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A grand life
Paul Brook has been stage door keeper at Leeds Grand Theatre for almost 19 years, during which time he's seen every star of screen and stage pass through.
From Les Dawson to Sir Ian McKellen, his job has required him to cross paths with virtually every actor, singer, comedian and dancer imaginable.
Now 46, he took up the post almost by accident after being fired from his previous employer and initially going for a bar job at the New Briggate venue.
Born in Gipton to parents Sylvia and Clive Brook, he has a younger brother Jeff and an older sister Jill. He has lived in various locations around east Leeds throughout his life but now resides in Burmantofts.
The small reception office to the rear of The Grand has a wall of keys opening doors to the maze of rooms which make up the Victorian theatre.
But he is one of a handful of long-term employees in the team which run the theatre who know their way round every corner of the building.
Paul's job is part receptionist, part concierge, part everything at times – even being called upon to shift and build sets on occasions.
But what makes him do it? Rod McPhee found out.
THERE'S nothing I couldn't live without really – even this job. As much as I genuinely love what I do a job is a job at the end of the day and so long as you can go off and get another one then everything's ok. It's quite good to be self sufficient I find.
I don't really have to relax because of the work I do either – it's already pretty relaxing. Of course you're in charge of a lot of things, well, you can be in charge of the whole building and, yes, sometimes it gets really manic. But if problems arise there's always a way of getting around them and at the end of the day there's never a life or death situation, nobody's going to die if something does go wrong.
I have actually met one of the people I'd most like to meet. Albert Finney. You're going back years now, but I was always a massive fan of his so when I got the chance to speak to him when he was performing at The Grand it was a brilliant moment. Best of all he was just the nicest guy too, just like an ordinary bloke off the street. Very polite and unassuming, which was great because there's nothing worse than meeting people you idolise then discovering they aren't who you think they are. Finney was even better than I'd imagined.
And Ian McKellen was just the same, no pretensions just a polite hello and goodnight when they came through.
Quite a few of the stars are like that and it seems the bigger they are the less they have to prove through their behaviour. One of my personal favourites was Les Dawson actually. He was such a lovely man and just had you in stitches with his deadpan delivery.
My first job, not surprisingly, was a paper round on the Gipton Estate, which wasn't quite as scary as it might be now. When I was a kid it was a nice estate, I think things started to change in the 60s and 70s and I think they started to change basically because people were put out of work. When I was a kid everyone seemed to have a job but of course that all went as I grew up and times were particularly hard on that kind of community. I'm sure there's still a good community there but I'm not sure I'd want to be a kid doing a paper round in Gipton now.
My childhood was great actually. Good parents, good friends, always going off on adventures playing. Our family didn't have much but you don't know that when you're that young. I know it's a cliche but we really were happy.
The best thing about Leeds is the fact that it has all the facilities of a big city without all the bad bits. I know I could probably walk down Briggate and bump into people I know but you wouldn't necessarily get that if you lived in a huge place and I like that about Leeds. In places like London people just don't seem to know each other or talk to each other.
The last time I cried was watching the musical Blood Brothers a few weeks ago, I must have seen it about seven or eight times over the years and it still gets me now. I don't cry that easily actually.
The best piece of advice I received is: don't cr*p on your own doorstep – and that applies to all areas from your love life to your work life. I learned that lesson when I mouthed off at my former boss and got sacked. Fortunately if I hadn't have done that I wouldn't be at the Grand now, but it's still not advisable behaviour. I've seen other people come a cropper that way too and I've lived by that philosophy and in the main it's seen me through.
First love/crush/kiss? I'll plead the fifth amendment on that one.
My overall philosophy on life is to be easy going and remain happy go lucky. I think if you're cynical you won't ever find happiness and if you remain positive people are more likely to respond to you more favourably. I know that on the occasions I've stayed positive things have always worked themselves out too.
Favourite things
Film: Oliver
TV: Time Team
Music: Everything from Gracie Fields to Leona Lewis
Author: John Steinbeck or Enid Blyton
Sign: Gemini
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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