David Harradine
David Harradine
Co Artistic Director & CEO
Hear how to pronounce my name here. My pronouns are he/him.
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 where I was born in 1970. Five generations of my family have lived there, so my roots go very deep. I always thought I’d be some sort of scientist, and when I was young I wanted to be a vet. I moved to London to study Biochemistry, 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.
Not a job that queer, working-class Yorkshire boy ever thought he’d have
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 that queer, working-class Yorkshire boy ever thought he’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 live in London now, but my Yorkshire identity still defines my world view I’m on the board of directors of Transform (an international performance festival in Leeds). I’m Professor of Interdisciplinary Practice at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. I occasionally make my own work, separately from Fevered Sleep. When I’m not doing all this I’m either walking my dog, running, planting stuff at my allotment, or trying to learn French.