We caught up with Bowie Experience star, Oliver Slee, ahead of his performance in the Ashcroft Theatre this summer.

1) What initially sparked your interest in pursuing a career in theatre?

My first ever experience of performing on stage was as a child when I was cast in the UK theatre tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the age of 10/11. From then on, I grew up attending local theatre groups, and went on to perform in various productions throughout the years, not just in theatre but in TV and Film also. After leaving secondary school, I earned a place studying full time at East 15 Acting School which is where I gained my masters degree in acting. Bowie Experience was one of the first productions I auditioned for after graduating, and I've been with the show ever since!

2) What drew you to David Bowie, and how has he influenced your career as a performer?

Before auditioning for the role, I'd been exposed to David Bowie's music through my dad. He's got an extensive record collection, so I grew up being heavily influenced by 70s & 80s rock music. When my agent sent me through the audition details, I nearly didn't audition as I didn't in a million years think that I would land the role, I mean, it's David Bowie! But I'm so glad that I did , because the show has taken my career in a direction that it never would have gone in otherwise. Having a platform to perform David's music is both a pleasure and an an honour, and being able to do it all over the country to large audiences of Bowie fans makes it even
more special.

3) Can you describe the process of embodying Bowie's character and persona on stage? How do you balance homage with your own interpretation?

I spent a lot of time listening to Bowie's music and watching live performances in preparation for the role, and still do to this day. When you're portraying a real person night after night, I think it's very important to keep going back to the source material as often as you can. Otherwise, you may pick up routines and quirks that you've convinced yourself are from your original study of the person you are trying to portray, but are actually just habits that have worked their way into your performance over time. Having said that, I think it's very important to stress that I am not trying to be a direct imitation of the man.

Firstly, this is David Bowie we're talking about, I'd be lying if I said I was able to match him talent-wise - the man was a genius. Secondly, like a lot of things in life, it's all down to interpretation. David Bowie was so complex in so many ways, that you're always going to get different interpretations of him - that doesn't necessarily mean that one is more correct than the other. I've occasionally come across footage of other people performing as Bowie, and sometimes they're drastically different to how I do it. That doesn't always mean that they're "better" or "worse", just different. It's all comes back to what parts of David you choose to adopt into your performance - he was such a complex as an artist and human being that you'll never be able to capture all of it. He was truly one of a kind.

4) Bowie was known for his range of personas throughout his career. Which era or persona of Bowie do you find most challenging to portray?

I wouldn't say there is necessarily one persona/era that is more challenging than the rest, they're just very different so the main challenge is switching between them. In the show, I may have a minute long costume change between two very different eras in David's career and that's it. A lot of the time, when I come back onto the stage in a new outfit, I'm not only embarking into a different period of mannerisms visually and physically, I'm also doing it vocally - David's voice and vocal tone changed drastically throughout his career. For example, if you listen to his voice in the original recording of "Starman" and then listen to "Let's Dance", they're massively different.

5) What’s your favourite Bowie song? Is it also your favourite to perform?

This is a question I get asked a lot, and it's really difficult to answer because it changes all the time! David Bowie has such an amazing and varied back catalogue that it's impossible to narrow it down to just one. I do love the Ziggy era however, "Suffragette City" and "Moonage Daydream" will always be in my Top 10. In terms of a favourite to perform, "Rock n' Roll Suicide" is definitely up there. It's such a dramatic song that you can really lean into emotionally. "Heroes! is also very enjoyable to perform, it's at the end of the show and audience is always so involved by then that it can sometimes be difficult for me to myself over them singing along!

6) Bowie's stage presence and visual aesthetics were often as iconic as his music. How does the show incorporate visual elements into your tribute performance?

As well as trying to be as musically accurate as possible with the songs, we have also put a lot of work into being visually accurate with the costumes. As you allude to, Bowie had so many iconic looks and outfits, and it's just as difficult to decide which of those to include in the show as it is to decide on which songs to put in the set list. A lot of attention to detail has gone into the costumes, and we've made sure there are a couple of looks in there that you wouldn't necessarily expect to see, as well as all the ones you would - just as we do with the set list. We also have bespoke visuals for each song on the screen behind us throughout, as well as other special effects.

7) What do you enjoy most about the show?

Being able to connect with an audience of people who are all there for the same thing, which in this case is a love of Bowie’s music. David Bowie is the soundtrack to a lot of people lives as he was always there in the background, in one form or another, which makes it very special when you look out into the audience and see people responding differently to different songs.

8) What do you do when not performing?

I also work as Assistant Producer at ShowPlanr. In my spare time, you’ll find me at AFC Bournemouth matches!

9) What is your favourite fact about David Bowie?

That contrary to popular belief, he did in fact NOT have two different coloured eyes! When he was in school he got into a fight with a friend (apparently over a girl) and ended up being punched in the eye - this caused one pupil to become permanently enlarged/dilated which gives the illusion that they’re different colours.

You can see Oliver in Bowie Experience on Saturday 17 August 2024 at Fairfield Halls. Tickets are available at Fairfield.co.uk