David Harradine
David Harradine
Co Artistic Director & CEO
Hear how to pronounce my name here.
We set up the company in 1996 and we’ve been the artistic directors ever since.
I grew up in a working class agricultural community in rural West Yorkshire in the 70s and 80s, and always thought I’d be some sort of scientist. I moved to London to study Biochemistry, but then I accidentally fell in with the drama students that lived in the same halls of residence as me, and somehow ended up doing a Performing Arts degree at Middlesex University, where I met Sam.
I also look after Fevered sleep’s bees.
We set up the company in 1996 and we’ve been the artistic directors ever since. My job with Fevered Sleep is to lead, along with Sam, the creation of all our projects. From initial ideas, through research, to making and then presenting the work, this is at the heart of what I do. I’m the company’s CEO (Chief Executive Officer; not a job title I ever thought I’d have), which means that I’m responsible for the company’s overall strategic vision (what we want to be, and why), and for making sure that we’re not going to go out of business.
I still live in Yorkshire, in a village not far from where I grew up. I’m on the board of directors of Yorkshire Dance (an agency which supports the development of dance in Yorkshire); I’m Professor of Interdisciplinary Practice at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (which is part of the University of London); and I occasionally make my own work, separately from Fevered Sleep. When I’m not doing all this I’m either walking my dog, running, or gardening. Or eating, maybe my favourite pastime of all.