Saturday 26 February 2011

THE SAGA and Oldham (part 2)

I forgot to set the blackberries last night. It was a scary, hairy moment. There I was, sitting in the production office, munching on a Ham Salad sandwich when I suddenly remembered. But by that point it was too late. Mairead had walked on stage with the two pales of blackberries one of which was meant to have a cluster of real blackberries in it for Bronagh to eat (and smear all over her costume and body)- I hadn't set them. I was cursing, sweating and generally flipping out; it is such a crucial moment in the play and to think that Bronagh would have to mime eating blackberries in such a first class production as this made my skin crawl. Then something happened. Daragh appeared from the shadows and in his usual collected manner informed me that all was well- Mairead had spotted that none had been placed in the pale and being the legend that she is, had done the job herself.

It is moments like these that you tend not to forget. It may seem trivial to you, but to an actor and to me, it is vital that these things are done properly. It can completely mess up a scene. It must never happen again. EVER.

Other than this, things have gone rather well for us in Oldham. Some of us spent a loveley evening and morning dancing in Manchester while others prefered to stay in with a curry and a DVD. I think at this point of the tour, the actors may begin finding it difficult to keep up the momentum. It must be very difficult to stay away from 'auto pilot mode' where you simply go on, do the show and that is it. Things must remain fresh and new and having now done at least 35 performances (or thereabouts) it can be problematic. Indeed, Paul has just informed me that he was thinking about this in the shower this morning. I would imagine audiences are key in keeping the performance alive as each night they have a different feel, each night they bring a completely different and unique atmosphere. An audience shapes the show as much as an actor or a director. We've had some great ones on this tour already and it really is fascinating listening and observing how wildly different an audience can be depending on where we are in the country. We're a diverse nation, that's for sure. They may laugh at a Maggie joke one night and then the next night there may be nothing. It's also interesting to note that a single 'cough' in the auditorium can spoil a line or block a joke. This isn't a grumble, it's just an observation.

Next up- Guildford. Au revoir!

Wednesday 23 February 2011

Oldham (Part 1)

Hello! Here we are in Oldham lapping up the lovely audiences and generally having a ball. For us technical ones, the get in went smoothly (on the whole) as we had a team of about fifty helping us get it all up. We actually had people standing around waiting to be given a job which is always a good sign. Once the floor is all down, Zac will begin fiddling with the lights while I normally put on a wash (all the costumes that need cleaning before the evening show) and Meg begins sorting the sound and all that comes with it. For me, this had to be the most enjoyable washing experience- the tumble dryer here is immense and after literally 10 minutes all was crisp and dry and by lunch time I had practically finished all the ironing. It really was a joyous day- I wish you could have been here.

Again, Meg, Mairead, Siobhan, Alastair and myself find ourselves sharing the same appartment- it is lovely and situated in the middle of Manchester. So much is going on, there is so much to do. If only we had the time to do it. Last night before heading home we all grabbed a curry at the takeaway across the road. Initially, we weren't all that inspired by the outside of it but on meeting the owner and tasting the food we quickly realised that it was, without doubt, the best curry house in the world. Even Alastair agreed.

Oldham is an alright town with plenty of shops and places to eat. The theatre is amazing and it looks like we will be playing to a lot of people this week. The audiences thus far have been very kind and they seem to love the humour of the play.
After Peterborough, it really is nice to have this.

I will write to you again soon with more news from the Lughnasa camp. To those of you who have loved ones involved with the tour- all are well and good. Speak soon x

Sunday 20 February 2011

Contemporary Confectionary

Pastel pinks and whites,
Crisp sugar shell,
Milk chocolate delights,
From a Cadbury's world.

Magical mini eggs,
Energy for tired Megs!
The get out won't go on for long,*
Now the whole bag is gone.

A poem by Meg Jones (DSM)

*Yes it will.

Saturday 19 February 2011

That night in Swansea and other activities.

I promised I would let you in on our night out in Swansea. It had been talked about for a while. Siobhan was particularly keen to wack her worn down dancing shoes on and get to the cheesiest club in town. And that's just what we did. We ended up in an 80's bar sipping vodka out of vases. No joke. Meg suddenly appeared with what can only be described as a fairly large vase, a kind of champagne glass for a giant if you will. It was rather beastly but at the time it seemed like the best idea ever. Tune after tune came at us and I'm pretty sure we didn't stop dancing until we were literally grabbed by the bouncers and thrown out at around 3.00. Chris and Siobhan had swapped clothes which got us some much craved attention, Alastair did some more pole dancing and Daragh showed us some of his break dancing moves; I may have dreamed that last bit...

Next morning and everyone was feeling a little fragile. I think Chris seemed the worst off but was just about able to give us all some notes before getting himslef onto a train back to London- it was great having him with us. As I said, the rest of Swansea was great too and we had some lovely audiences who really gave us a different kind of show which I know was much appreciated by actors and all involved. Peterborough was different. As you can see below, I spent most of my time freezing my whatevers off or bieng bullied by Bronagh. She never knows when to call it a day and sooner or later I am going to just flip. She needs to realise that she can't just get blackberry stains all over her costume and then expect me to just wash it all off. It's not as if that's part of my job or anything!

Our cottage was lovely and we spent a very enjoyable last night after our quickest get out to date (yay) finishing off Summer Heights High (highly reccomended) and then playing Murder in the Dark (not so reccomended). Paul proved himself a formidable murderer creeping around like a panther in the dark whilst Alastair squeeked and squiggled like a cuckoo. Mairead was wise to not get involved as things got rather sweaty and strange towards the end. And that is just about all I have to say this time round. Oldham is up next where audiences seem to be big. Bring it on! x x

P.S. As Meg keeps pointing out, I do tend to make a few spelling mistakes. So if anyone spots any from now on then please let me know by adding a comment below. Thank you. I got an English A Level and all that but it's amazing how much you forget on leaving school.

Tuesday 15 February 2011

Freezing my whatevers off.


From one hallowed turf to another...We are in Peterborough. It is just a little bit cold. Our production office is kind of like a static home but worse. It sits at the back of the theatre and has wooden decking walls and frosted glass windows. And the carpet is red with musical notes and happy/sad theatre faces. Am I weird if I quite like it?We didn't have many people in the audience last night but strangely it was our most vocal audience to date. One woman seemed intent on making as much noise as possible which made for an interesting show for all. No-one was quite sure how to deal with it but, bieng absolute professionals the actors made it through the show. Daragh was able to meet said woman after the show. Apparentley she had possibly had a little too much to drink but she said she loved it. I'm glad.

When I have a little more time and internet connection I shall upload another blog detailing our last few nights in
Swansea. And what nights they were. We partied and played, worked and worked and all in all had a great time.
See you then.

(This is a picture of Peterborough Cathedral, which is nice. Alongside the cathedral you can also see MEG JONE and PAUL WESTWOOD fannying about)

Friday 11 February 2011

Swanseaaaa

So firstly, I am sorry for my absense this week. Strangely, there is no internet connection in either the theatre or the guest house where I am staying. Having said that the theatre is absolutely lovely and all who work here are incredibly friendly and welcoming. In fact that seems just about true of everyone here in Swansea. Paul and myself only had to whisper that we were lost in town yesterday and within minutes we had all kinds of people telling us where Waterstones was. If only everyone was like that.

The stage is incredibly tall and thin and only just about fits all the set in. The amount of room in the wings is ridiculous really considering the amount of space that the audience actually see. We are also able to park the van INSIDE the building as there seems to be an extra big loading bay where our truck now sits comfortably in the warmth. Because the truck is so close to the stage then, it made the get in a joy and should knock a lot of time off the get out tomorrow.

Alastair, Paul, Siobhan and Mairead seem to have bagged the best digs ever but seem to paying next to nothing for it. They have a balcony over looking the marina AND a CD player in the kitchen.

Meg and I were very jealous when we visited last night for a couple of drinks and an episode or two of Summer Heights High. Paul and Siobhan also had a lovely friend from Guildhall spending the night with us- Brendan's 'terror wrist' moment was a highlight of my evening! Earlier on after the show, myself and Victoria enjoyed a lovely curry which we had to eat outside Mcdonalds at 11.30 amidst drunken students and cigarette butts. The curry house closed, you see. So we were cast out in the rain. It was strangely enjoyable, though. Chris has also joined us for a night and hosted a lovely understudy rehearsal for Zac and I today where we went through bits of the play which involve Michael (who I understudy) and Father Jack (who Zac understudies). We had a ball.



(A picture of Alastair happily enshrined in his luxury digs by the marina in Swansea)

So we finish in Swansea tomorrow and then after a Sunday in limbo (neither here nor there) we open in Peterborough on Monday. Let's hope the weather gets a little better. It tends to get us all down. x x

Sunday 6 February 2011

Ankles and illness

So we ended in Aberdeen with mixed emotions. Poor Mairead damaged her ankle during the dance but soldiered on through the pain and I was feeling distinctly below average having caught some kind of bug at some point during the week. The get out was not fun. At all.

So we all now have a few days off which is lovely. Although it is still early on in the tour the first weeks are always the most hectic as you can imagine. Once the show is on its way, things settle down a little with the odd exception. I had hoped to upload some videos this weekend but unfortunately, it is proving difficult.

We travel to Swansea on Tuesday for a get in on Wednesday. Rest assured that once we have settled in I will be writing another one of these with all the news. See you then.

Wednesday 2 February 2011

His Majesty's




I think it is colder down south than it is up here. I found myself kicking up a bit of a sweat as I stepped out into Aberdeen today to buy my lunch. It really feels strange.

Aberdeen is a lovely place. It has the feel of a large country town and in typical Scottish fashion is incredibly open and spacious in its layout. His Majesty's Theatre is massive and the real deal. Zac tells me it is designed by the same chap who did all those ones in London... you know, the west end, like. Frank Matcham is his name. The auditorium goes incredibly high up

(This is a picture of Paul-not of me-in Aberdeen)


and this, of course, affects those on stage. Vocally, the actors must alter the way in which they deliver their lines if they are to be heard.

All is good in the company and everyone seems happy with how the first move of the tour has gone. And what a move it was. Meg and myself got the train from London to Nottingham early on Monday morning. Then, once in Nottingham, we met Zac who we then hitched a ride with up to Aberdeen. The journey was filled with a disgusting amount of unhealthy food and energy drinks. We arrived in Aberdeen around 8.30pm and met up with the others for a lovely drink and a catch-up. Next morning Zac, Meg and myself started on the first get in proper of the tour. Again, we were happy with how it went apart from a few teething problems. Get ins are always better than get outs- most of the time we have a day to get in where as a get out will almost always be done after a show and late at night.

As I write this I can hear the girls onstage grilling Agnes as to where the hell Rose has got to. Maggie is suggesting that she is with Danny Bradley. Either way it sounds cracking.

This is the lovely front of the Theatre in Aberdeen taken by Alastair on one of his runs- if you look closely you can even see our posters outside.