Forgive me for my somewhat incoherent ramblings, but this week is rapidly descending into chaos, with sanity soon to be replaced with a big bowl of almost set raspberry jelly. Lovely.
On the upside, it’s great to be back in London, and despite the stresses of moving house and seeing another 320 members at NYT auditions, it was an absolute treat to catch Sweet Charity at the Menier last night. Such fun! Tamzin Outhwaite is particularly pleasing with the ensemble reading like a “Who’s Who” of the musical theatre great and good and by golly does it show. They work that stage ferociously and will no doubt continue to wow on a bigger stage…!
I thoroughly enjoyed Mear’s life affirming choreography, with The Frug being an absolute tour de force. However, with a show like this, so readily associated with Fosse’s choreography, I was at times craving a bit more than just ‘a nod’ to the iconic choreographer. It’s a hard line to take something familiar and reinvent it, and yes at times, Mear achieves this brilliantly. Elsewhere, I think the underplaying of some musical sections neglects a few opportune moments for the super talented company to really show us what they can do. But overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it in a flash.
The NYT auditions roll into London this week, complete with several industrial heaters after a rather chilly few days in Bristol and I’m looking forward to seeing a diverse mix of members. By the end of February, we will have seen over 1000 young people, and then the process of recalls and eventually casting the season shows will begin - a task I do not envy for the artistic team! 2010 looks set to be a big year for the NYT and I’m sure we’ll be using as many members as possible, so good luck to everyone auditioning.
Meeting with another member of the Ben Hur Live company this week, we have decided that we must write some sort of article or maybe even a book about our time on the road in possibly one of the most eventful productions ever embarked upon. The back cover would read something like this - “One man. One dream. One donkey….not forgetting 17 doves (lost or AWOL), an overweight vulture, a runaway falcon, 2 hastily welded galley ships, that drummer from that band you used to like, the odd pair of Nike trainers and enough German cuisine to feed the entire German population well into 2012… all in a day’s unpaid work for the cast and crew of das musicale spectacular Ben Hur Live!”. Any publishers, do get in touch.
In the meantime, I think Art Concerts and the production team need all the help they can get in their current situation and of course, if they do want a hand or some sort of help, support, kind words or good press, it won’t be coming from me.
Onto the weather now, and I’m so grateful the south is avoiding the snow those up north are ‘enjoying’. I almost convinced myself to pack my flip flops for my London return but thankfully sanity told me otherwise. Crocs and linen trousers it is then I suppose. Teamed with the winter bonnet of course.
One more week until rehearsals begin and I really can’t wait to get started now. With a few physio exercises to strengthen muscles I didn’t realise I possessed, I’m once again looking forward to being exhausted after long days and scribbling reams of notes in the back of my script that I probably won’t be able to read come 6pm. Note to self - write neatly. Use highlighters.
Disclaimer: I do not, have not, and never will own a pair of Crocs. Or linen trousers. Well, the Crocs part is true. I love linen trousers.
