John Webley and Kenneth Bannerman

Administrator John Webley and dancer Kenneth Bannerman remember Rambert from the 1950s on.

They recall their early years as students of Marie Rambert at the Mercury Theatre in the 1950s. Kenneth went on to be a soloist with the Company. He was the first British male to dance ‘Don Quixote’ (Gorsky, 1900/1962) and the first Scotsman to play James in ‘La Sylphide’ (Bournonville, 1836/1960). Kenneth recalls life as a dancer and shares his memories of touring with the Company.

John did not have aspirations to perform and instead had a lengthy career as a key member of Rambert’s administration, retiring in 1993. Throughout the interview John also shares many anecdotes from his time as a friend and social companion to Marie Rambert.

00:00:47 Marie Rambert
00:10:18 Ingrid Bergman
00:26:03 Lucette Aldous
00:35:02 ‘Don Quixote’ (Gorsky, 1900/1962)
00:38:58 Frederick Ashton
00:36:29 Mercury Theatre
00:47:03 Christopher Bruce
01:15:11 ‘A Tragedy of Fashion’ (Ashton, 1926)

Interview recorded on 4 April 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.