Start of Final Week
Bizarre we're now at this stage. Always seems years into the future and now its upon us. 6 shows in the final week.
Last saturday was our second Gala Night. It went off really well. The audience has a glass of wine to begin with, then the show, then a post-show discussion, then more wine and buffet and finally a tour of the chapel. Finishes late but it's a nice thing to be part of. The discussion was really interesting. People ask fascinating questions. I've been part of some of these events where it becomes more about the cast displaying their knowledge and opinions which is always really boring. Its much more interesting to find out what the audience has to say. And so it proved. I spoke to a couple who divide their time between here and Chichester which has a thriving theatre that stages diverse, interesting shows and gets very good reviews. Others had never seen a Shakespeare play staged before. Hopefully they'll be encouraged to experience more of his work. A kid asked if it was easier to learn Shakespeare than other work. It is. The rythmn helps. The syntax and grammer creates the most perfect way of capturing a thought and it's easier to learn perfection than the next-best.
Talking of which I went to see "Troilus and Cressida" last night. Its part of the International Festival. It wasn't very good. Very long with no flow, no excitement, no pace to it. A lot of blackouts. And most actors couldn't do what's demanded of them in this highly complex, political and social love/war story. The leads were young and poor and it was unfair to expect them to carry this epic. A huge set and live music obstructed the actors. The exception to all this was the actor playing Ulysses. He was extraordinary. The clarity, stillness and economy of speech and movement was amazing. He had a lot to say but I could watch and listen to him all night. If our current political leaders spoke and performed as he did, held authority and bound us to their particular spell, they'd be very powerful, dangerous men indeed.
The challenge is to start this week with a bang and get some momentum behind us. Really push to a brilliant run until the end. I hope we can sustain it because I think last week we ran out of steam on Fri and Sat.
There is was a rumour we might be doing extra shows. It looks like we are. There'll be extra performances on Monday 28th and Tuesday 29th.
