On stage

I don't think I've mentioned it before, but since last September, I've been attending the adult acting workshops at York Theatre Royal.

This week, we have the opportunity to work on short scenes from the current production of To Kill a Mockingbird, on stage, on the actual set, and with the actual lighting.

It feels warm, familiar, comfortable, a little scary, but a friendly space.
Intimate, even with 800 seats. Bright, shining, sparkling; red, gold and cream.
The light bounces off the chandelier.

To be there, walking on the set, touching it, making my voice hit the back of the stalls.
My heart pounds. Is it nerves? Memories?
I know I’m smiling.

The end of an era

They had a sale at Costume Hire last Saturday. Every so often there has to be a bit of a clear out, but this was much much bigger. For this time it is moving, out of the ramshackle old Maltings building, an old warehouse, used for many years as props store, rehearsal rooms, and costume hire. Freezing cold in winter, and boiling hot in summer, with a lift that you wouldn’t advise a person to ride in, it probably didn’t meet any health and safety standards. But it had character. And space.

The move is to the refurbished De Grey rooms; much more convenient being right next door to the theatre, but with a lot less room for the costume store. And so a lot of the stock had to go. I know how heartbreaking it must have been to decide what had to go, and what to keep. I also knew that it was unlikely that much that would actually fit me would be on offer (and that, sadly, my fabulous suit from the War Weekend wouldn't be)

But still I found myself, on a sleety, snowy February morning standing in a queue waiting for the sale to open. I got there about half an hour before opening time and the there was already a queue halfway down the yard.

Once in, I tried to remain focussed, in the face of people already emerging with arms full of costumes I recognised. I was heading for 1930’s and 40’s, just in case any favourite outfits were on the rail, then period dresses, furs, and period tops and skirts, then accessories.

There was very little room for manoeuvre, or browsing, it was more of a case of grab – I spotted a dress I recognised, from Les Liaisons Dangereuses, a fantastic hat from The Cherry Orchard, a couple of tea dresses (one of which turns out to be too short waisted for me, a fox fur (admittedly rather a cross-eyed one), a coat, and pair of shoes which will pass for 1940’s.

I deposited my armful just as other friends were making it through the door. Having purchased (let's not dwell on just how much I spent, ok?), I made my way back in to help them go through the rails.

J found a nice suit, which will be good for wartime, and we rescued a couple of dresses of the 'in need of care and attention' rail, some of which were originalfrom the 1930's and 40's. I also ended up with another dress, green satin with beading, which is an original 1960's cocktail dress.

As I looked around there were so many things that have memories. The fringed dress from Cabaret that I wore for a Murder Mystery, Mary Magdalene's outfit from the Mystery Plays, Cinderella's dress from John Doyle's last production as Artistic Director, Into the Woods, dresses from The Importance of Being Earnest, Amadeus, The Snow Queen, Charley's Aunt, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and so many pantomimes. Bags, shoes, shawls, what looked like a whole wall of ties, belts, braid, scraps of material.

As I saw everything going, part of me was glad that it was going to people who will hopefully appreciate it, but part of me was very sad that I'll never see some of these costumes again. In fact, I'll probably never go to the Maltings again, and that place itself has so many memories. I had my Mystery Plays audition there, and I worked there for nearly 3 years.

Amidst all this, Pauline said to me 'I didn't think you'd be able to bear to come!' We exchanged a hug.

'I had to.'

My theatre year - 2010

It was a pretty good one as far as number of productions seen, as I managed to see 40 shows, after a bit of a slow start in the first few months of the year. I certainly seemed to see a wide variety in many different spaces, and some of the most exciting theatre I saw wasn’t in traditional theatres. It was also a year in which I finally achieved my ambition to complete the Shakespeare canon, so thank you to the Globe for performing Henry VIII.

So, in the best tradition of end of year reviews (which I’m a bit late with, as we’re into the new one), here are my highlights, and lowlights, of 2010.

My favourite Shakespeare production was undoubtedly the Globe’s Henry IV Part 1, which was a great ensemble performance, with a brilliant Falstaff from Roger Allam, bringing out the humour and the pathos of a character that, in lesser hands, can seem quite tedious, so that you wonder why Hal would bother with him.

My favourite musical production was Chess, which I thought was an excellent, and exceedingly camp, revival. I also enjoyed Spamalot, though more so on a second viewing, and that might have been partly because the cast were clearly having so much fun, in what was Marcus Brigstocke’s last week in the show.

My theatre ‘discovery’ of the year was Belt Up Theatre, who we first saw in The Tartuffe back in May, not knowing what we were letting ourselves in for. We then saw them in an Edinburgh attic, a York park, a library, and a pub restaurant, as well as in the Theatre Royal. I love them for their energy, their prolific output, and sheer enthusiasm for producing theatre. Yes, some of the shows can be a bit ragged at the edges, but that’s part of the fun, and all of them have been unmistakably ‘Belt Up’ in style. It’s a long time since I’ve found much in the theatre at York exciting, but they are a truly exciting company.

I also attended some of the NT Live cinema transmissions, seeing London Assurance, Complicite’s A Disappearing Number, and Hamlet. It’s a great idea to let people see these productions who would never otherwise get the chance, but it inevitably looses something, as you are watching what the camera selects for you, and the immediacy of live theatre is lost. I felt it worked best with the comedy, reasonably well for Hamlet, but not particularly well for Complicite.

As for low points, well, sadly, here I have to single out the RSC Antony and Cleopatra that we saw at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford. I think at the time I tried to see the best in it, though when you find yourself singling out Enobarbus for praise, you know you’re in trouble. The problem was in the casting of Cleopatra, and yes, she really was that bad. I longed to see what Katy Stephens, the understudy, would have done with the role. I will, however, excuse the RSC this aberration, as I’m really looking forward to seeing the new RST now that it’s complete.

As for 2011, well, I’m looking forward to Belt Up doing the Beggar’s Opera, which sounds like a perfect show for them, I’m also looking forward to visiting London, even though we have nothing booked at the moment, and to going to Stratford*. I may also finally get to New York, so it could finally be Broadway, baby. And if yesterday’s rumours prove true (and who knows), I would LOVE to see DT play Benedick.

*All this makes me realise that I need to get some theatre booked, the diary is empty!

A trip to Costume Hire is always a bit surreal

I’m looking for 1940’s costumes. ‘War Weekend?*’

‘War Weekend! I’m thinking a tea dress, or suit, a little hat, shoes are essential to create the period. I don’t actually know what we’re going to be doing*.’

We’re soon rummaging through 40’s, which have been well picked over before I’ve got there, and also through 50’s, for the things that haven’t been picked out because they’ve been put back on the rail slightly out of period. Everything is rammed together, so it takes perseverance to find stuff** (which a lot of people don’t have as they just want the full outfit off the shelf – my solution to that? Go to a fancy dress shop!) I soon have an armful of things to try.

In the changing room, I’m next to a woman who is trying on Regency dresses. She comes out, saying that she can’t get the dress to fit properly across her bust. I have to stifle a smile, as, like many, she just hasn’t grasped the ‘hoick your boobs up’ principle of these dresses, and that the only way to produce a Regency bosom is to fit the band firmly underneath, and if necessary shove your hand down the front of the dress and manoeuvre everything into place. I try and explain this as best I can.

The first dress I try on is too big (hurrah), the second is ‘too 50’s’. Nice dresses, both, but not right. The third fits, and is of the right period, but a little drab. Then I try a tea dress from 'Piaf', which fits, and a dress and jacket, which is an 'original' and is beautifully cut. I go looking for shoes, and a hat.

‘I don’t think they need to match perfectly, after all, there is a war on.’ I find some crocodile shoes, and a small hat. I know I have a handbag that will work. I may need to add a fur, but can do that later. I decide to hedge my bets, and take both outfits.

When I go back to the changing room, I find I’ve been usurped by a couple of young girls, despite all my stuff being in there. Rather than evict them, I gather everything up, and dive into the lobby by the ancient lift. At my feet is the cactus costume that I last saw in the attic of an Edinburgh tenement in Lorca is Dead. As I take the dress off, the zip goes. Argh!

*The War Weekend is an annual event in Pickering where basically the whole town, and the North Yorks Moors Railway, dresses up and pretends that it’s wartime. We’ve hired costumes out for it for years, but I’ve never been before.

** The word is that they will be moving early next year, to a place with much less space. Although the current building is ancient, it seems a great shame, the only upside being that there will have to be a sale.

Immersive Theatre

I knew I was going to enjoy Belt Up Theatre’s The Tartuffe when we were standing in the theatre bar, and members of the cast were mingling amongst us. We chatted with clowns, ladies in corsets, mimes, and the great actor Orgon Poquelin (who was a little put out that we didn’t realise that he was the star of the show), and a chap who asked our names, which we obligingly told him.

As we went to take our seats in the second row of the stalls, the same guy was learning over the edge of the circle, and announced to all the audience ‘here ladies and gentlemen, we have Val and Julie, who have just entered’, of course, we took a bow, and took our seats.

What I hadn’t realised was that we were attending the very final performance of The Tartuffe, and over the last couple of years, and performances in York, Edinburgh, and London, this show has gained it’s own cult following. Belt Up’s style is Immersive Theatre, and for this last show, there were a lot of people who had seen it before, and were happy to get involved. Most people on the front row were dragged up on stage in some way. I was, of course, kicking myself that we were on the second row.

It was, quite simply, the best production I’ve seen for some time, funny, clever, very irreverent*, with enough theatre ‘in-jokes’ to make a theatresnob happy, and then some.

By the end, the whole of the audience were on their feet, as Orgon died, and was lifted aloft like a dead Christ. The cheering went on for some time. This time, I didn’t begrudge the standing ovation, they deserved it. They’re in residence at York Theatre Royal, and I’ll definitely be seeking out what they do next. Also, they have a blog.
Seek them out people, you won’t regret it.

*Though I think I laughed more than most at the bits that were lifted straight out of JCS

I feel I’m rather letting my blog name down at the moment

It isn’t that I’m not seeing theatre (though I’m not seeing as much as I would like to), it’s just that I’m not writing about it. I have written more about walking over the last few months than I have about theatre, and that’s rather shocking.

To bring you up to speed, I have seen the following:

Twelfth Night
Peer Gynt
Dido, Queen of Carthage
His Dark Materials Parts 1 & 2
Barbershop Quarter – an Avignon Festival Fringe show – in French!
Blood Brothers

Quite a mixed bag really, and all enjoyable in their own way. Twelfth Night was a YTR production, and was pretty good, though I didn’t like their Olivia. Peer Gynt was a National Theatre of Scotland production, but it was at the Barbican, and I wondered if once again the Barbican was going to be the theatrical pits. Thankfully, though not ‘my’ Peer, which is much more beautiful, there were a lot of things I liked, and ultimately it moved me. Dido I enjoyed, though as a play it’s clear from the writing that Marlowe* wasn’t Shakespeare (not even very early Shakespeare). Some good performances though. If this is all sounding a bit half hearted, well, none of the productions were standout.

I did really enjoy the two parts of His Dark Materials at West Yorkshire Playhouse. I hadn’t really liked the books and had stalled part way through the second one, so I came to a lot of it new. What stuck me was that it’s a very complicated story. As with most alternate universe stories, there’s a lot to take in, as you can’t rely on the natural order of things to carry you through, also, the names can be difficult to remember. The other problem with any fantasy story is, of course, how do you stage it? This one has an ‘armoured bear’, and I’d never actually worked out what one of those was in the books, never mind what it might look like on stage.

They actually did it very well, though I felt Part 2 worked much better than Part 1. It was definitely a production where you needed to see both parts – a potential problem in Leeds, as there were considerably more performances of Part 1.

As for the last two, well, one is coming up in my ‘holiday blog’, and the other is a whole other story.

*Though it is equally very clear that Shakespeare knew the play, and ripped off some of the ideas mercilessly for Hamlet. It’s a good job Marlowe was dead by then, as Will did it all so much better