Act 2, Scene 10: A maritime adventure.

On home turf.

The sun setting over Greenwich park

Being back in London in the sunshine has been a restorative tonic. I’m very happy on the road. I’m comfortably nomadic and have enjoyed my train, plane and automobile existence. I’ve never had a problem sleeping in ’strangers’ houses or finding my way around somewhere entirely new. I love that my knowledge of the theatrical landscape of this country is ever-expanding. But there’s something about being at home, in London, that makes me breath a sigh of relief. Having something to show for yourself when family and friends wonder what the hell you’ve been doing with you’re life over the last 3 months.

Naval Gazing. 

The Cutty Sark

Greenwich is a beautiful part of south-east London, famous for it’s maritime history and home of the magnificent ship The Cutty Sark, the Royal Obervatorty and stunning parkland and markets. Greenwich Theatre sadly feels like the theatre that time forgot. The black and white photo’s backstage of famous faces that once trod the boards, Joanna Lumley, Linda Basset (wonderful actress and original Liz Morden) show a venue that was once firmly ‘on the map’. What a shame then that once you step backstage there’s a sense that a place once loved has become neglected, dishevelled, not so much in a charming cluttered old theatre type way, but rather dirty, uncared for and a little unwelcoming. The theatre itself, an old Music Hall dating back to the 1870's was bombed during the second world war and remained derelict and empty until it was saved from demolition and refurbished in 1969 to the building you see today. The modern 400 seater proscenium arch is well designed and easy to play although the spacious auditorium is deceptive in hiding a very cramped backstage/wings area for the performers. The theatre has been saved on numerous occasions from closure, most notably by local individuals and benefactors (more so than the Arts Council) and it’s a prime example of theatre in need quite simply of more funding and a lot more love. It was amazing to see the street signpost in Greenwich pointing the public every which way to all the various historical and cultural delights in the area, but inexplicably Greenwich Theatre was not one of them.

Meantime in Greenwich.

Despite all of this, our first night in Greenwich opened to a good crowd of a few hundred punters and audibly appreciative students. Although numbers fluctuated massively from almost full houses  midweek to a depressing 40 or so on a Friday night, I felt as a company we were all relishing the opportunity to perform in London again. On a long tour, it can be beacon of light to know that family or friends are in and it was great to have some loyal supporters along with casting directors and industry professionals watching pretty much every night of the week.

Having just one mid-week matinee meant plenty of time off too to explore Greenwich’s fab markets selling all kinds of quirky bric-a-bac, enjoy a picnic in the park, checkout the Royal Observatory and Greenwich Meantime clock, and take a gander at the Cutty Sark, the magnificent 19th century clipper ship docked there.

Chris, clocking off.

Something About Mary: 
A SURPRISE VIST FROM TIMBERLAKE!

On our final Saturday at Greenwich the glorious week of weather had turned. It was suddenly grey, cold and like winter again and worse still, 80% of the cast had come down with some awful stomach bug. As I gazed dizzily down the bowl of the toilet, I pondered whether we'd picked up some thing horrible from the copious pigeon poo in our dressing room left behind by a feathered friend who'd managed to break in through a window and set up roost with us. That is until it was caught, Mr Miyagi style, and set free by Chris. Whatever the cause the bug left most of us fighting for the loos and generally feeling completely lack luster for our final show. What a joyous surprise then, as we all began packing up and saying our goodbyes, to see Timberlake Wertenbaker herself poke her head around the dressing room door! I cannot tell you how thrilled we were to see her – she’d heard about our production through a friend and unable to make our week at The Rose in Kingston back in February, she'd decided to pop along, sneak herself in at the back with her husband and see how we were all getting along! 

Timberlake's girls.

I instantly recognised her, that wonderful eccentric hair and gentle voice.  Before we could ask the dreaded 'what did you think?' she launched into praise for our production and despite it being a quiet night audience-wise, she was very complimentary about all of our work, and loved the overall design of the show. We chatted about the tour so far, how much the students have been loving it, about Jersey and our prison workshop there. We also talked a little about Max Stafford-Clark's up and coming revival of Our Country's Good happening later this year, which Timberlake will be involved in. It'll be produced by Out of Joint and Bolton Octagon to tour and eventually land in the West End. As far as I'm aware Max won't be coming to see our production. Timberlake suggested from a producing point of view the launch of our production may have stirred things up a bit as the two productions are touring within in the same year.
I mentioned my blog to Timberlake and she agreed to a quick photo before heading over to the pub next door to catch up with Alastair and a few of the other actors already there tucking into their first pint. What a fantastic end to the week!


NEXT WEEK: We're back to Wales again for a whistle-stop tour at Venue Cymru and the coastal shores of Llandudno...


Emily x