Act 2, Scene 8. Scaling it down in Tiny Town.

A Chocolate Box Theatre.
From the grandiose Harrogate stage to the dolls house proportions of Chipping Norton Theatre, this week was mostly about shrinking our epic Australia into much more bite-sized slice colonial life. Chipping Norton Theatre has a fascinating history, originally beginning life as an 1888 Salvation Army Citadel. The building was rediscovered by a couple of RSC actors in 1968 who began the long process of planning and fund-raising to make their theatrical vision become a reality. In 1975 the the grand opening of the theatre took place with "Timelord" Tom Baker, snipping the tape. 


Housing an epic play.
On approaching the theatre from the box office/stage door entrance you could almost be mistaken for arriving at someones house. Once inside, it's clear that the backstage area, little green room, kitchen, small garden, two dressing rooms and tiny offices fit snugly into a building where the staff very much feel 'at home'. Squeezing our set onto the tiny stage was the biggest challenge yet, and the stage-right platform had to be removed entirely in order to get the rest of it in! No surprise then that the re-working of certain scenes was in order, and where in previous weeks we had been able to bound across the stage with freedom, our performances would now need to be distilled to something of much more naturalistic proportions. Performing that night, we certainly all felt the challenge and I was aware that everything we did seemed to be magnified. Rach described it best, almost like performing on a giant TV screen, and suddenly it was all about rediscovering the truth of each moment again as anything too physically big automatically felt false.
The 213 seat auditorium is laid out with the small stalls section quite a way below the lip of the stage, and the upper balcony on 3 sides thrusts back surprisingly deep making those sat there feel pretty far away. Imagine performing on the top of a double-decker bus and you get the idea. That first night left me deflated. I was uncomfortable in the space (it was particularly cramped in scenes where all 10 of us were on) but more than that I didn't feel like we'd make enough of a connection with the audience. Trying to get to grips with re-blocking as well as a few lighting issues had meant we'd stopped really listening to each other on stage. It was only going to be a short stint at this theatre, just 3 nights, so I was feeling the need to overcome these obstacles as swiftly as possible. This play has some lovely intimate moments and I knew that really we should be able to make it work anywhere.


After the show we all headed to the cosy pub next door, The Chequers, to sit around the open fire for a much needed drink and chance to unwind. Rachel reassured me that when she toured to this theatre last year she'd felt similarly dejected, but once the first night was out of the way and the cast were more familiar with the space they'd had a good run. I was feeling a little more hopeful as I left to get into my car and make the 40 minute drive to Cheltenham where I was staying that night. The fog was falling thick and fast and trundling through the pitch-dark country roads in a real pea-souper felt like a fitting end to the day.



Some Cotswold therapy.
After a very good night's sleep I was woken up by bright sunshine and the smell of breakfast wafting up the stairs. I was staying at a gorgeous B&B run by friends of mine in Cheltenham, and spending a morning catching up with copious tea and cuddles with their Westie dogs set me up for a much better day ahead. The show that night was definitely smoother and although I was still not feeling quite as comfortable as I'd have liked, the shouts and cheers of "bravo" and "well done" couldn't help but put smiles on our faces when we left the stage.
Chipping Norton itself is a beautiful old market town in the Cotswolds and after the fog of the previous day had cleared, it was lovely to drive around and explore the area and it's nearby villages. Upon recommendation from Emma and Jen, I decided to follow their suit for my final night and stay in a lovely B&B they'd discovered in the pretty nearby town of Whitney. The final blast of country air and breath-taking countryside was the just the rejuvenation I needed before the late night commute back home to London.


The ladies hang out between shows.


Something About Mary. 
At this point in the tour it's important to keep the creative juices flowing. For a bit of inspiration I've been reading poetry written around the time of the first settlement in New South Wales, as well as later reflections on colonial Australia. I want to leave you this week with something from another Mary: Dame Mary Gilmore. A fascinating women, a prominent Australian socialist poet, radical writer, political activist, and journalist who grew up in New South Wales some 70 years after the first colonial settlers, here's a poem of hers I came across entitled Old Botany Bay.



 Mary Gilmore photographed in 1899
Old Botany Bay


I'm old
Botany Bay;
stiff in the joints,
little to say.

I am he
who paved the way,
that you might walk
at your ease to-day;

I was the conscript
sent to hell
to make in the desert
the living well;

I bore the heat,
I blazed the track-
furrowed and bloody
upon my back.

I split the rock;
I felled the tree:
The nation was-
Because of me!

Old Botany Bay
Taking the sun
from day to day...
shame on the mouth
that would deny
the knotted hands
that set us high! 

A modern day view of Sydney across Botany Bay.

Next week we're off to beautiful Buxton and the Welsh mountains of Clwyd. Stay tuned for my next Sneak Peak of the week too, coming soon!

Emily x

Sneak Peak of the Week:

ACTOR ADAM BEST DISCUSSES PLAYING KETCH AND MAJOR ROSS, THOUGHTS ON DRAMA TRAINING AND WORK SO FAR... 

How did you first come to work for Original?
I auditioned for Journey's End. I'd been called to read for Stanhope, the lead, but as I was reading the play it became immediately obvious to me that I was far more suited to the part of Mason and he had far fewer lines and no emotional journey to undertake - he just bookended scenes with funny lines. I asked Whatley if I could read Mason as well as Stanhope and Whatley said no, just read Mason. I did it in a Northern accent, because Northern accents are funny and I thought that would make the funny lines a bit funnier. I got the part of Mason. Whatley subsequently told me that calling me for Stanhope had been a wretched mistake.
  
What's been your highlight of the tour so far?
The highlight of the tour so far has been Kingston probably as the audience reaction was great there and I got to go home to my own bed every night after work. I'm also looking forward to Buxton because there's free spring water and the literally the best breakfast I have ever eaten. Jersey was not a highlight.

You did a long stint as a regular on Holby and have a number of TV and film credits to your name - would you say you prefer the theatre or screen work?
I prefer working in theatre to be honest as I enjoy the process of rehearsal and text-based work. I think I'm a frustrated academic. Or a frustrated actor. Definitely frustrated. I did English literature to A-level and had considered a career in journalism, so I have always enjoyed breaking texts down. Telly and film stuff I find less rewarding than theatre purely because, like most actors, I quite enjoy the immediacy of the audience reaction. TV and film work is better paid and technically far different. I enjoy how small camera acting allows the actor to be, which really appeals to the lazier side of my work. The film "Blooded" that I did actually required no acting whatsoever. That was a note from the director. "Not acting" when acting is actually far more difficult than acting.

You and I trained together at for 3 years at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. What advice would you give young actors looking to find the right drama school for them? 
I think that as far as drama schools go, I would suggest young guys trying to get in audition for them all and see which ones, if any, offer places. Decide then based on the kind of place you want to live. London might not be right for everyone, so maybe you look to Cardiff or Glasgow or Manchester. I think times have changed now and where you train has less of a bearing on where you might end up in terms of your career. Agents and casting directors do see graduates from outside of London, so I don't think that needs to be the be-all and end-all. The most important thing for people considering going to drama school is, in my opinion, to realise that it's fucking hard work. It's a full time, practical and partly academic course. It's competitive (no matter what anyone says, it is competitive) and you will spend some of your time feeling completely inadequate. I am yet to meet anyone that hasn't applied to. It's pretty much a vocational career choice. Also, not getting into drama school isn't the end of the line. There are a million ways of trying to launch a career in acting, drama school is but one.

What's it like playing two such different characters in OCG and what was your approach in bringing Ross and Ketch to life? 
I reckon I have the easiest double in the play because the 2 characters are so completely different. Simply, Ketch is the lowest status character in the play, and Ross one of the highest. Because they are at either ends of that spectrum, it sort of makes my job easier to portray them as different. In terms of bringing them to life, I don't have a "method" as such to do that. I simply try to say their words and say them truthfully.

I don't come across you much during the show...what do you get up to backstage? 
Backstage I spend my time playing computer games and laughing at people in the dressing room.

Ketch is the only Irish character in the play and spends most of his time being cursed and spat on - do you think his experience represents the general feeling towards the Irish at that time? 
Irish people were different. Anyone different gets treated as such - it's probably a similar deal for Wisehammer the Jew. 

If Ross and Ketch were allowed one luxury item in Australia what would it be?
Ross' luxury item would be a Sega Mega Drive and Ketch's would be a silver medallion depicting a woodland scene.

Describe your experience of the tour so far in 3 words.
Act, travel, worry.




Act 2 Scene 7, Cleaning up in the spa town.

First up, a night off.
What a fabulous week it's been! I travelled up to Harrogate on Tuesday night as, rather unusually, our first show of the week would be a matinee the next day. Chris, Alastair and I would be sharing digs in a lovely big house just 3 mins walk from the theatre (thanks for having us Ann!). So after a quick hello and check in, and with a free night on our hands, Alastair kindly drove us in his beloved old Rover 'Om Two' to the Bolton Octagon to watch a friend in David Thacker's production of Macbeth. It felt strange to be watching a play on a Monday night rather than being on stage myself, but it was lovely to catch up with our friend Jack. After a late curry and chat, on the way home Alastair let us in on some very exciting plans for the next couple of Original Theatre productions. One of these is going to be be a stage adaption of a well loved novel which was also a recent high budget BBC TV drama. In the words of Rolf - Can ye guess what it is yet? It sounds like it's going to be a sure-fire hit. I won't say anymore just yet but hopefully that's enough to get any of you Original fans out there salivating!



Let the crowds commence!
We started early on Tuesday in order to get a good 'top and tail' in before our first show at 2.30pm. Harrogate is an architecturally beautiful theatre, originally built just before the turn of the century and first opened in January 1900. As we settled into our dressing rooms and explored the stage we were all feeling very sprightly about performing in such a spacious and impressively designed theatre. And what a crowd we had! The first matinee show opened to a good few hundred and by the evening audience figures were well into the 400-500 mark which pretty much continued throughout the week. Harrogate Theatre had done a fantastic job of marketing the show and sending out invitations to the locals which made it a truly enjoyable week for us. Our set fitted beautifully on to the deep stage too. The extra space beyond the wooden decking gave us room to play on a whole downstage area we'd not had use of before. We had a lovely welcome from the theatre staff too, who put on much appreciated spread of coffee and cakes for us between shows. Nothing better than a piece of lemon drizzle to put a smile on my face!


Pubs, grubs and hot tubs.
Our well frequented Local.
For the rest of the week I enjoyed the freedom to potter around the lovely shops on my doorstep, and kicked myself for forgetting my bikini as a few of the cast headed off to Harrogate's famous spa baths.  On Thursday a dear friend and fellow actress came over to watch the show and I introduced her to our favourite watering hole of the week: The Old Bell. According to the lads, suppliers of some wonderful local ale...although I stuck to the Port. A trip to Ripley Castle, cream tea at Betty's and fish and chips at Graveley's rounded off the week nicely. And my tum.


Please sir can I have some more...beer and crisps?


Something About Mary.
I've been thinking this week about how my performance of Mary might have changed over the course of the last month or so since the show opened. It's nothing huge, I think she still sounds the same and looks the same. But I feel slightly different when I play Mary now compared to that first week way back in January at The Haymarket. It's natural for the character to grow with you but there's something intangible about it. It can be tricky to keep tabs on the nuances that develop or fall by the wayside as the tour continues, and to keep the work fresh. But I certainly feel more than ever that she's 'under my skin'. A big thing for me right now is reminding myself that everything I do on stage is 'the first time' for Mary. When she opens her mouth to speak in the First Rehearsal scene it has to be just as terrifying and exciting and new as when I first discovered it back in our East London rehearsal room all those weeks ago. Every time we move to a new venue, our spacial relationship with each other changes and each audience responds so differently. Every actor on stage is still holding on to the core of their character, but we are now relaxed enough with each other to find the truth in each moment and respond as our character really would - whatever happens! And we've had it all: whether it's a case of a dropped line, someone trying out a new intention, an audience of kids hysterically laughing (or giving off a cold silence), a pair of glasses flying off and  more than one occasion where an actor accidentally fell over centre stage! And the energy of the cast can create a different dynamic too, whether it's because we're tired or anxious or excitable, up against the obstacles of a new space or feeling the pressure of having a friend in the audience. But this is the beauty of live theatre. It keeps us all on our toes, listening and responding and playing, and I love it.


And next week: We're off to our smallest quaintest theatre yet in Chipping Norton! It's going to be a whole different kettle of fish....


Emily x


And this week's Sneak Peak is with actor Adam Best: stay tuned, published soon!


http://www.originaltheatre.com/

Act Two, Scene 6: From Market Town to Cathedral City.

Due to filming commitments I hope you'll forgive a short but sweet blog this week. Enjoy!


Newbury Corn Exchange
Going West.
The week began with a 3 night stint at the lovely Corn Exchange Theatre in Newbury, a beautiful grade 2 listed building, originally opened for trading in 1861 in the central market place. Rather different to the Watermill Theatre in Newbury where I've also performed, it's a large sweeping 400 seat auditorium and forms part of a wider arts centre and cinema. Performing there was rather a blur for me as I had been offered some filming work for the BBC during those 3 days. Commuting back and forth proved a little tiring although of course as a jobbing I was thankful for the extra work! Our audiences were a little small in numbers but the show seemed to go down very well with the students and punters alike. 


Flying in at The Key.
On Friday we all trekked up to Peterborough to open at the Key Theatre for the remaining 3 performances of the week. It was a tight turn around for our technical team - the first time so far on the tour that we'd done a venue to venue 'get in' without a full day in between. But all praise goes to our DSM Jess and Technical Manager Gareth who faced the challenge head on despite being one man down... (sending get well soon wishes to our sorely missed ASM Ed!) Added to that, a few of the cast had gotten stuck in terrible motorway traffic so our usually leisurely 'top and tail' run through in the new space was cut a little short. Despite all this, our first night in Peterborough was a resounding success with an almost full house and very responsive audience. I wonder if audiences ever realise how much their reactions can impact on the spirit of the actors performing. It really is a two way exchange, and although we always aim to keep the show tight and disciplined, how much and audience really listens and engages with the play is quite tangible to us.


Key Theatre Peterborough
We were given a warm welcome at The Key Theatre. Standing in the car park next to Kylie (my beloved Ford KA) with suitcase and M&S bags I was accosted by Micheal Cross, the Theatre Director who kindly and well beyond the call of duty offered to help me in with my bags. "I can spot an actress a mile off" he laughed, and of course at that moment I probably couldn't have looked any more like the stereotype. The Key is a modern purpose built space and the 360 seat auditorium is lovely to play; good sight lines and acoustically very easy on the ear (and actor's voice). The backstage area is currently under development thanks to a one million cash injection (bravo Peterborough Council) and so our 'dressing rooms' were in the temporary form of large two storey heated portacabins. Getting ready for the show in my little winnebago with Emma I felt like I could have easily been on set for Our Country's Good the movie! Saturday's matinee and evening show ran smoothly with a big thanks to Tom Hackney, our administrator and tour booker, who stepped in last minute as backstage assistant in the absence of Ed. We couldn't have done it without you! Although the lack of students on Saturday night meant the numbers had dwindled again a little, the good news is we are selling extremely well at our next venue, Harrogate Theatre.


Next Week.
I'm very much looking forward to our trip up North. A few years back I did an open-air Shakespeare production at Ripley Castle and more recently worked at the West Yorskshire Playhouse so I have had the opportunity to visit Harrogate a few times before. It's a gorgeous town and I can't wait to visit some old haunts. As well as scoffing a cream tea in Betty's Tea-rooms of course! 


Stay Tuned for this weeks SNEAK PEEK INTERVIEW: coming soon.....


Emily x


http://www.originaltheatre.com/

Act 2, Scene 5: Islanders.

Sunny Landings.
Stepping off the aeroplane onto sunny Jersey soil with the other cast members felt like the beginnings of a holiday! We enjoyed an afternoon and evening off, giving myself, Alastair, Adam, Chris and Rach time to check into our lovely cottage in St. Clement, stock up on supplies from the local shops, build a big log fire, and share a lovely meal and wine. All before the topic of conversation inevitably led to the task ahead of us the next morning - the prison workshop. Chris would start us off with the 'eyes up, eyes down game' where you stand in a circle eyes down and when 'eyes up' is called you  look immediately up at another person in the circle. If they happen to be looking at you at the same time you're out. It's a simple game but a good starter. It focuses concentration and is a good one to do with a new group of people as you get the chance to have a really good look at each other and make a connection. I volunteered to lead a rhythm exercise. It's one that the wonderful actress/director Heather Williams taught me when I was with the Bristol Old Vic Young Company. I still love using it to this day. It involves everyone in the room, it gets people really listening and tuning in to each other and is just really good fun. Phil would then lead a 'status' exercise using a pack of playing cards before all of us showing the prisoners a selection of scenes from the play to discuss and workshop.
I went to bed that night rather excited about everything the next day had in store for us, the people we would meet, and our first performance at the Jersey Opera House.


A morning at HMP La Moye.
On Tuesday morning the cast, Alastair and the Opera House Theatre Director Jasmine Hendry, met at the theatre where we were collected by minibus to head off to the prison. On arriving at the H.M.P La Moye, our ID's were checked and we handed in our valuables at the reception area. The automatic door hissed and slammed shut behind us as if we were in an airtight container. Two guards then led us through a door onto an open pathway scaled by the barbed wire topped prison walls. I could feel the extreme height of the walls and buildings around me, starkly imposing in the bright sunshine and the visceral reality of being 'imprisoned' was suddenly very strong. We were then led inside to the education centre, a small carpeted room where we were shortly followed by the 26 male prisoners led in to meet us. As I made my way around the room shaking hands and saying hello to everyone I was struck by how young many of the men were - the majority being in their 20's to early 30's. Similar to the convicts we meet in the play, we later discovered most of the men had been locked up for 'low-grade' crimes that involved theft, drugs or alcohol related issues, and the maximum sentence any of the them would serve was about 7 years. There are also women inmates at La Moye, but only about 12 or so I was told by Bill Millar, the Prison Governor. As the men and women are kept separate it was deemed best to hold the workshop with the largest number able to attend.
Inside HMP La Moye
The prisoner's engagement with the work was staggering. They threw themselves wholeheartedly into the games and fell silent when we performed our scenes. Every single one had chosen to come along to the workshop - it was not compulsory - and it was evident in that they were some very astute and articulate young men in the room. And why wouldn't there be? Any assumptions or preconceptions I subconsciously had about they way 'they' would behave were blown out of the water once I realised there was no distinguishing feature about this group of men other than they were all individuals with their own stories and and circumstances that led them to ending up here. At the end of one scene, where Harry and Ducking go rowing, Alastair asked if they had any observations about the characters relationship. One very astute bloke of about 60 piped up "They both need each other but she's the one in control. It's a marriage of convenience". Alastair admitted that that was the most succinct description he'd heard and summed up perfectly what he and the actors had been picking apart over a 4 week rehearsal period! When we performed the Audition scene, their observations about Ralph and his status around the convicts were also spot on. We asked them to place the characters in a line according to who was top-dog in the scene and who had the lowest status. They placed Mary pretty low down in the pecking order, so it was interesting to chat to some of them afterwards about how Mary's status grows throughout the play as she discovers a talent for acting.


Our stint in the prison was already attracting a fair amount of local media attention, so although unexpected i wasn't surprised to see that halfway through the workshop a BBC camera crew walked in and proceeded to film some of the exercises (with the prisoners consent) and conduct interviews with a couple of the guys. It was fascinating to see some of the local coverage discussing whether the prisoners were 'deserving' of this kind of workshop. The play began to feel especially pertinent as the age old argument about punishment versus rehabilitation reared it's head.
You can have a look at the coverage on the links here:
BBC JERSEY       Channel TV news


I think it's fair to say we all saw a something of our characters in the prisoners we met. It was so good to have time to chat to some of the guys afterwards and to get an insight into how they'd ended up here and what their hopes were for the future. At the end of the workshop, a man named Dave (who you'll see in the interview) stuck his hand up. "I just want to say we all thought this morning was just a chance to get a bit of time off work. But it's been really enjoyable. I think we'll all take something away from what we've done today." That felt good. It was just a shame we couldn't go back and perform the whole play for them. I know we'd all have liked to.


Performing at The Opera House.
The Jersey Opera House is a beautiful old theatre, originally built in 1868, with a stunning auditorium crowned with huge sparkling chandelier. It really is a gorgeous stage to look out from, and could easily be compared in appearance to a West End theatre.
We had a fab opening night, and a good crowd, but sadly despite my hopes that the poor weather might draw in the punters, our numbers dwindled throughout the rest of our run there. This seemed at odds with the theatre's best marketing efforts and the copious radio, TV and newspaper coverage we had for the show.  On Thursday we had a visit from some local corporate sponsors who provided a lovely little reception afterwards where we got to mingle and like true cliched actors, raid the buffet table. They were very complimentary about the show and it was nice to get some first hand feedback as well as having a chat about Jersey's fascinating  history. Despite the terrible weather in the latter half of the week a few of us did take the opportunity to explore, and myself Rach Alastair and Chris enjoyed the long coastal walk from St Clement into town. I always forget how good it feels to breathe in some fresh sea air.
Chris and Phil wonder which way is out.


On Sunday we got up at the crack of dawn and headed to the airport fearful that after 2 days of heavy fog and numerous plane and ferry cancellations we may have been island bound for longer than planned. Fortunately, after just a 2 hour hour delay we took to skies, looking ahead to our next ventures to the somewhat less continental Newbury and Peterborough!




Something about Mary: Meeting Timberlake!
On Sunday evening, fresh from the plane, I attended a wonderful talk at the Freud Museum hosted by Timberlake Wertenbaker with actress Dame Harriet Walter. It was thrilling to see Timberlake in the flesh, she's a striking women, elegant but with a wild mop of white tightly curled hair and intriguing french/trans Atlantic accent. I was fascinated to hear her talk a little about her career so far, her time working with Max Stafford-Clark, and her thoughts on the relationship between writing and devising. The main body of the talk revolved around her fascination with the actors process of physically and psychologically inhabiting a character. Timberlake had decided to interview Harriet Walter as part of her research into this subject, and she described the actress as unique in her ability to read a writers mind, This was something that became extremely pertinent when Harriet was creating the role of Biddy in Timberlake's Three Birds Alighting on Field. Harriet described giving life to a character as a two way process. It's the writer who has the incredible task of imagining a person who doesn't yet exist, seeing them in their mind, hearing the words this person could speak, and writing them down. The actor then sees those words and takes the job of physically embodying that person and giving them life. It's a beautiful, almost spiritual image. Harriet talked with wonderful depth and clarity about her approach to the work, her innate ability from a young age to mimic and attempt physically inhabit people she would see in the street. "We only have one life, I'm often told, but some like me make a living out of resisting that fact."


For me the one inspirational nugget I took away was Harriet's mantra before stepping on stage. She looks at herself in the mirror and says "This could be me". I love the directness of that, as a mantra. It's certainly something I try to think about when playing Mary. It means that no character you ever play is beyond reach. It seems particularly poignant after meeting the prisoners this week. Everyone is a creature of consequence. So to put myself in Mary's shoes, if I was so horrendously poor, and had no family left able to support me, why wouldn't I steal to survive? Why couldn't I end up falling so deeply in love that I'd want my sweethearts name tattooed on my thigh? Why wouldn't the pangs of starvation lead me to end up selling myself to someone better off? It's a human instinct to make quick judgements about people. We do it in order to survive. We meet someone and think I don't like her, he's friendly, that man looks suspicious, they seem trustworthy and so on. When approaching a character I have to almost remove that instinct I have when meeting someone for the first time. If in rehearsals I'd made judgements on Mary based on my own lifestyle, or personality, or moral code I'd never be able to really understand why she behaves the way she does in the play. Why she takes the actions she takes. The action that springs to mind is when Ralph announces their first born girl shall be named after his wife Betsey. I had to think hard about Mary and her situation to get away from what my modern day reaction would be to Ralph upon this announcement. Probably a slap in the face! But Mary is silent. I have to think about why she chooses not to speak - whether it's anger, or bafflement, or (perhaps hard to imagine by modern day standards) simply a quiet acceptance.
It's always easy to think "Yes, but I'd never do that". We have to imagine that we are all capable of any human action given a certain set of circumstances.
I remember one day in the green room in Basingstoke talking to a few of the actor's about their methods and approaches to acting. Adam Best, who plays Ross and Ketch, summed up his mantra perfectly: "Nothing human is alien to me".


http://www.originaltheatre.com/