Colchester: Week 16

Colchester: Week 16

CAMULODNUM

Colchester is one of our most ancient towns, known in Roman times as the much more enticing Camulodunum and for the members of our touring legion it marked our 7th consecutive week on the road- a turning point as it meant only 6 weeks until our long tour reaches it's final staging post on the 13th July in Eastbourne.

Whilst some of the company took to the charms of Roman Colchester, Simon seemed indifferent

I'm an East Anglian, but in true sectarian style venture only rarely and daringly into the hinterlands of Essex. I might stray right up to the Woodbridge coast in East Suffolk or north easterly to the delights of the Southwold beach huts but alas rarely descend to Essex.

Yet on top of it's many charms, Essex houses one the UK's more prolific producing theatres in The Mercury situated squarely in the middle of the town in it's own little green enclave out of sight of the high street and in the shade of a beautiful old church. It has under successive artistic leaderships built a great reputation for the quality of it's work- and we have in fact been playing tag with one of their current productions- Betty Blue Eyes which is on it's own tour of the UK at the moment.

So I felt royally shamed for making my very first appearance at this cracking regional theatre- yet equally quietly proud to be bringing our show to sold out audiences across the week.

Monday saw me cramming various meetings into a busy morning in London before then picking up the trusty OMM 4 (the current incarnation of junk and metal that serves function as my car) and whizzing, or in fact crawling down the A13 to Colchester. It is a little known fact that from Dalston to Colchester there is only one petrol station about 5 miles out of Colchester, which is fine, except when you run out of petrol. If you wondered why a battered white fiesta was curb crawling it's way at 15 miles an hour on that busy section of road towards Ipswich- it was because there was no petrol station for endless miles of concrete road- fortunately OMM 4 guzzled carefully and with a few hairy moments found salvation in a well stocked Esso garage before depositing me at precisely the call time at stage door of The Mercury.

Playhouse and church in uneasy proximity in Colchester

As Lauren has described get-in days by their nature can be one of the more stress filled days in a given week, Colchester shared a similar stage design to Salisbury and that creates a few backstage issues- you arrive and throw the shackles of a busy day into your dressing room before doing your best to sort through any of the various issues that might hinder or effect the looming performance.

Yet by this stage in the tour we have a hardened team of ruthlessly efficient professionals and erstwhile   big problems are now solved with ease and we coasted with only rippling stress to our first night and a packed audience.

As Lauren has explained I do my best to combine and maintain a series of differing roles on this tour, and first nights require a degree of dextrous hat swapping. As the director it is my job to oversee the show and ensure that there is consistency from the production that the creatives all approved back in Eastbourne with the same show some 100+ performances on in Colchester. Even though we have done it many number of times, the audience that night, and every night come to it afresh and deserve it looking and playing at it's best. You throw the number of variable factors that can influence a show and it becomes a less than straightforward task.

By way of something completely different, Goat and Cuckoo.

I have just taken breath to consider whether this might be of interest to you and decided on balance it is perhaps less salacious than reporting the post show revels and will continue in earnest with only half muted apologies. Alex our lighting designer has created a rich and diverse lighting plot- but it means our Company Manger each week must adapt it for each new theatre, each theatre works slightly differently and so keeping the show looking consistent is an art in itself. Often you can find the show adapting inevitably and inexorably over the course of a few weeks, and like a child growing- you don't realise it happening at the time, but re-visiting the show some weeks on you can be amazed at the changes and without due diligence how far it can drift off course.

The same applies with all technical aspects and indeed the performances. Getting the show up to performance standard is the first big challenge, the second big one is maintaining that. We are fortunate in having a truly dedicated and hard working team on stage and off bound and united in what is I think a real passion for Rachel's play and Sebastian's novel which is crucial really. All the fun recounted in this blog off stage is nothing if the show we are presenting is not working, I think that the strength of this company comes from the knowledge that they are bound tightly together by the story and I hope to the production.

Our fabulous Evans and violinist/singer Sam going through his warm up backstage (what he was playing was truly beautiful by the way- but you will just have to imagine it)

My point is that as I take my seat at the Mercury, my mind is racing with all the various factors that might be affecting the performance that night- no matter how many times I watch this play, it is always a heart in the mouth moment as to whether it will all come together. Lauren and George and Polly in her blog from last year have all shown what a tightly constructed and intricate piece this play is, just one of those pieces not coming together can cause the whole thing to easily be brought to a halt. It is the thrill of live performance and it keeps all of us who do it on our toes.

That night we had a really strong show and I was a happy director with only very minor notes who at the interval scarpered backstage for the first change in hat wearing. This year I have taken a small role right at the end of the play. For those who have not seen it, Stephen encounters a German right at the end and it is, or should be, a powerful moment. I take up the lesser half of that moment in the form of German soldier Levi. So after the first half I have to become a member of the acting company, throw aside my directors hat and embrace the actors world backstage.

World War One dressing room selfie. Scary German pose.

It is, on reflection a very unique perspective to share, from being an audience member watching the incredibly emotive ending of the first half to then throwing open the pass door to the secret backstage world and seeing all the cogs working that have produced that effect- the mood is always so different- maybe joyous, maybe fraught but always focussed- and maybe that it is why I have so enjoyed my cameo in the show (which extends on the weeks remaining performance of the week to about three appearances through the first half as well), I get to play one of the smallest cogs in the big wheel. I truly get the chance to play my part in something that when combined with all the other parts seems to add up to something greater.

The reception the show has had this year has been continually surprising and humbling, the show has managed to somehow pick up on something bigger that is happening with our centenary commemorations of the First World War and taken on a life of it's own.

Elizabeth standing proudly by our sold out sign outside The Mercury in Colchester

Which leads me onto the final hat of the first night, that of the producer. I form one arm of three main producers and inevitably report from the ground back to Jon and Anne-Marie to let them know how the show has gone, sales for the week and any issues that have arisen. Although Jon and Anne-Marie appear often only fleetingly in this blog, they are crucial to the success of the show- working from the office to make sure everything flows smoothly from the paying of wages, to the trailer that transports the truck to all the smaller details. After nearly 2 and half years of working on Birdsong together we have formed a pretty tight partnership and they do make regular appearances on the road to visit us and they duly came up on the Tuesday to let us know a few changes for the final weeks of the tour.

The day ended with finding a snifter house (pub) opposite which served a welcome glass of wine before the joys of seeking out somewhere to stay.

What do actors do after a show? Re-enact Henry IV part 1, Act 2 scene 4. Here the Bear gives us his Falstaff (and no he wasn't just say in the pub with a cushion on his head…honest)

Having been touring for nearly 10 years- it might be fair to say that i have begun to look to staying in more salubrious accommodation than the usual bed and board that is still- for good and for the bad the mainstay of touring digs. I love the heritage that actors digs has, the stories the good, the bad and the ugly provide- yet at the old age of 30- sometimes you just want to know you will be getting a good nights sleep and your own space.

This is the dog, whose house we stayed in

That said along with the touring polygot G MOSS and the trusty Simon, 'Bear', Lloyd we had taken the plunge and were staying in a lovely ladies' home a couple of miles out. It came replete with a small dog and some pleasant furnishings. Simon however drew the short straw and ended up in the single room…and well…he was maybe a bit disappointed. G MOSS and I showed sympathy for the briefest of moments before enjoying the bunk and ladder he would need to take him skyward to his point of slumber.

The Bear here might have just had another snifter as he seems a bit dissolved back at the digs

The week then blurs and morphs into a haze of eight shows, auditions for the next project in London for me midweek, the requisite fourth and final hat wearing for the understudy and the complex task of weaving plans for our future productions into the routine of the current one.

However there are important points to note:

1.) A decent cafe is of reasonable importance as a place to relax and where we can all either work or chat the day out surrounded by coffee and the occasional brownie. Most of us partook in breakfasting at a nice independent cafe called The Arts Cafe- our stay in Colchester and our dedication and loyalty rewarded us with free coffees by the end of the week and a jolly fine Vegetarian breakfast.

This is a 'white chocolate brownie, which Simon 'Bear' and i felt did not really come together in the eating.

2.) Jonny, The Goat, celebrated his 21st birthday in real style on Friday night. In practice this meant a veritable feast of present buying and a surprise appearance on his birthday by his family down from Cheshire and a great night remembered by most with the image of Jonny, huge smile on his face, parading his signed- and framed- Birdsong poster around the bar.

Birthday boy Jonny with his haul of presents…delighted!

3.) I took a day trip back to Suffolk to get a taste of home and walked around the delightful Woodbridge. Always good advice to get out and see something of the area you find yourself in. It breaks up the week, fills your head with new sights and is always good for the soul. Space and fresh air and a respite from the rigours of touring.

Back to Suffolk for a quick visit to a sun soaked Woodbridge

4.) Our final post show discussion aired on the Thursday night- these have been a real highlight on this tour- it is a real treat to meet our audience and hear their thoughts on the show. Often actors don't have any contact with the audience beyond the curtain call- and sometimes hearing a few new insights from audience members can keep the play alive and new minted in our imaginations.

5.) Some of the company took a trip to Chavasse VC recovery centre and saw first hand where some of the money we are raising for Help for Heroes is being spent.

Simon and troops enjoying the visit to Chavasse VC house

6.) Earlier I mentioned the fact that every show is just a second away from grinding to halt…well on the Wednesday evening we ground. to. a. halt. Mid way through one of the scenes between George and Carolin, Lauren made her very first stage appearance in over 300 shows by venturing into the footlights to tell the audience that we had had to stop the show and that the actors should leave the stage.

Elizabeth and Simon clearly concerned…

You get used to hearing the rhythms of the show relay, you know when there should be voices and when there are silences and when there are explosions. I knew before Lauren had made an announcement that something had happened and was already on my way down to the prompt corner. Ever the professional Lauren was calmly ascertaining that one of the audience had had a collapse and that the auditorium had to be cleared to allow medical access.

The view from prompt corner just after Lauren had stopped the show

The cast assembled in the green room, as the theatre staff cleared the auditorium, we explained what had happened and then thought about where to pick the show back up again from.

I love this picture, George and Sam posed for this moments before we resumed with the audience taking their seats before the re-start. One of those private moments…now not so private.

Although seemingly simple, halting a scene mid way through of what is a technical and complex section of the show has the potential to throw the attention of audience and actor alike and it was testament to both the whole company and the audience that we were able to pick up seamlessly from a moment before we left off and with a shorter interval than usual returned the audience safely back to the 21s century in time for last orders.

G Moss was having a great time…

A big thank you to Lauren who handled a potentially difficult situation with total calm and ease.

6.) Our favourite playwright Rachel Wagstaff received some wonderful news about a new addition to her family, we'll leave it to her to tell you in more detail. Suffice to say the whole company was delighted and spent much of Friday sending her good wishes and lots of love as we dedicated the show to her.

7.) Charlotte our associate director came for tea, to run the understudy rehearsal and watch the show. She hadn't seen it since our week in Birmingham- so it was fantastic to catch up with her. Charlotte has been working on the show nearly for as long as me- sometimes even though I only get to see it once a week, you can become inured and your judgement obscured. Charlotte brought some much needed fresh eyes and gave us all some things to think about as we began the final leg of the tour.

This leaves me to end up my little foray into blogging for this tour. Whilst understandably trying to recount the week accurately, I should mention that juggling those four hats is not always easy and sometimes they naturally conflict with each other. At the end of the day, as the producer you are the one who pays the wages and who has to make at times difficult decisions- it would be disingenuous for me to pretend that this role always merges with ease with the role of being either actor, understudy or indeed that of director.

George the Honey Badger and self styled King of the Jungle…don't get me started on the smoking…

Birdsong is now nearing it's 350th performance over 2 years with two almost totally different companies, yet both shows have been defined by totally committed and genuinely rather lovely companies- many of whom have become lifelong friends with each other and even with me. Somehow between us all over these past few years we have created a truly special show that has been seen now by over 150,000 people across nearly 50 different theatres over a period of 20 months. It is my absolute privilege to stand on the stage, to watch from the wings and to watch from a seat in the auditorium- it is one that I never forget even when there is stress or when things don't run as smoothly as you would like.

Theatre for me is all about the journey, the journey of the story in the theatre and the story of the journey outside it- the people we meet, the places we see and the lives we inhabit on stage and off. A strange, wonderful and at times intoxicating brew that weaves tradition, routine and a touch of the anarchic…get the brew right and you'll be alright and I think our brew is pretty spot on.

Colchester was great.

See you in Dundee.

The cast and menagerie of Birdsong 2014- a great bunch. 

(Missing Lauren, GMoss and Sinead- all loved equally though)

(Bonus picture of Bear and Cuckoo)

Doncaster: Week 15

Doncaster: Week 15

Bank Holiday charm:

When you work in theatre you don't often get Bank Holidays off. Quite often you don't even get a proper day off a week, especially if you're on tour as Sunday can be a travel day. Getting up at 8am to get on a packed sweaty train to arrive in a new city at lunchtime and find that you can't check into your digs until 4pm, and it's raining. Does that sound like a day off? If you're lucky enough to work in a subsidised repertory house (for example, Theatre By the Lake or Pitlochry) then you find that you probably will get bank holidays off, as the overtime for them will cost the theatre a lot of money. And if you don't get the time off? Well that's ok, because you get a nice payment for doing it. Generally in theatre though, particularly if you are a technician or a stage manager, you have to work on these days probably with no extra. 

Taking all this into account, you can probably see why we were pretty excited about Doncaster's tuesday opening and everyone had planned something nice for the time off. I hadn't realised at first that we did have the monday off and so had booked and paid for my Saturday night accommodation in Hull (normally I would head off either home or somewhere after I'd done the sound get-out) and as Doncaster was so close there didn't seem a lot of point in heading to Eastbourne or Devon. I decided to find somewhere really nice for the weekend and perhaps even the week. 

Sorry chaps, I'm going to do a bit of a plug here. I found a truly AMAZING place to stay for the week, about 12 miles outside of Doncaster, near a town called Bawtry is a place called Home Farm and Lodge. I won't go on too much about it, but it really is one of the nicest places I've stayed at on tour (and even on holiday!) and a very reasonable price. I had my own little studio type cottage set in the countryside (but handily also next door to the local pub), all beautiful, light and airy, but at the same time with traditional cottage features of beams and textured walls. The owners were really accommodating, even giving me a bottle of their homemade wine (delicious and moreish, but you had to go slow with it as it is quite strong)! I met up with a newly found friend at the local pub soon after I arrived and managed to do what most normal people get to do on bank holidays: have good food and a few beers with friends. If you ever are in the area and fancy staying at Home Farm and Lodge, then check it out at www.booking.com/hotel/gb/home-farm.en-us.html?sid=ad4a7b78e5eb2215735851bd69185f9a;dcid=2

A Whole New World:

As I mentioned in the last blog, Cast at Doncaster is a brand new venue and only opened in the autumn of last year. GMoss must have been one of the first people to work in it after it opened when he was touring with another show last year, but apart from him no one else in the company had worked there before. It is so new that you can practically still smell the wet paint!

Now, if you kept up with Polly's Birdsong blog, last year, you may remember my guest spot in Nottingham where I spoke (at some length, I know, I know) about what makes a great receiving venue. If you don't remember or didn't read it (huff) then here's the link to it again http://pollyhughesbirdsongthetour.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/nottingham-lauren-our-dsm-takes-you.html

I mention it because it's interesting to see how a brand new venue might measure up to this. A lot of older venues have little quirks and features that might be a hinderance in the modern day but cannot be changed, either for structural or heritage reasons. But a brand new venue has hundreds of years of theatre experience to draw on and so there for should be practically 'perfect'. Actually, that'd be setting standards pretty high and nothing can ever really be perfect, but it can come quite close. So how did Cast fair? 

Well, the load in is a big tick in the yes column. The truck can park right up to the dock, which is raised to exactly the right level so things can pretty much wheeled straight off. Next to the dock is a car park for all Cast members of staff and incoming companies. Tick number two.

Wing space is good and there's a separate storage area for flight cases etc. Plenty of dressing room space too, with some dressing rooms downstairs and some upstairs. A slight lack of downstairs toilets if you're dressing room is not down there, but you can manage! Swipe cards open pretty much every door to get in ad out of the building, so if you're a smoker you can get outside from backstage pretty easily. We were looked after by Dave on the stage side and Liam on the technical who, along with their friendly and hard working crew, got everything up and ready for the cast to arrive on the Tuesday all refreshed from their time off!

All in all Cast ticks a lot of the yes boxes on my 'what makes a great venue' list, and they're improving and changing bits all the time to make sure that it's the bestow can be. For example, there was a slightly strange thing going on with their in-house sound, which meant that it was great for their own in-house shows, but meant that certain parts of the system couldn't be split to be controlled by an incoming company. Callum, who works on sound, tried to split their surround system in the auditorium so I could tie into that, but unfortunately it couldn't be done how we needed it, but this is something that it getting worked on and improved. It's impossible really to plan out everything about a new venue before it has opened, somethings you won't find out until a show comes in so things are getting improved on all the time. There's a cafe/bar front of house which does a good cup of coffee and light food and accessibility is, as you would imagine from a new build, is excellent. As you may remember from Tunbridge Wells I am very keen on making theatre accessible to all and in Doncaster we had both a signed performance and an audio described on, with a touch tour beforehand (where visually impaired or blind can come onstage and tour the set, feeling all the props and costume). 

All shiny and new. Cast, Doncaster. 

Birthday Badger:

It was George's birthday (to continue with the birthday festival month that we seemed to be having!) and so, of course, more celebrations were in order. 

A night out at the karaoke was planned, which George insistent that everyone would have a go. This, naturally meant that Alastair would be giving some sort of Ronan Keating song in an Irish accent, but I have managed to get him away from singing that bloody Billy Joel song he likes to do that goes on forever. Last year, in Cardiff, I suggested to him that he gave Neil Diamond 'Sweet Caroline' a go and he does that beautifully and it seems to have replaced 'Piano Man' in his repertoire. (I feel that I should point out here that I really do like Billy Joel, particularly 'The Longest Time', but I'm sorry, 'Piano Man' is far, far, far too long for karaoke) But it was Sinead who was the dark horse of the evening, giving a brilliant rendition of Kate Bush's 'Wuthering Heights' that was the talk of the company for some weeks afterwards. 

A few of the more hardened souls continued to celebrate with our leading man into the wee hours and everyone had a great time. But it was Jonny who had the best time and I know he'll always have a special place in his heart for Doncaster….

Carolin and Simon duet at karaoke

Underpants:

The day after George's birthday we had an understudy speed run. This basically meant that we ran the whole play, but at speed and on a relatively bare stage, not doing the scene changes. We had a guest at the rehearsal as well; Anne-Marie, our producer, has family in the area and had come up to see them and us. It was pretty amusing watching everyone trying to dash about doing all their parts. Alastair had the hardest job as he tried to do Stephen, Firebrace, Azaire, Gray, Evans, Barclay, Adams, The Chaplain and even Marguerite (who will be given a male name in the event that Lucy is ever off)! This meant a lot of dashing about the stage and having conversations with himself, having to swing in accents from RP to Cockney, from Welsh to French and then to Scottish. Simon had the easy job, just doing Berard and even then managed to miss his only line and entrance in Act 2!

(Note: The heading for this is underpants simple because that's a name a friend of mine gave to understudy rehearsals many years ago and its stuck. Its not because they're pants or rubbish to do or anything like that. I promise you it was really funny at the time!)

Time to go:

It's odd, but there's something about opening on a Tuesday that makes a week seem really short. I don't know why. It's only a day less. But once you've done the get-in, had a matinee, then an understudy rehearsal and then possibly a morning and afternoon off and then another matinee, it feels like you haven't been somewhere for very long at all. 

I was very sad to say goodbye to my lovely Bawtry digs. I had been really cosy there for the week. I would have liked to have stayed for a few more days, but we had to move on to Colchester. The crew at Cast had a busy couple of days as there was a dance show going on in their other space and our female company were sharing the top floor of dressing rooms with youth dance groups. This meant some of the crew were working the dance show alongside our show and then having to come across to us and do the get-out. There was also an incoming show on Sunday morning, which meant that some of the crew couldn't work the Saturday or the get-out, so we didn't get to see everyone before we left, but thanks to all at Cast for looking after us so well. 

It was time to get to Colchester, somewhere I hadn't been since 2009 and I was keen to see if it had changed at all. It was also time for me to go back to Eastbourne for the first time in a month and see if my flat was still in one piece (it was), whether I had any post (bills) and see if my ex had remembered to water my plants (he had. Be nice when you split up with a partner boys and girls. You never know when you might need them….!)

An addition to Hull:

James the joker. James Staddon, owner of Bramley the beauty dog, player of Berard, Adams and Barclay, and joker extraordinaire. It had only recently come to my attention that he likes to prank about backstage, particularly when it comes to using any item that he might find in a theatre and using it to hilarious advantage. They'll be more about this in coming weeks. One night in Hull I had to pop off cans for a minute during the reunion scene and when I came back, I find James in position at my desk pretending to call the show and operate the sound!

Colchester:

Check back in a couple of days when Alastair will be writing a guest blog on our week in Colchester. Ever wondered what it's direct, produce and act in your own show? He'll be telling you more about what that's like. 

See you soon!

Hull: Week 14

Hull: Week 14

Sorry chaps. Despite (or perhaps because of…) the popularity of George Banks' last two blog entries, you've got me back to tell you about Hull. And there's nothing you can do about it!!!!!!!

Sleeeeeepy:

So, most people had opted to go straight from Cork to Hull and not travel back home for a day first. This meant that there were some very tired bodies on Sunday night and Monday morning. As George told you last week, some of the company were on very early morning flights on the Sunday, not so bad for the cast who had left the theatre before 11pm, but for those on the get-out….. We are very lucky as a company to have producers who have worked the touring circuit a lot themselves and who know how important those few extra hours at home can be. We'd all been given options of where and when we wanted to fly to and from Cork, but it had been several weeks before when we'd all made the decisions, so suddenly all the those first thing in the morning flights didn't seem like such a good idea anymore (something similar happened to me with flying to Dundee recently, but more of that another time….)! GMoss and myself were on far more civilised flight times, me at around 11:30am and GMoss later in the afternoon. Hence we felt a little smug as we had our post-get-out Guinness, knowing we had a bit of a lie in in the morning! 

I was flying back to Bristol and from there driving on up to Hull. Getting there late afternoon I found that the Campanile I was staying at had a beer garden which was completely deserted, so I did the only thing possible and enjoyed a few pints in the dying rays of the evening sun. 

The Alans and their crews:

Although a new venue for GMoss and Sinead, myself and Roger had played Hull New Theatre before, albeit quite a few years ago for both of us. We were delighted to see that many of the crew remained the same and that even Alan, the former chief electrician, comes out of retirement occasionally to work on get-his and outs. Under the direction of another Alan, the stage manager, the excellent crew had the set up in no time and lighting Alan zipped about on his cherry picker focusing the lights at top speed. Hull New Theatre is one of the bigger ones we were doing on the tour, the auditorium is vast and the backstage a maze of dressing rooms and offices both above and below the stage. 

Outside stage door at the New Theatre

At lunchtime, us worker bees popped over to 'The Old English Gentleman' pub which is a stone's throw from stage door. They weren't serving food but Paul, the landlord, was happy for us to get a sandwich from the shop opposite and eat them in there with a few cokes to wash them down. We'd found our local for the week!

Just across from stage door

The cast all started arriving from about 2pm and I got great pleasure from bringing them on stage to see how big the stage was in comparison with what we had become used to recently.

Everyone was a little sleepy from their travels still, but on the whole everyone was in good spirits and delighted to have the trench entrance back to normal. There was also much excitement as James had brought along Bramley, his dog, who had been sorely missed by us since Cheltenham. 

James and Bramley outside the theatre main entrance

Quite a large auditorium…….

The show zipped by successfully and afterwards the friends of the theatre had provided us with a small reception with a free drink and some much appreciated food! Apart from a minor glitch which had meant that GMoss had had to completely rewire a lighting unit in the afternoon (he really can fix almost anything), the day had been a successful one. A few of us decided that we wanted to continue on for a few beers, but with no pubs open, a very obliging taxi man took George to the nearest 24hr Sainsbury's to get supplies so we could go back to the house he was sharing with Jonny and Lizzie, which turned out to be just around the corner from my hotel. 

It's Never Dull in Hull:

The very first time I played Hull, myself and our sound engineer bought bumper stickers with these very words on. It's true, there is always something you can find to keep you entertained. Alastair found he could indulge his latest hobby of finding pubs, restaurants, drinks, food items etc that bear the same name as someone he has given a nickname to. He was also able to give new nicknames. Have we told you yet that George is now The Honey Badger? I don't know why. I wasn't there for the naming. I can find out if you want?? 

Alastair keeps himself entertained

Also to keep us entertained, we had two party nights to celebrate………. 

Birdsong 2014 Tour turning 100!

Yes, we'd final arrived at our centenary, during the centenary of World War one itself and parties were definitely in order. 

Simon booked us all a table at what is probably one of the most hilarious Italian restaurants I have ever been in. I had been there for a company meal before, back in 2007 and had had a really good time with nice food. It's just around the corner and with Simon pre-ordering our food for us it looked to be a good evening. It was a good evening, but lets say that it wasn't due to the charm of the waiting staff. I honestly half-expected Basil Fawlty (yes, him not Manuel) to come out of the kitchen any second, grab our plates away and tell us to get out! In the end the whole thing became really very funny and despite missing orders, late arrivals and the fact that Lizzie didn't get anything and then got given an 'emergency' pizza which contained blue cheese, which she hates, we had an excellent time. George had very generously bought several bottles of Prosecco from the bar which he shared out between us, along with a giant chocolate champagne bottle with 100 iced on to it (dessert was, thankfully sorted). Alastair made a very nice and touching speech and Peter, Jonny, Carolin and Simon finished up with a bit of entertainment in the form of human ventriloquist dummies. 

Happy 100th show Birdsong. 

An entertaining meal……...

After dinner ventriloquism 

Peter and Jonny show us how it's done

On-going celebrations:

So, that was the Wednesday and it wasn't enough to have just one party. No. We had to have another on the next night as well. Carolin was actually staying at The Old English Gentleman and had arranged for us to have a bit of a lock in and also, very generously, paid for a load of food to be provided. It turned into a really nice and chilled out evening with singing around the ukulele and a bit of guitar from GMoss and I even gave some Les Mis on the piano. 

Our 2nd party!!!!

Moving on:

The last couple of days in Hull passed really quickly and everyone was in good spirits as we had a Bank Holiday coming up which meant not only did we get the Sunday off, but the Monday as well. Our next venue was to be Doncaster which is less than an hour's drive from Hull so some of us were staying up in Yorkshire over the weekend. For others though, it was a great opportunity to get back home and see family and friends after what had been 3 full weeks away for most. 

Cast, Doncaster is a brand new venue which only opened last autumn and designed by Charcoal Blue, a company which both Jon, our producer/production manager, and Alex and Jenni our lighting designer and associate, all work for and we were looking forward to seeing what the newly opened theatre had to offer. 

Catch-up with us soon as we hit Doncaster, Colchester, Dundee and Leicester!

Cork: Week 13

Cork: Week 13

So, did you enjoy Geroge Banks' Exeter blog? If you did then get set, as here's his take on our week in Cork. If you didn't enjoy it, tough. Here's Cork anyway!

Now I know what you’re thinking and yes, last week’s blog probably was the most distinguished piece of writing you’ve ever come across, but hold on to your hats, because I shall endeavour to best it with this blog instalment about the mighty Cork. 

First thing’s first then, did I have digs ready? Absolutely not. I hopped on a plane at an ungodly hour Monday morning with the genius plan of booking digs when I arrived. But there was no need! At the airport Peter swiftly offered me a spare room in the house he had booked for himself, Simon and James. Done and dusted. Did I stay there? Not for most of the week, no. But more on that later. 

We arrived into Cork and after Peter and I failed to operate the hire car’s Satnav (then drove in the wrong direction for half an hour) ended up in our digs. There was a pool table. Immediately plans were drawn up for a competition but, tragically, we never quite got round to it. The odd game occurred and people’s competitive blood started to bubble up (I am the MOST competitive, obviously) but on the whole, we kept things friendly.

We arrived at the theatre later on and couldn’t believe how tiny the space was. The set was crammed onto the stage and the backstage was the tightest we had encountered yet. Though we’ve become quite adept at adapting to the space around us the smallness here meant quite a big change was in order. The ‘trench entrance’ that is used throughout the play was no longer available-there simply wasn’t space to travel through it in the wing, so instead of turning left out of it, you turned right and past the ‘tunnel entrance’ which had black cloth draped over it to mask our wandering feet. Easy, right? After a quick sound check we were told what changes to entrances and exits had to be made and we hastily jotted them down. My usual dressing room partner on the tour is Malcolm but this week we found ourselves all in one dressing room for the first time, the boys in one and the girls in another. The atmosphere, as you can imagine, was pretty raucous-jokes and jibes started to fly pretty quickly, but it’s always interesting observing how people get themselves focused just before the play goes up. Everyone seems to have that moment when the task at hand clicks in and they head off into the darkness of the wing.

Cork Theatre - Beautiful but quite a narrow Proscenium
arch (the frame of the stage) and quite shallow.

Beautiful old fashioned boxes, not used for this show
as the view would be very restricted.

The first show went up relatively hitch free but, of course, some people forgot the changes. Given that we had done the show nearly one hundred times by this point it is understandable, it becomes a part of your muscle memory, but it resulted in what quickly became known as the ‘walk of shame’, illustrated for your convenience here. 

I shan’t name names, but there were very few who didn’t have to complete the ‘Walk of Shame’. Do you think I missed my calling as an illustrator? 

That evening in the pub something incredible happened. I had my first ever Guinness. In Ireland. Bought for me by an Irish woman-our very own Sinead. It was INCREDIBLE. After a brief lesson in how to drink it from Sam (9-10 sips, with the suds in the glass of a well poured Guinness an indication of how many you’ve had) and another pint or two of the black nectar I found myself moving on to Whisky. Though the aforementioned entrance swapping seems like a tiny thing, it’s something that shoots a little bit of new energy into the play-having to engage your brain whilst moving through the piece. As a result we found ourselves in high spirits, joking about the slipups, and decided to move onto one of Cork’s bars across the bridge and a little further into town. We tore up the dance floor well into the night and I ended up on a sofa in the girl’s flat. Shocker.

Sinead, Me and my first Guinness.
The black nectar, very tasty indeed

The next day Sam, Jonny and myself shuffled into town for a sure fire hangover cure-a late breakfast/early lunch in the Gourmet Burger Bar, just round the corner from the theatre. Needless to say we crushed through our tasty meals and proceeded to spend most of the day drifting through the city, exploring some shops and other bits and bobs. That evening another show and another night not spent in my digs. My father was in Ireland for work so we both stayed in a B&B close to the theatre. He came to watch the show, not having seen it since close to when we opened and we found ourselves chatting with the rest of the company afterwards about how much the piece has changed. One of those things you forget as you roll along. 

The Burger boys looking a little grey after a night’s boozing.
Sam flying the flag for what we agreed is the best hangover cure

Wednesday saw another outing for the three burger boys, this time we headed to the cinema to watch Spiderman 2 (which we all enjoyed). We ate popcorn and sweets, had nachos smothered in fake cheese and sugar filled slushie ice drinks. We felt like kings. Very fat, super unhealthy kings...but kings none the less. The show was particularly enjoyable that night, due in large part to a very vocal audience member. Perched on the front row was a very sweet lady who, every time Sam’s character Evans uttered a sentence with dirty connotations (and that’s a lot, if you haven’t seen the play), proceeded to be titillated enough to audibly exclaim ‘Oh Jesus’. Credit to Sam, he kept it together...I don’t think I can say the same for those of us in the wing. They became our favourite two words that week.

That wasn’t the only interesting thing to happen that evening. Later on Sam was accosted by a gentleman in the pub toilet, enquiring as to whether or not he had seen the theatre ghost. Apparently it is a gentleman looking for his hat and can be seen wandering the building, appearing in locations as diverse as the auditorium to the fly towers. The man produced compelling reports of eye witness accounts and even photographic evidence, but alas, our search for him proved in vain. I also ended up back in my own digs that night, which is arguably even spookier, and enjoyed some incredible food prepared by Simon’s partner Wendy-affectionately referred to as Mrs. Bear, obviously.

On Thursday Simon, James and I ventured off to visit the grave of Oliver Reed-a particular hero of Simons. It is located in a tiny town a little drive away from Cork and you need to obtain the keys to the graveyard from his local pub. The story goes that his wife wanted to bury him on the grounds of his house, but the other regulars insisted he be buried close by so that they could say good night to him upon closing time and she granted them their wish. Indeed we met people inside who used to socialise with the big man and they told us fond stories of their time spent together, he was obviously very dear to them. The grave had a little statue of Bulls Eye, Bill Sikes’ dog in ‘Oliver!’, perched next to it and people who came to visit left unopened cans of Guinness behind the grave in tribute to the actor. I always find it interesting being in a graveyard, I think it’s fair to say we found ourselves a little more subdued and reflective on the car journey back. 

Oliver Reed's grave
(Stolen from Simon's twitter page)

People still leave offering of booze for him to enjoy…..

The week continued to whizz past, lovely houses and a very warm reception every night from the audiences. We had no matinees for the week and it allowed us to recover a little physically, the demands the play makes of your body really do creep up on you. 

Saturday was a big day for Simon, an ardent Arsenal fan, as the FA cup final was on. Our next week was in Hull so he wasn’t overly keen on arriving there on Monday only to witness a victory parade at the expense of his beloved team. The pressure was on. Jonny travelled over to watch with us in our digs, whilst there he insisted on wearing a toga fashioned out of a bed sheet and that we all refer to him as ‘Santiago’-telling us he was going to school us ‘Roman style’ at pool. To be fair to him, he’s very good, but to this day he has offered no explanation in regards to the character he adopted. After a very tasty lunch we settled down for kick off. I won’t go into the ins and outs of the match but it was fairly gruelling for Simon, not helped by Jonny and Peter cheering absurdly loudly for Hull. The game went into extra time and we had to leave for the theatre. Things got tense as we desperately searched for a radio station reporting on the game on the drive over, Simon barricaded himself into the dressing room as we made our way to the stage and eventually surfaced for warm up with a big smile on his face. He could face Hull next week. 

Jonny, as ‘Santiago’, and Simon settle into the FA cup final,
while the La Liga decider plays on the iPad. Football mad

That night I stayed on a sofa yet again, this time at the flat of Lauren and Alastair and my memory is so hazy of events that week that I couldn’t even tell you where I stayed Thursday or Friday. I’m pretty sure I only stayed in digs twice. Who knows... I promise I’ll get better. Other goings on that week included Sinead’s mother coming to watch the show and, just like her daughter, insisted on buying me a Guinness too (my first from a first generation Irish woman you see) and we had one of our more interesting talkback sessions after the play. Normally they take place with the audience remaining in the seats and the cast coming out onto the stage, but in Cork they just invite everyone into the bar with the actors sitting on stalls along it and the audience at tables scattered around the room. It makes for a very relaxed atmosphere and it was a wonderful session. Some people also ventured out for walks during our time there in the lovely Irish countryside, to my shame I can’t say I joined in.

The Post-show discussion took place in the bar

On Sunday we dragged our hungover selves into the airport VERY early and we had only taken a few steps in when Carolin realised that she had left her passport in her case, which was now on the truck hurtling to its next destination. After the initial panic of being stuck in an airport subsided, the very helpful and sympathetic staff managed to arrange for her to fly and she landed safely back in the UK with the rest of us, no interrogation necessary. I have never seen panic so clearly etched onto someone’s face, bless her.

Just before I sign off, I wanted to mention something I had forgotten about Exeter. During the week I came in to work through an understudy rehearsal as Stephen. It was a very interesting experience and a reminder of just how different a part can be when played by another actor. Though I couldn’t imagine the play with different people in the roles now it’s amazing to see how the actors you work with can shift and become such different and clearly defined characters. I suppose it’s one of the reasons I love doing what I do.

Well, that’s it, my last blog entry for the tour. I apologise for the tardiness. As I write this there’s only a few weeks left and I can’t quite believe the tour is winding down. If you’ve been to see it I hope you enjoyed it and if you haven’t yet I hope you get a chance to come along and say hi. It’s a play we love and are proud to be in. See you at the theatre.

George Banks

Twitter: @1georgebanks

Lauren butts back in:

Thanks to George for another great blog. Just to add a couple of things about our week in Cork:

The pub that we drank in most evenings, is right next door to the theatre and called 'Dan Lowrey's', which incidentally is what the theatre used to be called until it was renamed The Everyman. The landlord was really accommodating to us, not minding if we were hanging around a bit finishing our pints after last orders and on the Friday, he even laid on food for us after the show and stayed open later. This was great for another reason too: It was mine, GMoss' and Malcolm's 300th SHOW!! As the three of us did the tour last year we're just a bit ahead of most of this year's cast, who would be celebrating their 100th show the following week in Hull (more of that next time). Sinead celebrated her 300th the next day and naturally, we had a few drinks on both occasions to toast our longevity!

A big thank you to all the staff at 'Dan Lowrey's' and the staff at the theatre who looked after us so well. Particularly to Naomi, the in-house producer who was so helpful to Sinead, and also to Mark and his crew who worked so hard on getting the show in and working in a short space of time. 

We've got some exciting blogs coming up for you. We're hoping by this time next week you'll be almost completely up to date with Hull, Doncaster, Colchester, Dundee and Leicester, so do keep an eye out for almost daily new blogs. We've also got another guest blogger; our director, co-produceer and performer extraordinaire Alastair Whatley will be telling you all about Colchester. 

In the meantime I'll leave you with a few more pictures of a ramble I took around Cork one day. 

Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral

Side view of the Catherdral

I went to the old fort which is being restored.
 It oddly has normal houses built inside

Part of the fort

A view over the river

And I bought a lamp shaped like a giraffe…..