Two West End Shows, another in the pipeline, a class full of students, and one choreographer – Stephen Mear. How on earth does he cope? Alison Kirkman went to find out
Stephen Mear is the man of the moment in London’s West End. He is the choreographer of Anything Goes, which recently transferred from the National Theatre, where it opened last December, to the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane, and also of the new musical, Tonight’s the Night, which opens on November 7 at the Victoria Palace.
Stephen was born in Loughborough and moved to London to train at London Studio Centre in his late teens. He now lives in Walthamstow with his mother and father. ”I invited them to live with me because my dad wasn’t very well. We’re very close.”
Previous productions he has choreographed include the Witches of Eastwick at the 
Prince of Wales Theatre, London, which also toured to Australia, Singin’ in the Rain at the West Yorkshire Playhouse and the Royal National Theatre and Soul Train at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London to name but a few.
“I’m the luckiest person ever to have two brilliant shows in the West End,” he said excitedly when I asked how he was managing to keep up with the demand for his time. “It’s a lot to cope with but I signed for Tonight’s the Night before we ever knew Anything Goes was going to come to the Royal. I’ve been working 9am til midnight because I’ve been running from one show to the other and I got a little bit tired last week – I could feel myself getting a little bit emotional!“
Asked how the previews of Tonight’s the Night were going, Stephen said, “I can honestly say its like I had an out of body experience! It’s such a different audience to those that go to see Anything Goes because they are rock people! They sing along to the ballads and they’re up before the end. Ben [Elton - Writer and Director of Tonight’s the Night] said to me ‘just get everyone to sway at the end, that’s what they wanna see’ and I thought I can’t sway because I’m so used to doing big numbers at the end, like Anything Goes but lo and behold, the audience were swaying before we were so it was fantastic!
“I was lucky to be asked to do Tonight’s the Night,” he says, “Ben had been to see Anything Goes and he and Phil [McIntyre - Producer] approached me but how they managed to say, ‘yes, you’ll be perfect,’ I don’t know because it’s such a different style of dance! It’s all funky and really ‘bang bang’ rocking! Which is great because I can show off a side that people don’t think I have.”
Anything Goes is clearly the high point of Stephen’s career so far though, “It was the first time in my whole career where I sat there and thought ‘I’m not so twitchy’. I actually sat there and said ‘oh my god, they’re so fantastic!’ partly because they’re not just dancers, they’re actors, which makes them so special and helps make my numbers go better!”
Aside from his choreography in the theatre, Stephen also has a passion for teaching and regularly puts together workshops for the students at Millennium Dance. “A lot of my ballet was taught by a wonderful gentleman called Donald McLennan [Director of Millennium Dance]. I wasn’t so technically brilliant in the beginning and he taught me how to enjoy it, which is a great thing. I will always remember that. I also remember when I was in college and someone from theatre came in to teach because I was like [gasps] ‘that’s what I want to do!’ and I like to do the same for them. “I’ve got three students from Millennium in Anything Goes at the moment and two in Tonight’s the Night. It’s so beautiful to see how these people have grown. There is the little maid, Danielle, in Anything Goes, one of the girls on the ship and one of the Sailors and in Tonight’s the Night, two of the ensemble are from Millennium.
“I like to teach people how to perform and enjoy what they do. If there’s a dancer who can développé behind the ear but has no personality, it bores me beyond belief, I would rather have somebody with loads of personality who has got a hunger and feels it from the soul, from inside, I love that. I used to love performing and I think if you give people that bounce instead of screaming at kids to ‘point your foot, do this!’, you get so much more out of them.”
The future looks bright for Stephen Mear, who, at 39, exudes an energy and enthusiasm that makes him look much younger than his years. Although he admits that at one time he found it hard not knowing what he would be doing next month, now the offers are pouring in and on meeting him one instantly recognises why. The hunger he started out with to learn and develop is still there. He obviously adores his job and puts all the energy he has into everything he does.
He has recently been offered Mary Poppins to choreograph jointly with Matthew Bourne, “Matthew’s lovely, I’ve only just met him but I love his work. We’ve not signed anything yet though.” He is also about to start work on a new project, Me and My Girl, which will open in the West End next year. “I’m looking forward to that because it’s going to be all mine. We start in a few weeks time but I don’t know where it will be yet so I daren’t say anything else!”
Anything Goes is booking until May 1st 2004 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For tickets call 0870 890 1109. Tonight’s the Night opens on November 7 at the Victoria Palace Theatre. Call 0870 165 8787 for tickets.
