September 2010 Archives

It was a year ago that the Mountview postgraduate actors and directors of 2009 graduated in the Actor’s Church at Covent Garden.

It’s incredible to think that a year has gone by; how much has happened, and how long it has been since I last saw some of those faces. As the weeks turned into months following our entry into the profession, it has become increasingly difficult to make it to every event and opening night no matter how hard you try.

So we are marking our first anniversary by descending on Soho for a grand reunion! We will party like its 1999 and sweat like we’re in Martin Cole’s movement class… Oh, happy, happy nostalgic days…

As I leave the 41 strong Relish cast (who I still think were marvellous) I find myself in a rehearsal room with another 15 foolishly talented performers, readying themselves for the brand new production of Bells Are Ringing, opening at the Union theatre next week. And although I am moderately biased, audiences are in for a wonderful treat.

Regular readers will know I have a fondness for the Union and I can’t wait to see how the show looks in the space next week. With brand new orchestrations and big song and dance numbers, it will be on a scale not seen at the theatre before with the intimacy of the venue allowing the audience to experience this classic Broadway show on a whole new level - very exciting.

As that jolly roundabout Rosie once said, this week has been a magical, musical merry-go-round of rehearsals, theatre visits and even champagne with an actual factual knight of the realm. Which has all left me slightly weary and more than a little bleary eyed - those tactless few might say ‘hagged’ - but nonetheless totally inspired and revved up for the autumn.

Having rehearsed Relish for 3 weeks, due to my evening show schedule Tuesday night was the first time I’d seen a full run of the show, let alone with full production and an audience; a celebrity audience that night too. And what an absolute treat it was. I have to confess I was a little anxious about working on a project and then vanishing into thin air as it continued to play without being able to see it settle in and develop with an audience but any concerns were blown far away at the Gala performance this week.

I can honestly say I have never been so proud of a cast I’ve worked with. It’s incredible to see a show change in such a short space of time, not to mention seeing things you’ve never seen before in a script you’ve known for over a year. It was also a real privilege to have Sir Ian McKellen on hosting duties. Together, he and Paul Roseby gave great speeches, really hammering home how vital a company like the National Youth Theatre is, and how in current times we need people’s support more than ever. Here, here I say and I hope all those involved in our 2010 season will be going away with fond memories of their involvement and look forward to coming back next year.

It looks like Autumn has arrived. The kids are back to school, the central heating’s back on and women everywhere are putting their bikinis back in the drawer and finally breathing out.

The last fortnight has been fairly manic. I suppose it’s probably about time I got used to the fact that this is a profession in which you can plan your diary with absolute precision, only to receive a phonecall which turns your day, week, month… foreseeable future upside down. Upside down in a nice way, mind.

This week I committed theatrical heresy. And unlike the last time when I acted out the entirety of Cats by myself, for myself, this latest crime gives me real cause for concern. Because we all do the Cats thing at some point, right? That, and singing random bits from Spring Awakening, fudging the lyrics but going full out on the strange, touchy, feely dance.

Alas, this week I caught myself reading a review and taking every word as read.

If the latest news is to be believed, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom menace is grounded in the West End as plans to take the show to Broadway are scrapped. The news post also comments on the departure of Jack O’Brien and Jerry Mitchell; which, for the sake of metaphor, I imagine them jumping down an inflatable emergency escape slide and landing in the chilly Atlantic waters (but is more likely to be a sharp push at 50,000ft with a parachute made from old Cats costumes, landing in a heap of Sarah Brightman’s old frocks). Whatever has happened, as Webber’s musical Judas did screech, it’s all gone sour.