Hail to the Chief

 I woke on Wednesday to the news that the Massachusetts election was being called for the Republican candidate. Well, you have to hand it to Obama. He gets things done. He’s managed to disgust, annoy and worry all those voters in just one year of office. Even Lyndon Johnson took longer than that. Tomorrow I fly to…

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Curtain Down

Well, we did it. Four shows, to warm and appreciative audiences, and we raised around 3500 Euro. In Andhra Pradesh where it will end up, that kind of money can really achieve something. And so, in spite of our several setbacks and my periodic beefs about the work entailed, it has turned out to be a very happy and satisfying…

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Day Four… Day Five

  Friday morning and our show is a sell-out. The hottest ticket in town. We opened yesterday to an audience of sixty children and forty adults and they loved it. I know because they didn’t fidget or talk or start a ball game in the aisles. And on stage, hardly a glitch. Except for the moment…

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Day Three

Today’s lessons. 1.A false moustache is a very bad idea when you’re going down with a cold. 2. When you confiscate people’s scripts and replace them with the tough love of a dress rehearsal they step right up and do wonderful and surprising things. I actually already knew this but had forgotten.  Tomorrow is a two-show day.…

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Day Two

Today’s curve ball: unannounced acqua alta. Both routes to the theatre were flooded at 8.45 this morning, too slightly, apparently, to warrant sounding the siren, but badly enough to ruin a person’s Guccis and delay the start of rehearsals while people wrung out their socks. We ran the Pumpkin to Carriage transformation scene four times and it…

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Panto, Day 1

Set my alarm for 6am but I needn’t have bothered. I was woken by an SMS buzzing into my cell phone at 5.45. My producer was already up and finding things to worry about. A slow start, caused by the thick fog that wrapped itself around Venice before daybreak. Frank Transport, aka Frankie Fleeceham the Bailiff, had to…

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The Curse of Disney

A woman was asking me about our production of Cinderella which opens (and closes) next week. She was thinking of bringing her child along. She said, ‘So how are you going to turn the pumpkin into a carriage?’ I said, ‘Wait and see.’ She said, ‘No, but tell me. I really want to know.’ I said, ‘I’m using…

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