Wayne Philip Colin Sleep (born 17 July 1948) is a British dancer, director,

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who c ...

, and actor who appeared on the BBC series '' The Real Marigold on Tour'' and ITV's '' The Real Full Monty''.

Early life

Sleep was born in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

. His mother enrolled him at an early age with Geraldine Lamb Dance School, where he studied tap and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, wanting to be the next

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

rather than a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...

dancer. He and his family moved to

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County D ...

ca. 1951 and spent 10 years there. He lived at Friar Terrace on the Headland and attended Baltic Street Junior School. He began ballet lessons in Hartlepool in 1955 with Muriel Carr, before gaining a Leverhulme Scholarship to the Royal Ballet School in 1961 and joining the

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

in 1966 and becoming a senior principal dancer performing globally.

Career

At 157cm (5'2"), he is the shortest male dancer admitted into the Royal Ballet School. Because of his diminutive stature, many directors were reluctant to cast him in traditional male lead roles. As a result, many roles were created for him by noted choreographers, including Ashton,

MacMillan MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to: People * McMillan (surname) * Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan * Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician * James MacMillan, Scottish composer * William Duncan MacMillan ...

, de Valois, Layton, Nureyev,

Gillian Lynne Dame Gillian Barbara Lynne (née Pyrke; 20 February 1926 – 1 July 2018) was an English ballerina, dancer, choreographer, actress, and theatre-television director, noted for her theatre choreography associated with two of the longest-runnin ...

and Neumeier. Sleep is often chosen for character roles because of his unusual physique. In 1982,

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musical ...

adapted his ''Variations'' album as the second half of stage show ''

Song and Dance ''Song and Dance'' is a musical comprising two acts, one told entirely in " Song" and one entirely in "Dance", tied together by a unifying love story. The "Song" act is '' Tell Me on a Sunday'', with lyrics by Don Black and music by Andrew ...

'' for Sleep. Sleep created the role of Mr Mistoffelees in Lloyd Webber's musical ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members o ...

'' in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

's West End at the

New London Theatre The Gillian Lynne Theatre (formerly New London Theatre) is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden, in the London Borough of Camden. The Winter Garden Theatre formerly occupied the site until 1965 ...

on 11 May 1981. In 1973, he established a world record by doing an '' entrechat-douze'', a jump with 12 beats of the feet, on the British television programme ''

Record Breakers ''Record Breakers'' was a British children's TV show, themed around world records and produced by the BBC. It was broadcast on BBC1 from 15 December 1972 to 21 December 2001. It was originally presented by Roy Castle with Guinness World Reco ...

.'' This record still stands. Sleep later jumped from an aircraft for charity, after being challenged by presenter Roy Castle who said: "I’m going to beat your record and you've got to beat mine for

tap dancing Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perfo ...

(the most taps in one minute) – but on my terms".

Television

As an actor, Sleep's credits include

Tigger Tigger is a fictional character, an anthropomorphic stuffed tiger. He was originally introduced in the 1928 story collection '' The House at Pooh Corner'', the sequel to the 1926 book ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' by A. A. Milne. Like other Pooh chara ...

in ''

Winnie the Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. The first collection of stories about the character w ...

'' and Villiers in ''The Virgin Soldiers''. He also appeared as himself in '' The Goodies'' episode "

Football Crazy "Football Crazy" is a song written by James Curran, originally titled as "The Dooley Fitba' Club", in the 1880s. The song is the earliest-known song that references association football, and it later became a minor hit in the 1960s for Scottish f ...

". Sleep's choreography credits include '' David and Goliath''. He was the subject of ''

This Is Your Life This Is Your Life may refer to: Television * ''This Is Your Life'' (American franchise), an American radio and television documentary biography series hosted by Ralph Edwards * ''This Is Your Life'' (Australian TV series), the Australian versio ...

'' in 1981 when he was surprised by

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ A ...

following a performance of the musical ''

'' at the

. Sleep is remembered for having danced with

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

at the annual Christmas party of the Friends of Covent Garden at the Royal Opera House in 1985. In 2003, Sleep appeared in the reality-TV series '' I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!''. In the 2005/06 pantomime season, he appeared in ''Beauty and the Beast'' at the Theatre Royal, Windsor. Sleep completed a tour of ''Magic of the Musicals'' with

Marti Webb Marti Webb (born 13 December 1943) is an English actress and singer, who appeared on stage in '' Evita'', before starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber's one-woman show ''Tell Me on a Sunday'' in 1980. This included her biggest hit single, "Take That ...

and Robert Meadmore, as well as appearing as a judge on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

's '' Strictly Dance Fever''. Sleep has worked with the

British Shakespeare Company The British Shakespeare Company was a British open-air touring Shakespeare Company. Founded by Robert J. Williamson in 1994 (as the R. J. Williamson Company), it was renamed in 2005. Originally based in Leeds (performing in the ruins of Kirksta ...

on three occasions, playing Puck in ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict a ...

'' twice (national tour in 2006) as well as Feste in ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...

''. Sleep runs workshops that children of over the age of six can attend. He has appeared as Uncle Willy in a performance of High Society and appeared as the Emcee in ''Cabaret''. Sleep also appeared in the 2008 series of '' Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'' as a team member in the feature Ant v. Dec. On the first show, Ant's team lost the challenge which meant Ant had to choose one of the team members to be eliminated and chose Sleep. In January 2011, Sleep featured on British reality cooking show '' Come Dine with Me'', with presenter Terry Christian, Labour MP

Diane Abbott Diane Julie Abbott (born 27 September 1953) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987. A member of the Labour Party, she served in the Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn as ...

and model Danielle Lloyd. In August 2013, Sleep joined ITV's dance show, '' Stepping Out'' as a judge with Melanie Brown and

Jason Gardiner Jason Gardiner (born 6 November 1971) is an Australian choreographer, singer, and theatre producer best known for his role as a caustic and controversial judge on the ITV shows ''Dancing on Ice'', ''Born to Shine'' and '' Stepping Out''. Ga ...

. The show aired for one series. On 5 January 2014, Sleep and his family went on the game show '' All Star Family Fortunes'', playing against

Girls Aloud Girls Aloud were an pop girl group that was created through the ITV talent show '' Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The group comprised singers Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. The group achieved a str ...

member Kimberley Walsh. In February 2014, Sleep appeared in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

show '' Big Ballet'' about overweight ballet dancers. He finished fourth in the 2014 series of the

cookery contest ''

Celebrity MasterChef ''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking reality show produced by Endemol Shine UK and Banijay and broadcast in 60 countries around the world. In the UK, it is produced by the BBC. The show initially ran from 1990 to 2001 and was revived in 20 ...

''. In 2015, he appeared in a celebrity edition of '' The Chase'', a game show where he competed for charity. Sleep also appeared in the BBC miniseries that followed a group of celebrity pensioners on a journey to India, ''

The Real Marigold Hotel ''The Real Marigold Hotel'' (known in Australia as ''The Indian Dream Hotel'') is a British travel documentary series created by Twofour productions, directed by Aparna Sanyal and broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two. The show, whose name is based ...

'', broadcast from January to February in 2016. He appeared in subsequent episodes travelling to Florida and Japan in December 2016 and then China and Cuba in December 2017. In 2017 he appeared in ''The Real Full Monty'', celebrating the original movie's 20th anniversary and raising awareness for prostate and testicular cancer. He also appeared in the BBC's ''Queer As Art'' documentary celebrating the LGBTQ contribution to British arts in the 50 years since decriminalisation. In January 2018 Sleep entered the British version of '' Celebrity Big Brother'', making the final and finishing in fifth place.

Cinema

Sleep performed as an actor in ''

The Virgin Soldiers ''The Virgin Soldiers'' is a 1966 comic novel by Leslie Thomas, inspired by his own experiences of National Service in the British Army. It was Thomas' debut novel; he had previously published an autobiography. ''The Virgin Soldiers'' sold mil ...

'' (1969), '' The First Great Train Robbery'' (1979) and '' Elizabeth'' (1998). He performed as a dancer in ''

Tales of Beatrix Potter ''The Tales of Beatrix Potter'' (US title: ''Peter Rabbit and Tales of Beatrix Potter'') is a 1971 ballet film based on the children's stories of English author and illustrator Beatrix Potter. The film was directed by Reginald Mills, choreograph ...

'' (1971) as

Squirrel Nutkin ''The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin'' is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter and first published by Frederick Warne & Co. in August 1903. The story is about an impertinent red squirrel named Nutkin and his narrow escape from ...

and

Tom Thumb Tom Thumb is a character of English folklore. ''The History of Tom Thumb'' was published in 1621 and was the first fairy tale printed in English. Tom is no bigger than his father's thumb, and his adventures include being swallowed by a cow, tan ...

. He directed the choreography of the

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

scene in the 1978 film '' Death on the Nile''.

Theatre

In 2009 Sleep appeared as the MC in ''Life is a Cabaret'' by the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

, which presented excerpts from ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dinin ...

'', alongside

Siobhan Dillon Siobhan Patricia Dillon (born 1 September 1984) is an English actress and singer, who rose to fame when she performed in the British talent show-themed television series '' How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?'' on BBC One in 2006. Since the ...

as Sally Bowles. He appeared in 2019 in Cinderella at Cambridge Art's Theatre, Cambridgeshire He appeared in 2016 in Jack and The Beanstalk at Theatre Royal, Norwich

Popular culture

Sleep is a subject in

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists o ...

's painting ''George Lawson and Wayne Sleep'' (1972-75), which is exhibited at the

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

in London. Sleep is mentioned in "Never Say Alan Again", an episode from the second series of ''

I'm Alan Partridge ''I'm Alan Partridge'' is a British sitcom written by Steve Coogan, Peter Baynham and Armando Iannucci. Coogan stars as Alan Partridge, a tactless and inept radio DJ and television presenter who has been left by his wife and dropped from the B ...

''. When Michael's Americanophile friend Tex mentions that " y idolhas gotta be Wayne", Alan mistakenly concludes he means Sleep. Tex tries to correct this misconception by drawling "Get on yer horse and drink yer milk" in an approximation of

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Go ...

's voice, but Alan is merely further confirmed in his belief that Sleep is the man to whom Tex is referring. Sleep is mentioned numerous times in the film ''

Billy Elliot ''Billy Elliot'' is a 2000 British coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Lee Hall. Set in County Durham in North East England during the 1984–1985 miners' strike, the film is about a working-class boy w ...

'' and in the British stage musical version of this film. (On Broadway, references to Sleep were changed to

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...

.) The diminutive and frizz-haired ''

Green Wing ''Green Wing'' is a British sitcom set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital. It was created by the same team behind the sketch show '' Smack the Pony'' – Channel 4 commissioner Caroline Leddy and producer Victoria Pile – and stars Mark H ...

'' character Martin Dear (played by Karl Theobald) refers to Sleep as the celebrity to whom he was most flattered to have his appearance compared. In Sean Lock's ''

15 Storeys High ''15 Storeys High'' is a British sitcom, set in a tower block. It originated as two radio series broadcast in 1998–2000, transferring to television in 2002–2004. The main characters in the television series are Vince Clark, a depressed, ...

'', Sleep is one of several people to whom Vince addresses a letter. In 2017, Sleep performed at Dame Vera Lynn's 100th birthday celebrations at the London Palladium. In 2020, Sleep was portrayed by dancer Jay Webb on the TV series ''

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...

'', during its reenactment of Sleep's performance with

, at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...

Radio

In 2016, Sleep was the first artist to appear on BBC Radio 2's Friday Night Is Music Night, recorded live at the Watford Colosseum on Monday 10 October with BBC Concert Orchestra. In 2017, he appeared on Clare Teal's BBC Radio 2 show.

Publications

He published ''Variations on Wayne Sleep'' and his autobiography ''Precious Little Sleep.''

Personal life

Sleep lives with his spouse José Bergera in West London. Sleep received honorary degrees from the Universities of Exeter, Teesside and Plymouth and is a recipient of the Carl Alan Award, an industry honour voted for by dance professionals in recognition of outstanding contributions to dance. Sleep was friendly with theatre critic Jack Tinker; the two men were often mistaken for each other. At the premiere of a production of ''

The Comedy of Errors ''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. It ...

'', a play which depends on sets of identical twins being confused for one another, Tinker brought an identically dressed Sleep as his companion. At Tinker's memorial celebration, a pastiche of

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...

's musical '' Sweeney Todd'' was staged entitled ''Tinker Jack, the Demon Critic of Fleet Street'' in which Sleep played Tinker, serially executing several major West End producers (who played themselves) for inflicting particular dramatic atrocities upon the city's theatre goers. His charity, the Wayne Sleep Foundation, helps students who have successfully gained a place at a performing arts vocational college. He continues to pass his knowledge through private tuition and workshops for all ages. Sleep is a patron of the British Ballet Organisation and vice president of the

Royal Academy of Dance "Health and happiness" , predecessor = , successor = , formation = 1920 , extinction = , type = NGO , status = Registered charity , purpose = Examination board – dance education and training , headquarters = 36 Battersea SquareSW11 3 ...

. He is vice president of the Vic-Wells Association. Sleep is an ambassador for

Prostate Cancer UK Prostate Cancer UK is a prostate cancer research, awareness and support organisation which is a registered charity in England and Wales, as well as in Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the no ...

and the Royal Voluntary Service as well as supporting the Terence Higgins Trust and other charities.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sleep, Wayne 1948 births Living people People from Hartlepool Male actors from Plymouth, Devon Actors from County Durham LGBT dancers Principal dancers of The Royal Ballet British male ballet dancers People educated at the Royal Ballet School English gay actors Officers of the Order of the British Empire I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants