Lauren's Birdsong Blog: 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.