My Gurus

Julie Andrews
Rumour has it that any gay man growing up in the 60s and working in theatre needs only one guru: the irrepressible Julie Andrews – climbing ev'ry mountain – in the role of Maria von Trapp. But I have others, too...

Miss Davidson and Bill Paterson
My story starts at Albert Secondary School, in a rough-and tumble part of Glasgow, in the 1970s. How our drama teacher Miss Davidson engaged the kids was just incredible. She, and actor Bill Paterson, who joined her for a while as a student teacher, took us on magical journeys, sometimes punctuated by the sound of breaking glass outside. She enrolled me in the starring role of page turner for the pianist in the school production of The Boyfriend. I was keen, but it was clear that my talents did not lie in the glare of the spotlight.

Peter Darrell
As an undergraduate, I worked as an usher at Glasgow’s Theatre Royal – me and Alan Cumming in gloriously ugly brown nylon uniforms, two ‘visions in man-made fibre’. I loved the theatre world, but had no expectation that ballet would grab me, and planned to get my essays written on my knee in the dark during dance performances. Along came the late great Peter Darrell, founding Artistic Director of Scottish Ballet, who challenged my ignorance and opened my mind to the wonders of dance. I discovered that ‘high brow’ art could still be truly exciting, relevant, athletic, accessible – and the world should know about it!

Roberta Doyle
Now Director of External Affairs, National Theatre of Scotland, she gave me that chance to tell the world: ‘Wouldn’t it be marvellous to suspend a ballerina from a massive industrial crane over the River Clyde; to project the silhouette of an opera diva up into the sky, using a searchlight powered by sponsor Scottish Power....?’ Then Director of Marketing of Scottish Ballet, and later of Scottish Opera, Roberta showed me how much power PR could harness. I felt inspired to offer outrageous ideas, and Roberta helped me make them practical – but never, ever ordinary.

Mark Borkowski
Nothing could be less ordinary than English National Ballet’s Swan Lake in-the-round at the Royal Albert Hall. As Head of Press, I had my hands more than full, and was delighted to bring in as reinforcement for this groundbreaking season, the brilliant arts publicist, Mark Borkowski. In all humility, I saw in him a kindred spirit, who believed in PR to fire the public’s imagination and cause a sensation. We positioned this Swan Lake as an entertainment, competing for the same mass market as soccer and West End shows, so engaging the red-tops and GMTV was a major part of the picture.

Theodor Herzl
The bigger picture comes to me from Theodor Herzl, a 19th century philosopher and sage of the Jewish people. In Hebrew, he said ‘eem teetsoo, eyn zo agada’ – ‘If you will it, it is no longer a dream’. His words are my mantra – they guide me constantly.