Theatre in Notting Hill Gate. Lindsay also remembers fellow Rambert students – some of whom he formed lifelong friendships.

In 1975 he was invited to choreograph a new work for Rambert and created ‘Parades Gone By’. Two years later he collaborated with Christopher Bruce on the full-length work ‘Cruel Garden’ – a piece inspired by the life and works of Frederico Garcia Lorca. Here Lindsay recalls working with the Company on both productions and talks about working with Christopher Bruce, Ralph Koltai and the development of his long working relationship with Carlos Miranda.

00:06:06 Rambert School
00:11:29 Mercury Theatre
00:19:20 National Service
00:21:20 ‘Flowers’ (Kemp, 1974)
00:23:29 Carlos Miranda
00:25:35 ‘Parades Gone By’ (Kemp, 1975)
00:31:08 ‘Cruel Garden’ (Bruce/Kemp, 1977)
00:36:28 Christopher Bruce
00:37:28 Ralph Koltai
00:44:23 Walter Gore
00:46:57 Paula Hinton

Interview recorded on 17 May 2016 in London.
Interviewer: Claire Izzard; Filmmaker: Paul Izzard

The Rambert Voices oral history project is part of Rambert at 90, a project marking the company’s 90th anniversary, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.