This will be the final entry on this blog (at least for now)
and will focus on a summing up of the performances themselves. The end-product
of weeks and weeks of preparation; what every theatre production ultimately
leads to – the performance, and the audience’s response.
Throughout most of the day I felt strangely distant, which I
think was connected to the fact that to me this was more than just a
performance. I like to feel invested in every production I am involved in,
whatever role I happen to be playing. I have felt the pressure of staging plays
that I have written and directed before. This one was really significant to me
though. It represented so much more than a single performance. It represented a
hypothetical future, and the notion that it could very well be possible to
continue doing what I love as a part of a professional theatre company. To be
able to produce the plays that I want to produce – to adapt my favourite
stories to the stage, to put on the plays I’ve always wanted to, and on my own
terms. To create opportunities for myself – and for others – opportunities that
I would not receive otherwise.
All of this in addition to the sheer amount of time invested
in this production, and the pressure of playing one of the leading roles,
amounted to a very melancholy and distant feeling, that would not shift until
the show began.
We had a few hours before the audience arrived to set up the
studio for the performance, and a lot of technical areas to cover in that time.
We set up the wardrobe and the lamppost, as well as the audience seating and a
couple of cameras to record the performance. We also had to pre-set all of the
costumes and props in a very limited back-stage area (which would also have to accommodate
varying numbers of actors at any given time). The lighting was pre-set, but all
of the changes needed to be practiced, along with the music cues and the
projections (which would illustrate changes in scenery). This called for a
cue-to-cue run through of the play, a typical practice for any production, and
one that I always see as a necessary evil. They are rarely very enjoyable, as
they a slow processes, and generally require strict focus and very little distraction
from the cast as a whole. They are completely necessary though, as without them
the performance would constantly be stopping, and there would be very noticeable
confusion from the performers during scene changes.
We had a few hours to get everything sorted, but that time
slipped by really quickly, and before we knew it the audience were arriving and
ready to be let in. The arrival of the audience is always a nerve-wracking
moment, because the wait just before a show starts gives plenty of time for the
reality of the situation to sink in. On this occasion the wait was longer than
usual, as it turned out that we had filled every seat, and needed to squeeze
extra people in. This gave me just enough time to get really nervous before the
lights went down and the performance finally began.
The audience were really receptive of the piece throughout,
and it allowed for a very lively and energetic performance from the entire cast.
There was a lot of laughter – sometimes in unexpected places – and I was
absolutely thrilled with how well everything went. After the show was over
there was a lot of praise from the audience, and some really wonderful
compliments about the show, the performances, the pacing, the adaptation, the
energy of the piece, and a whole lot more. It would have been great to have
been able to have taken it in, but we needed to clear out the studio and get
back into our regular clothes very quickly.
Nevertheless it was a wonderful feeling, and one that made
all of the time that we had invested into this production completely
worthwhile. We all felt that we had earned our celebratory drinks at the end of
the night.
One day went by, and then we were all set to perform once
again – this time in Cornwall at North Hill Village Hall. It was a very
different performance space to the one we had been rehearsing in, and we only
had a couple of hours to adapt the performance into it before the audience
arrived. This was a big undertaking, but we managed it in time. The audience
was smaller this time around, but they gave a very positive response at the end
of the show. I spoke to one couple who asked some very encouraging questions
such as “when are you performing this show next?” and perhaps even more
encouraging “when are you coming back?” At this stage in time it is hard to
answer these questions definitively, but the fact that they were asked at all made
me feel very positive about the possibilities for this show looking ahead.
We have ambitious plans for this production, and hopefully I
will be able to look back on this stage of the process as ‘only the beginning’.
I suppose we will have to wait and see, but if the final scene of the play is
any indication, then of course we will go back to Narnia again!
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