FE Recall: No.23 – Matt Burman

I was general manager of FE around the time of our 20th birthday, when we made and toured Bloody Mess. I probably watched the show sixty times or so across those years. In some ways I felt I became The Watcher, not only engaging with the show each night, watching each movement, hearing each line, seeing both the performers and the spaces in between, but also observing the audience and feeling their responses. Without fail, every night, the blackout – the finale to Cathy’s narration of our last moments together, noting each change in the room, in them and us, each change of lighting state (accompanied by the sound of Nigel punching in the code for each), the lights going out one by one – gut-punched me, sucked the air out of my lungs, leaving me with a sobbing, vacuum-like sense of loss. For me, this is the real, stunning, emotional authenticity of FE’s work that I still like some junkie crave.”

Matt Burman, AD & CEO Cambridge Junction