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.
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| Our well frequented Local. |
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| 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/
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