Dr Oliver Double, Reader in Drama within the School of Arts, is the subject of the latest podcast on ‘Nostalgia’, as part of an ongoing project by Dr Chris Deacy in the Department of Religious Studies.
Olly grew up in Lincolnshire where his father was an Education Officer and we learn why as a child Olly was frightened of Scooby Doo and ghosts as well as what his reaction was when he had a Doctor Who book signed by Tom Baker.
The conversation moves on to discuss the difference between public profile and personal personae with celebrities, especially in the case of those who have been discredited, and we learn about Olly’s nostalgia for the music of old TV themes.
Olly shares his thoughts about working in Higher Education, and why he sees himself as an anti-hierarchical person in a profession that can be quite hierarchical. He tells us why he’s someone who is uncomfortable with unearned respect and about how he is on a journey like his students, just at a different level.
Pop music had a massive influence on Olly when he was growing up, e.g. when watching The Boomtown Rats on Top of the Pops, and we learn why he’s into synth music and Dead Kennedys. Olly also reminisces about the time when he queued up in the rain for, and missed the beginning of, Planet of the Apes, as well as about how The Omen made him rethink what he’d grown up believing in the Church of England.
The podcast is free to download and is available here:
https://audioboom.com/posts/7134930-oliver-double