Loud Irish heckler- you know who you are. And please return the 7up.

We have a busy stretch of touring coming up. It looms on the horizon like an evening haze against an orange, dying sun.

To be honest, I'm not too fussed. It's just that within the space of about ten days we have about 6 get ins to do, many miles to be travelled and much unhealthy food to be guzzled down us. At this point in the tour I start eating in Wetherspoons which is NEVER a good sign although I'm sure Zac would beg to differ. The set went up nicely in Bracknell partly because we had a day to get in with no show in the evening to taunt us and put us under pressure. It means things don't need to be so rushed. We then had a lovely evning off which Zac and myself spent at mine whilst Meg went back to London. I watched Waking The Dead with my Mum; I have to say, it was pretty ridiculous. Something to do with scary couples appearing in funeral attire. Odd.

The actors then arrived the next morning as we opened with a matinee performance. This is unusual in itself. What was more unusual, however, was that only 33 people turned up for it. It wasn't a great way to start in Bracknell but by the evening the audience figures were looking much more positive.

All around the stage there are curtains or masking which, obviously, prevents any backstage goings on from being viewed from the auditorium. At this venue (and for the first time ever), Alastair insists I hold the curtain for him whenever he goes on stage and then subsequently whenever he comes off. I think he imagines his entrances as some regal ceremony where as I just see it as a bit of a chore to be honest. No-one else in the cast requires quite this much attention.

We had another vocal member in the audience last night. Although this time we know him. He was in Journey's End. The one who brought in the food- remember him? Adam Best is his name and ridiculous, over the top laughing is his game. Well, I say laughing. It's more a short outburst of noise. It caused all sorts of problems on stage. And when Zac, Meg and myself did the interval change (in full view of the audience as there is no safety curtain here) Adam insisted on shouting my name every 2 minutes as I wiped down the stove and reset the flowers. He might have said a rude word at some point but I may have imagined that. Excitement.

See you soon and wish me luck. x

Videoblog2

Ironing in Guildford. It's Paul's (aka Gerry's) shirt.

The more mundane side of life with The Original Theatre Company.

What's this, what's this?!?

Eastbourne has public wifi!

This excites us all. It means we can connect to internet easily in the theatre. And I guess anywhere.

That is all I have to say.

Apart from the fact that very few people are coming to see us here in Eastbourne. If you're reading this- do come! x

Sea, chips and DRAMA.

(Last week you were treated to a picture of Bronagh and I in our pants, this weeks pose comes from the cliff tops outside Eastbourne starring...BRONAGH.)

We're by the sea in Eastbourne. The beach is being dug up by diggers and that. We can hear seagulls during the show- it's amazing.

I've been told that those who read this blog (all 5 of you) prefer it when I write about mistakes that have been made or problems that we have encountered during the shows. I don't really know whether that's a good thing... it suggests that your enjoyment comes from our misery.

Anyway, during the matinee we encountered one of these little problems. I had been placed in charge of 'giving clearance' before the show begins. This involves making sure all the actors are in the right place and ready to go on stage. Having done this, I then have to give the thumbs up to Meg who presses some buttons, barks some orders and begins the show. I gave this clearance without fully understanding what it entailed (to be fair, it hadn't been fully explained to me but perhaps I'm biased). Anyway, Siobhan was not present stage left and just as I noticed her absence, the music had started the lights had gone down and all hell broke loose. THE SHOW HAD BEGUN. I ran to the dressing rooms screaming for Siobhan as if my life depended on it. I heard a door slam, a muffled squeel and rapid steps coming in my direction. Then she appeared, pale as a ghost and, understandably, aghast. 'I didn't hear anything...' she breahtlessly cooed. Before I had time to respond however, she had run on, breathless and terrified. All was well again. But it wasn't ideal. It seemed like it lasted a lifetime but in fact it only went on for 15 seconds.

Now the smoke machine seems to be making a lot of noise. Alastair is fussing and fretting about it. I'm not sure whether fussing and fretting will solve the problem. It certainly didn't earlier. Keeping calm and carrying on was essential.

Other than that not much has happened. Or if it has, you won't be interested- It's all good news and smooth runs. All you want is the DRAMMAAA. Rest assured something exciting will happen again soon. And when it does, you'll be the first to know!

Guildford. It's near London.

(The photo is me looking at Bronagh's bottom- but maybe that is self explanatory)

Bonjour! Here we are in Guildford where it seems jolly cold. All the same it is nice to be staying at home for a bit- I live half an hour away. Most of the others are staying at their homes in London. We haven't had a huge amount of excitement really as you can probably tell by what I have just written. Oh, we were visited by Graham Seed who came to see the show. That was exciting as was his colourful scarf. It wasn't quite as exotic as Daragh's however.

Our assistant director has been in a couple of times to watch the show and let us know things which, perhaps, we have grown accustomed to and thus not ammended during the show. When you're on tour sometimes you get set in your ways so it is always good to be reminded of these things occasionaly. And Chris is very good at that. As I write this our lovely Choreographer (who we all miss) is in. It will be

interesting to hear what she has to say about the dance and how it has developed and changed. Since Basingstoke it has turned into a very different beast.

We also had to share the stage this week with another show. It was called Bear Hunt. So for three days we had to clear half our set away after every show in order to give the space for theirs. It was interesting but on the whole went very smoothly; the crew here are really very helpful and good. It also meant that for three days there was a MASSIVE, furry bear backstage... looming like a monster. It really was rather surreal but then we are in a theatre- what do you expect?!

Apart from that, I have nothing else to give you. We are all well... having said that, Trish is feeling 'rough' (her own words) and Victoria also says 'she thinks she is getting a cold again' (her own words, ish). Touring tends to tire you out a bit. I'm going to go and hold the curtain for Chris and Gerry now as they dance off down the lane to 'Dancing in the Dark'. Then I'll probably fall asleep. On the floor. No shame. Zzzzzzzzzzzz.z.z.z.z...z......z............z.....

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!

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