Birdsong: The Movie time

Birdsong: The Movie

Sorry chaps. It's not quite what you think…..

The company of Birdsong the tour 2013 will be familiar with the end of tour video I made. It was shown on our tour 'wrap' party and was 18 minutes long (it took forever and I barely slept in the final week…). Unfortunately I can't share the whole 18 minutes with you, but the film opened with what I like to call a tour 'summary'. This is basically a run down of all the towns and cities we visited, in order, accompanied by some photos and videos that had been taken along the way. I'm in the process of compiling the 2014 tour video summary and I'll be publishing that along with the final week's blog very soon. In the meantime I thought that you might like to take a peek at our 2013 summary to get you in the mood! So here it is:

 

Look out for my 2014 summary soon!!

Belfast: Week 19

Belfast: Week 19

I begin with an apology. The font changes halfway through this. I can't figure out why or seem to be able to change it. It's a mystery, but it's also gone midnight and I have panto rehearsals at 9:30am! 

Digs:

So, how often have I bored you about digs in this blog? Many, many, many times, I know. But this week was really something else. 

I had found an apartment a few months back on Theatre Digs Booker (great site if you're touring. You can see what's available straight away rather than spending hours phoning a long list of people, waiting for them to get back to you, only to discover that they're fully booked until Christmas 2018…..). It sounded great. Not far from the theatre, a gym on site, two double bedrooms, an en-suite, a twin and another bathroom. I was going to be sharing it with GMoss, Lucy and Sam. GMoss arrived first, having got an early flight from East Midlands. I arrived about 6 in the evening and the apartment was just as nice as expected. Except when you went out on the balcony………

Right opposite was a mammoth car park filled with loads of broken wooden pallets and one gigantic circle of wooden pallets. No cars seemed to have dared to go anywhere near it. There was also a couple of sofas with some rather dodgy looking chaps and teenagers sitting, drinking cheap beer.

GMoss and I spent a good part of the evening peeking out to see what was going on. The rotation of people on the sofas seemed to change every couple of hours or so until, around 8:30, a group of younger kids proceeded to see if they could set light to one of the sofas. It didn't look like they were going to manage it, but the next time we looked out, lo and behold, a sofa was ablaze. The firebrigade were quickly alerted and as the truck drove down the street, a couple of the quicker lads scampered up the wooden pallet tower and hid inside. The fire was put out, the hiding boys came down and were given a stern talking to by the firemen. 

Erm…… Firemen arrive…….

I have to admit, at that point, we were wondering what exactly we had landed ourselves with. Dodgy blokes drinking with teenagers on a sofa, kids committing arson and wood strewn all over the car park, across which the theatre stood, just around the corner from a smart hotel.

In fact, we were quite wrong and we discovered how much the next day when we got to the theatre. 

Tim S was back. Hurrah! And after some gentle ribbing from myself, GMoss and Sinead about having a week off (he was actually working on a previous commitment), we got into telling him and the crew about what we'd witnessed the evening before. The crew quickly filled us in:

Every year the wooden pallet tower is built in celebration of the Eleventh night, which is July 11th (also my birthday, might I add). At that moment loads of bonfires were being built across Northern Ireland in preparation for the celebrations and would be lit just after midnight on July 11th. This tradition goes back as far as the late 17th Century and King William of Orange, where bonfires were lit on the hills of Antrim and Down so ships could navigate through Belfast Lough before the Battle of the Boyne. According to the Daily Telegraph:

'Some of the tallest bonfires are in Belfast where one beacon at Lanark Way already stands at 50 feet, with plans to double that size by July 11.

In Newtownabbey, The Beast of Ballyduff, as its known, already stands tall on a new £30,000 concrete platform built by the local council for safety.'

At the time there were pleas for loyalists not to burn effigies of the Pope on the top of the bonfires. Because of the worry that these effigies might be burnt and also because they were in celebration of King William, a Protestant, some of the bonfires were in danger of being set light to in advance by extreme Catholics, and so were guarded around the clock…..

These were the people we had seem the day before……

Ok. Maybe not so much the kids who set light to the sofa, they probably had been guarding and got bored, but suddenly the area seemed much less scary and there was a new found respect for these local people who believed in something so much that they would sit through the night guarding this bonfire. Over the course of the week I saw fathers leading their young children across the car park by the hand and explaining the history of the bonfire and why it was built. How many English five year olds do you think know who William of Orange was? We also saw the bonfire being built in the dead of the night by men building towers of pallets to climb up and build it even higher. 

I apologise as I've probably not done this tradition enough justice in explaining it, but do have a look on-line if you're interested as it's fascinating. 

The bonfire on our last morning. The other side of the brick building behind
was the theatre

Theatre Blog:

Yes, sorry. This is a theatre blog and not a history one, I know. So, to more about our week.

Belfast's Grand Opera House is VAST. It had been a good few weeks since we'd been in such a large and traditional theatre. Parts of it are quite old, but the stage door area, green room and dressing rooms are very modern. It is so big that there is even a lift taking you from stage level up to the dressing rooms on the top floor. 

I had a brilliant prompt corner which I set up as a little mission control, where I could not only access everything I needed, but also their in-house sound system so I could alter it as I needed during the show. 

The cast were really happy with their dressing rooms, particualry Malcolm and Peter who had comfy chairs and fridges and were right next to the green room, which not only had a good seating area, but also a separate kitchen and a smoking balcony. 

My mission control

Coming To An End…….

We were all well aware that we only had a few weeks left of the tour, but this week was to see our final understudy rehearsal. Tim, Alastair and myself made sure that everyone was really grilled on lines and moves so that if anything were to happen in the next few weeks, we would be ready for it. The last understudy rehearsal is always a strange one. Everyone really knows what they're doing very well by then and each rehearsal has become more like a refresher that we do one afternoon a week. Whilst everyone is pleased to have an extra afternoon free in the last two weeks, there is also a bit of sadness there too as it brings home that soon we are all going to go our separate ways and some of us will probably never see each other again. Not for any particular reason, just that keeping in contact with everyone in this industry is really hard. I have met some amazing people over the years who I have been very close to on jobs, but then don't see them for years afterwards. My friend Chris, who I mentioned meeting up with in Birmingham, and I were almost inseparable for three pantomime seasons in Loughborough, but when I saw him in March it was the first time in over four years. Yet he remains one of my best friends. 

Anyway, enough of that. There'll be time for more sentiment later.

We did decide that it had been too long since we had had a company meal and so Tim S booked us into a gorgeous Chinese restaurant not far from the theatre and insisted on buying us all a drink which I think much have cost him about 60 quid. 

Afterwards a couple of us went on to a place next door which was one of those bars that have a series of rooms and areas. Can't remember the name, but it was marvellous and I purchased a watering can cocktail, which was basically a load of prosecco, lychee and elderflower served in a watering can with a flower in. Delicious!

Watering can cocktail

Tim S takes charge of pouring

One of the booths at our local pub. We had just locked them in and took this
photo over the top. Alastair, Peter and Lucy had gone to the coast that day
and got stupidly burnt, as you can see from Alastair's redness (second from right)

Celine Dion:

No trip to Belfast would be comlpete without a visit to the Titanic museum. I'd been wanting to go for ages. An ex-partner of mine was a bit of a Titanic buff (he shared his birthday with the date the ship hit the iceberg - April 14th. It sank on the 15th - in case you're interested) and we had wanted to go on the centenary but couldn't. 

Lucy and Sinead managed the trip a bit earlier in the week, but Alastair and I left it a bit late. I took myself off on the Friday lunchtime, not realising exactly how far it was to walk from the flat and so only had about an hour and a half when I finally got there, which meant although I did see most of the museum, I didn't get down to the dry dock, which I had wanted to see. Still, maybe I'll get another chance…..

The museum is BRILLIANT. It really is more of an 'experience' than a museum with loads of interactive parts as well as a little mine cart ride which takes you around a re-built innards of the Titanic as if it was being built around you. It wasn't too cheesy at all, apart from the obligatory 'photo of you in front of the Titanic' a la rubbish CGI, which they tried to flog you on the way out, and the wailings of Celine Dion in the 'Titanic in the media' section (yes, they did go there and I was reminded of the best line in South Park the musical 'La Resistance' - you tube it) it was a really great experience. I would urge you to go!

I don't think Alastair made it in the end. He was going to go on the Saturday before the matinee but was worried it would be heaving and so opted for the Sunday morning, but I believe he may have over slept….. Is that correct Simon?!

Me on my way. I'd been going about 40 minutes and knew I was near, but
not sure how near….

At one point I thought that this was it.
How stupid I was…..

This was it

Amazing. Built, unsurprisingly like both an iceberg and the prow of a ship

Looking down into the shaft of the ship building ride

If I remember correctly this was a second class cabin reconstruction

Looking out of one of the 'prows' across Belfast

Back to Englandshire:

Once again we were all on different flights back to England, with some being ridiculously early. Sinead bedded down on our sofa for the night as she was getting a taxi with Sam and Lucy at stupid o'clock. GMoss and I had afternoon flights so had a more leisurely morning at the flat before heading off. I was delighted as I was flying back to Exeter airport which is about 10 minutes from my parent's house. We, once again, had no Monday shows and so were all looking forward to a nice extra day off. Although not all of us were getting a day off….. No. Peter had something very exciting to be doing. But more about that next time.

It was getting to the end and we were conscious that apart from one week off, we had been together for over 20 weeks. We're we getting sick of each other? NEVER! Far too much left to look forward to, Swindon to explore and Eastbourne to visit but this time with (hopefully) some sun!!

Leicester: Week 18

Leicester: Week 18

DAY OFF! DAY OFF! DAY OFF!!!!:

So, as I mentioned in the last blog, we had another luxurious Monday off before we were due in Leicester. This was great as we were all travelling back from Dundee in various forms on the Sunday and so we could pretty much write that day off. Everyone had a nice relaxing day of recharging their batteries after a pretty busy week.

DSM, DCSM, ALD and DSC:

Due to a prior contract commitment, Tim S was unable to come to Leicester with us but everything had been planned down to the last detail for his absence. Tim had done a lot of advance work for both Leicester and Belfast (where we were to be next), so the company would have all the relevant paper work and information on both cities. Jon Woodley was going to be coming up to Leicester on the Saturday to run the get-out (which the CSM would normally do) and everything else was left in the capable hands of our DSM, DCSM, ALD and DSC. You might have realized that a lot of things in theatre are either referenced in initials or given short or nicknames. The DSM is me (I'm guessing that you've probably got that one by now) and stands for Deputy Stage Manager. At some point on the last tour Alastair had appointed himself DCSM (or if he was feeling a little lazy, ACSM) which stands for Deputy Company Stage Manager (such a role does not really exist in theatre, the CSM's deputy is usually the DSM. However, in Birdsong land the role does exist). The ALD stands for Associate Lighting Designer – do you remember me mentioning Jennie in previous blogs? Normally on tour the CSM would take responsibility for re-lighting the show each week. Have I bored you with this before? On a Monday (or Tuesday in this case!) morning, the lighting would be rigged and coloured (coloured 'gels' go in frames and then get inserted in front of each lantern to give the beam of light the appropriate colour) before the set went up. In the afternoon the CSM would take 'the focus' meaning that all the lights would be focused to the appropriate positions on the set. GMoss, I think I've mentioned before, plots the moving lights into the correct positions and then Tim will sit with the in-house lighting op and go through all 114+ lighting cues. As Tim wasn't with us, Jennie had come up to do the re-lights instead. She did a fantastic job – Alastair even said it was one of the best he'd seen it from out front and it was nice for the rest of us to see her and have a bit of a catch-up. So what about that last set of initials, DSC? Well, that's Alastair's alternative nickname for GMoss – Deep Sea Creature. Not really sure why as I can assure you that he looks nothing like a deep sea creature, although GMoss seems quite fond of the nickname anyway.

Our DCSM and ASM (Lucy Gratton)

Curve:

Curve was only built a few years ago, as an alternative venue to Leicester's Haymarket which had fallen into disrepair. It is a pioneering space, created in a way which bridges the gap between audience and performer. The building is circular in a great big 'curve' (hence the name), with the stage and auditorium in the middle. Around the stage are walls and a metal cage. The walls can be raised allowing ease of access during a get-in, but also the cage can be brought in so that the audience can get a look backstage as they leave after the show, but without the risk of audience members actually being able to get backstage.

Leicester Curve

On the left is the black wall which can be raised so the audience
can look through to backstage. This 'corridor' goes all the way around the
stage in a (you guessed it) curve

Curve Auditorium looking at the stage as Jennie checks a few lighting states

I heard from people that I know who've worked there that Curve is a bit of a marmite venue. You either love it of you hate it. I started writing this particular blog in our final week, sat at the prompt corner in Eastbourne, and I can honestly tell you that I haven't made up my mind about Curve. On the one hand, the stage and auditorium space is excellent. There is plenty of room in the wings to manoeuvre the furniture and for the cast to have space for quick changes etc. The auditorium is on two levels with comfortable seats and good leg room. I was really pleased with how Birdsong sounded in the space. The explosions were clean and clear and the mics sounded great. I had a really good prompt desk with loads of shiny buttons to press. There's even a water cooler in a little room next to prompt corner.

Here's where it becomes slightly difficult. All the dressings rooms are upstairs, which you can access by lift or by stairs. The easiest way to do this (and the quickest and clearest route) is by going front of house to the lift there. The dressing rooms and offices all circle the foyers and there's a sort of balcony where you can look down to the audience below. You can access the dressing rooms without going into the foyer, but that means going down to the basement and trying not to get lost! Of course the whole point of the cast going to the stage/dressing rooms via the foyer is to make it a more interactive experience between audience and cast. It's just a question of whether you like doing this or not. Some of our cast really loved it and would take their time going back to the dressing rooms in the interval and after the show, but others liked it less so and would practically sprint to the lift! From a stage management and technical point of view, it meant that delivering personal props to the cast in the dressing rooms inside the half can be a bit tricky. I nearly missed getting back to prompt corner to do a backstage call on time because it took me 10 minutes to get from the dressing rooms to the stage. It is also more difficult for us getting through the audience in the interval, as they don't have a clue who we are and we had to fight our way through audience members at the bar a few times to get back to the stage. But, aside from that I really enjoyed my time at Curve, it was a shame it was a bit of a short week really and it would have been nice to have stayed a bit longer. Not least because the front of house cafe there is amazing and do a good discount on food and drinks for incoming companies. I was on a special diet that week and was dying to sample one of the cakes on display!

So what else happened in Leicester? Well, Alastair and Lucy did a workshop in a school one day (similar to those he did with Liam in Birmingham) which went really well and the kids were very responsive. We had an understudy rehearsal and 2 matinees and before we knew it, Jon was arriving for the get out and we were all checking in on-line for our flights to Belfast the next day. The end of the tour way really looming close now and we were all very aware of the fact that most of us would be unemployed in three weeks. Despite this unattractive thought, we were all looking forward to going to Belfast very much, if not a little overwhelmed. We all knew that it was a massive venue and after the more intimate ones we had been experiencing on this second leg of the tour, it was going to be strange to go back to such a big space.

Additionally:

Alastair and Tom Hackney were getting things ready for Original Theatre's forthcoming tour of 'Three Men In A Boat this week. Here's a picture of Tom at one of their brainstorming sessions:

No one from Birdsong Productions takes credit for the 'artwork' logo
behind Tom…….. Although the boat design is a definite winner!

As you're reading this 'Three Men In A Boat' is currently touring the UK. Is it coming to a theatre near you? Check out the dates on www.originaltheatre.com It's a great show and you get to see more of Alastair in it.

I must just mention here that 'Birdsong' has its very own super fan. Yep, just like One Direction and everything. Emily Pontin has been following us (in a good way) on Twitter and has already seen the show in Winchester, we were looking forward to seeing her in Eastbourne again. She's also done some lovely fan artwork taken from pictures of the show, which she has been keeping us updated with on Twitter. This week, she was lucky enough to get to see 'Skylight' in London, with Bill Nighy and Carey Mulligan, which is one of my favourite plays and I am very jealous that she got to see it. Alastair and I thought that we'd pop this photo of Emily and Carey Mulligan in this week's blog as a bit of a thank you for all her support (Emily's, not Carey Mulligan, although I am sure she is also a huge Birdsong fan!). Thanks Emily!

I'll let you know how things went in Ireland very soon! And remember to keep checking www.birdsongthetour.com for more tour dates and cast announcements coming soon!

Dundee: Week 17

Dundee: Week 17

Guess Who's Back? Back Again:

Last week Alastair mentioned that Jon and Anne-Marie visited us in Colchester to see the show and to tell us about a few changes in the final weeks of the tour. One of those changes was that Tim Speechley was rejoining us in Dundee as Company Manager for our last 5 weeks. Those of you who read the blog last year will remember him as 'Tim S' (to combat the plethora of 'Tims' we had on that tour) and he looked after us for the 7 month tour. By the end of it we all knew each other and our habits pretty well and so it took maybe 30 seconds on fit-up day for myself, Tim and GMoss to fall back into our old easy banter.

Tim S

'How does it work again?'

'Oh yeah. I'd forgotten about him….'

Ugh o'clock:

I mentioned in the Hull blog about our travel arrangements on the tour and how a lot of people had opted for the very early morning flight from Cork to Manchester and were completely exhausted come Sunday evening. I had made a similar boo boo with Colchester to Dundee. I hadn't realised that I would be able to get home between Doncaster and Colchester, so, worried about my flat/post/plants etc, I opted to go back to Eastbourne from Colchester and then fly up to Edinburgh on the Ugh O'clock (6:30am) flight on the Monday morning. I was very good and made sure I went to bed at around 9:30pm on the Sunday, so even getting up at 3:40am would still mean that I would get around 6 hours. It was ok, but I was feeling it a little bit come the afternoon! I forget that what I could do in my 20s is that much harder in my 30s!

Jonny and George at Departures

An early flight calls for a good breakfast…...

'Is that it????? I'm not getting on that….'

Whilst the more civilised took the train. First Class, of course

Coming back:

I've worked a lot in Dundee over the years, both at The Rep (where we were with Birdsong) and The Whitehall (which is a smaller converted church venue). In fact, one of the happiest periods of my career were spent on a contract I did at the Rep back in 2009, but I hadn't been back there for over 4 years. It was great to be back, I'd forgotten what a nice place it is to work and very little had changed. Very sadly, over the last few years we have lost some of the people I used to work with to illness. Phylis, the marvellous wardrobe mistress, John who was production manager and Rep actor Robert who I remember being outstanding in a production of 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf'. A few other staff had moved on to other jobs, but it was great to see Carol, Mikey, Colin (who was stellar at helping to put my sound in) and Emma again. 

I had been telling the company for ages that they would love it at there and the venue did not disappoint. It was one of the smoothest get-ins we'd had and Alastair was delighted with the intimate, but spacious stage and auditorium. As he quite rightly pointed out, it would be our last intimate space until we got to Eastbourne as we had some Goliath venues coming up.

The Rep auditorium

Simon and Jonny. I have no idea what they're doing…..

Good digs/bad digs. Dig, dig digs…..

I know we've banged on A LOT about digs on this tour. But wherever you are it is one thing that everyone has in common each week and one question we all ask each other: 'How's your digs?'
Digs can be difficult in Dundee. Rooms in houses are fairly scarce and the guest houses and hotels can be quite expensive. There's some beautiful places to stay outside Dundee, but if you've flown up and don't have a car then this can be difficult.
We were in two very different camps this week. Sinead had come through beautifully by finding some student flats about a 6 minute walk from The Rep. Sam, Lucy, Carolin, Lizzie and myself were in one on the top floor which meant a very big climb up a lot of stairs, and Sinead, Peter and George were in a flat below. They were pretty basic, but each flat had a good sized kitchen and lounge area and the letting company had bought us bedding and some kitchen utensils (usually the students provide their own). There were a couple of downsides to the flats; they were very studenty and so we only had a single bed each with plastic mattresses (you can guess why they put these in…..). The blinds and windows had to be operated with long poles (which they only provided one of per flat) and the blinds were very thin and did nothing to block out the morning sun. There were also very noisy fire doors which, if not closed properly using the door handle (why is it that people can't seem to use door handles properly these days? It's a massive bug bear of mine which I've experienced up and down the country in a variety of hotels…) then they had a tendency to slam very loudly with the sound reverberating down the concrete walls. That said, they were in a really good location. Close to the theatre and shops and we were all aware of what we were getting in advance. Sinead said she was having her 'student experience' as she didn't go to Uni, but to RADA, which doesn't have the traditional uni accommodation set up.
The boys, GMoss, Alastair, Jonny, James and Simon on the other hand were staying outside Dundee in a beautiful lodge right near some lakes where they could also fish. I was quite envious as they seemed to be having a great 'boy time', chatting into the night, cooking and drinking wine. GMoss even caught a 'large trout' (the relevance you'll get if you've seen the show) and they cooked it for their supper. GMoss had driven up and Alastair had hired a car so they were able to have a bit more flexibility with where they were staying and what they were doing.

Alastair and Simon explore their lodge….

Which was in a beautiful setting

Alastair and Jonny have just heard about our student flats….

Birdsong on film:

The day after we opened, some of us had a bit of an early start again. A company were coming to film some of the tunnel scenes and interview a couple of the boys. This lasted for about an hour of so and the finished version was shown on the Scottish news at 6:30pm that evening. It was a great bit of publicity and certainly seemed to boost our audience numbers. Well worth the early start!

George at a radio interview taking it seriously

Alastair less so……..

Half the population cheers, the other half groans:

Yep. It was that time again. A period that can divide couples, families and friends like no other. The World Cup was starting and England's first game was on the Saturday night (after the show. How fortunate!) of our Dundee week. Not to be too much of a cliche, but to be honest, the boys were far more interested in this than the girls (and GMoss and Alastair who really didn't care at all), although most of the girls attended the various World Cup watching parties after the show. A couple of us had a very early start the next day to get to the airport for 7 and 7:35am flights, but Peter and James (on the 7:35am) are hardy chaps and stayed up. There were a few disappointed faces in the car the next morning, but people were still hopeful and positive….. You can see where this is going for the next few blogs, can't you?

It's all very exciting…….. Nooooooooo!

Peter went to the boys to watch the football. As he had an early start they
kindly gave him a bed…… in the corridor. 

Out and About in Dundee:

Dundee has a lot going on. Not only do you have The Whitehall and The Rep, which is one of the most respected producing houses in the UK, there's also the HMS Discovery ship which you can take a tour of. St Andrews, the homes of golf, is just over the water and a mere 25 minute bus journey away. There's the quaint Broughty Ferry village, just a few miles away, not to mention Arbroath, where you can get one of the famous Old Smokey fish. In Dundee itself there are a couple of really good bars and clubs for after theatre activities at very reasonable prices - Malcolm and I got 2 large glasses of red wine for £6 (yes, for the two!) in one pub. The DCA (Dundee Contemporary Arts) is just across from The Rep and has a great bar downstairs with a good outside seating area. And of course there's also Tonic. The bar that sells over 50 different types of burger, all with hilarious names like The Whale burger or The Greenpeace burger (a veggie one).

HMS Discovery

Admiral Whatley.
Let's hope he's not really steering!

Simon worries that he's going to have to do this in the show….

The beautiful Scottish countryside is only just outside Dundee

Lucy and Peter go exploring

Sam and Lizzie have some down time in one of Dundee's bars

Time to say goodbye again….

I realised right at the start of the week how much I missed working at The Rep. It's one of the nicest places that I've ever worked in and, as ever, it is that people that make it. We were brilliantly looked after by Steve, who was with us all week as our duty stage manager. We hadn't worked together at The Rep before, but we realised that we had crossed paths briefly at Wycombe Swan in 2007! Carol, from front of house, was looking after company and audience alike for most of the week (we did allow her a bit of time off!) and all in all it was a great week. Everyone left in high spirits (well, except for the football….) not only because we'd had a good week, but also because we had another one of those rare Mondays off! We weren't due in at Leicester Curve until the Tuesday and so everyone had their fingers crossed for a bit of sunshine for the two days off. We were also excitedly anticipating what Curve would be like. It was built only a few years ago as a completely new approach to theatre going. Parts of the walls around the stage can be lifted so the general public can get a look behind the scenes. It would be a new experience for many of us and one we were all looking forward to.
See you there next time!

Oh and I promised you more from James The Joker. Here's what he got up to backstage in Dundee:

Lizzie came across him after a 'near miss' with a ladder

Berard considers a new career in construction….

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)