A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (Box Clever Challenge - December)

It had to be didn't it? Well how can you do a Classic reading challenge and not have any Dickens on the list?

There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor

Christmas, a time to bring in the holly and ivy, put decorations on a tree, fill up on turkey and mince pies, and watch terrible TV whilst ripping garish coloured paper off numerous presents! Surely there's more to Christmas than that!

In today's overly commercial society, it does us good to curl up with a copy of A Christmas Carol, and journey with the lead character, Ebenezer Scrooge as he is visited nightly by ghosts and shown his Christmases past, present and future.

Dickens' novel contains a plethora of characters who exhibit many different qualities, some good, and some bad. The book is essentially Scrooges journey from being a self-centred miser to his awakening, where he becomes a warm-hearted, caring human being who thinks of those less fortunate than himself. It's a book that shows that there is more to Christmas (and life) than seeing who can spend the most money on each other, but that we should try and spend what precious time we have with friends and family and to think of others, not just ourselves.

A Christmas Carol is probably one of the most popular stories in the English Language. It has been reincarnated on screen over and over again, ensuring new generations get to know  about the tale of Scrooge. I can remember being about 10 years old when my dad took me to the old ABC Regal cinema in Chester (now a Costa Coffee and Primark!) to watch Disney's version, Mickey's Christmas Carol. Other generations will favour The Muppets Christmas Carol, or newer generations will be familiar with Jim Carey's incarnation, but despite watching the films, or theatre productions, how many people still sit down and read the actual words of Charles Dickens? 

Bah! Humbug!

The tale commences on a bitterly cold Christmas Eve, Ebenezer Scrooge is in his counting house, counting out his money. His clerk Bob Cratchit is shivering in the cold office because Scrooge refuses to pay for coal for the fire. Scrooges nephew pops in to invite his uncle to his Christmas party, and two men ask Scrooge for a charitable donation, but Scrooge responds to both with a hostile retort.

As the night draws in and Scrooge heads for bed, he is visited by an apparition of his dead work partner Jacob Marley. Marley informs Scrooge that due his greedy and self-absorbed lifestyle, he is condemned to roam the earth for eternity. He tells Scrooge he has come to help save him from the same fate. He warns Scrooge that three ghosts will visit him over the next three nights, and no sooner has Scrooge fallen asleep, than he is woken by the fist of his visitors. 

The Ghost of Christmas Past descends and makes Scrooge revisit his past, to a time of childlike happiness, his school days, his apprenticeship and his engagement. The next evening Scrooge is visited by The Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge on a trip through London, to Bob Cratchit's house where the family is gathered together making the most of what little they have. He is then whisked to his nephews house where fun and frivolity abounds. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is Scrooge's final visitor, and Scrooge is witness to a dead, unnamed man. He watches a poor couple in celebratory mood that the man is dead. He sees personal effects being traded for cash with no thought for any sentimental value. He then finds himself in a graveyard, and the tombstone reads "Scrooge". 

Shocked at the way his life has played out, Scrooge desires redemption. He pleads with the spirit to change the course of his life. Scrooge then wakes up and decides he must turn over a new leaf. He sends a turkey to the Cratchit's so that they have a proper Christmas dinner, and extends the hand of friendship to his nephew, turning up at the Christmas party to the surprise of family and guests. As the years go by, Scrooge is a reformed character, sharing his wealth with those less fortunate, and sparing a kind word and thought for those around him.

>Dickens may have written the novel in 1843, yet over 170 years later, the novel is still seen as what the true meaning of Christmas is all about, and it can still make you stop and think about the less fortunate. The people who for whatever reason end up sleeping on the freezing cold streets, women's refuges, children's homes, the list is seemingly endless. 

They think it's all over...it is now!

And so here ends my 2016 Classic Reading Challenge in aid of Box Clever Theatre Company.

I hope you've enjoyed reading my take on the novels I've chosen. As an avid reader, I actually thought this would be an easy challenge, but it's been far from it. To pick up a book and read it for enjoyment is one thing, to pick up a book knowing that you have to read it with the intention of writing about it is something different.

Books are often more complex when you start delving into what has been written. Why has the author said this? Why have they focused on that? Picking up on the subtle nuances on what is written is an artform in itself; it is very easy to miss an important passage because you're trying to speed read the book, or you're just tired when you've picked the book up at bedtime to get through a couple more chapters. These missing passages can totally transform your interpretation of the book.

We all have different life experiences which can cloud our judgement. One person's background will lead them to one viewpoint, someone else will see something entirely different. Does this make one person right and the other wrong? I don't think so. I have tried to pick a variety of books for this challenge, some I would normally choose, and some I wouldn't. This challenge has certainly been an education for me and made me want to read more by the various authors I have chosen.

My "twelve" entries in this blog are my reasons for reading these books. I have enjoyed them, but I haven't studied any of the books in depth. If I had the time and inclination I would read the books several times, and pull apart in minute detail some of the more pertinent passages. The blog entry would go on forever, and the original enjoyment of the book would be lost by writing and rewriting my arguments and points of view, (obviously backed up by relevant passages and quotations!!!) So I have just skimmed the surface of each of these books.  I hope what I've written makes you want to pick the books up and read them for yourselves. Some books you will like, some you may hate, but that is the joy of reading, challenging yourself to try something different, and to come to your own conclusions.


2016 Sponsored Classics Challenge for Box Clever Theatre


January The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
February Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
March Jailbird by Kurt Vonnegut
April 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
May The Brothers Karamazov by Fydor Dostoyevsky
June Flarepath, While the Sun Shines, The Deep Blue Sea, The Winslow Boy, The Browning Version, Harlequinade, Separate Tables, In Praise of Love and Before Dawn by Terence Rattigan.
July Three Plays ( Blood Wedding, Yerma and The House of Bernarda Alba) by Frederico Garcia Lorca
August Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
September The Cuckoo's Calling, The Silkworm & Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith
October Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson
November The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
December A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

The Hound of the Baskervilles (Box Clever Challenge - November)

When I visited Bath earlier in the year, I came across a book by Christopher Frayling - "Inside The Bloody Chamber on Angela Carter, the Gothic, and other weird tales." The book is a memoir about the literary friendship Frayling had with the late author Angela Carter. It focuses on the conversations and ideas the two of them would throw about until the early hours of the morning, the research he carried out about The Vampyre in literature, and some of his articles and essays on the various aspects of the "Gothic."

Whilst reading his book, I realised that I had not read or watched many of the books and films Frayling mentioned and I thought that I needed to rectify that. Carter sounded like an inspirational and interesting woman, and at some point I need to read her work, but as I went through the book, the chapter entitled Nothing But a Hound Dog made me think about November's book challenge...here was a classic novel I hadn't read, but one that I really should.

Sherlock Holmes...the great detective

One of my memories relating to childhood was watching The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes with my mum. It was a show on Granada TV starring Jeremy Brett and David Burke, and in our house it was watched on a black and white TV! I loved that show, Brett and Burke were the perfect double act; it wasn't quite the same when David Burke was replaced by Edward Hardwicke, but it was still, for me, the ubiquitous take on Sherlock Holmes. People all around the world remember the series with such fond affection. Nowadays, Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch has given the super sleuth a fresh face, but whilst reading Frayling's book I realised that whilst I really loved Holmes and Watson, I'd never once read any of the books.  I have sitting on my bookshelf The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes, it was about time I dusted it down and started reading.

Happy New Year! Reflecting on Operation Smile Carols, & Blood Wedding and The Little Matchgirl Theatre.

Dear Blog,

I've been very remiss and ignored you for a couple of months. It doesn't seem that long, but I've checked, and I haven't posted anything since October! It seems I've been too busy doing and not enough writing about it. Oh well!!!

A New Year is a good time to reflect, so let's see what's been going on in the last couple of months that I've been too busy to tell you about, before we start getting busy with 2017.

November

I've been very busy at work. I agreed to make a birthday dress for my friend (I have four weeks to get it done) and I want to create a Tom Burke Calendar. I need 12 drawings, I have previously drawn 6 pictures that I like (I'm very critical of a lot of my earlier work) and so I need to create 6 more drawings that I'm happy with. Why am I doing this to myself? (Especially when I know I have very little spare time!!) So despite becoming sleep deprived, I start sketching ideas in my head for a dress to discuss with Kate (my friend), and on paper I start creating new Tom Burke scribbles. Some of the pictures were a stylistic departure for me, so in a mass panic I sent them all to another friend for her critical analysis. I knew if they were rubbish she'd tell me straight, and that was what I needed. I need to feel that someone is being genuinely honest about my work, not saying nice things to feed my ego, but to convince me my work is credible.  Fortunately her responses showed she had looked at them properly and considered each one on its own merit - and so I had 12 drawings that I felt were good enough to be displayed together. My first ever calendar had been created! (click below to view/buy)

http://www.redbubble.com/people/siouxrogers/calendars/23826584-a-burkeing-good-year-tom-burke-calendar?grid_pos=3&p=calendar

December

1st December and time to start thinking about Christmas, and what better way to think about the season that the annual Carols by Candlelight Service in London, organised by the charity Operation Smile UK. It is a joyous occasion, even for me who is not overly religious. The evening started when I made my way with a few friends from the Days Inn, across Hyde Park towards the Grosvenor Chapel in Mayfair. I was amazed to see a small menage in the park with three ladies on horseback practicing their flatwork, eagerly turning circles and figures of eight and putting their horses through their paces. We met more friends at a pub for a quick pint of Doombar, and because there was nowhere to sit, we moved to a restaurant next door for a quick bite to eat before the carol concert.

As we gathered outside the church, platters of mince pies were handed round, and then we were offered Whiskey Macs, and if you were lucky you managed to blag some port too! As we entered the church we were handed a candle, and as the service started the candles were lit and the church became bathed in a golden glow of tiny flickering lights. As always, the service was about the children, and it is always a joy to listen to the children's choir, and to hear all about the astonishing work that Operation Smile carries out. Each time I hear about their work I find out something new. I didn't realise that every operation is filmed and reviewed, and if the doctor is not deemed up to scratch, s/he is removed from their register of surgeons. It made me comprehend how much work is done in addition to the operations, and that the money donated is spent wisely and the treatment offered is of the highest quality. It is edifying to know how the lives of so many children abroad can be transformed by a simple low cost operation.

After the service we headed off to a reception at the University Women's Club, Mayfair, for canapes, wine and a chat. It was a wonderful opportunity to speak to people from the charity, and to gather with friends sharing the season of goodwill. It is something that has now become an annual event, Christmas just wouldn't be the same without it.

Of course, even though I was in London, I managed to miss all the shop window displays, Oxford Street, Harrods, Selfridges, the whole lot. No. The next day for me meant a quick stop at Paddington Station to say hello to the little bear from darkest Peru, and then onto Waterloo to my hotel for the night. How nice it felt to be back "home." There is something comforting about the South Bank, I feel happy and relaxed there, unlike the North side where it seems too busy and frenetic.

The Little Matchgirl

So having taken a walk by the Thames, and taken a detour into the heart of London to grab a quick pint of Doombar in The Tottenham (for those familiar with the Cormoran Strike novels, you'll know why I had to have a pint in there!) it was off to The Sam Wannamaker Playhouse to watch The Little Matchgirl and other happier tales. http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/theatre/whats-on/sam-wanamaker-playhouse/the-little-matchgirl-2016  This was a superb piece of theatre and the puppet of the Little Matchgirl really did mesmerise the audience. She made you think about those less fortunate than yourself; those people on the streets trying their best to get by night after night in the freezing cold and how a little kindness can give hope to someone.



Blood Wedding

The next day I had enough time to squeeze in a matinee of Blood Wedding by Feredrico Garcia Lorca http://www.cervantestheatre.com/home/?page_id=95  The Cervantes is a tiny theatre tucked away in a railway arch, and the play was performed in both English, and the original Spanish of the playwright. Thankfully it was performed in English on the day I went! Then it was goodbye London, hello "operation birthday dress" as the next day Kate was arriving for her final dress fitting!

A Stitch in Time!

I kept a brave face on as we nipped and tucked Kate's dress, but something just wasn't right. The next weekend (yes her birthday!) I realised what was wrong and took the entire dress apart, cut new panels for the front and lined the whole thing. It was lacking structure, but those simple tweaks gave the dress the shape and structure it needed without it being too wide and fussy like a Disney princess dress! In a mass panic, hours before the party I was still hand sewing the hem of the dress, but calmly messaging Kate to say that all was in hand and not to panic. Lunchtime, dress is finally finished, boxed, and I jump into the shower and 20 minutes later I'm hurtling towards Manchester praying for no traffic, and no policemen on the motorway! I arrived more or less when I said I would (before I'd decided to take the dress apart and start again!) so all was well, and a good night had by all. First time I've ever been introduced to people as "this is Sioux, my designer!"

(And of course, I couldn't go to a party without having made a little white dress for myself too!)




So, just a little matter of decorating the house, buying presents and delivering them all! Next year I'm getting organised, I'm doing my shopping in June!

Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson (Box Clever Challenge - October)

 

I visited the Cotebrook Shire Horse Centre in the summer. Whilst the horses were stunning, it was the otters that held my attention. They were cheeky creatures, holding onto the wire fencing and making high pitched screeching noises. One of them just lay on his back and played with a stone; he was transfixed tossing it from one paw to another. I thought the poor creatures were bored and unhappy, but no...they were just passing the time as they knew their food was due to arrive soon. As soon as they saw their keeper, the stone was dropped and the screeching stopped, to be replaced by the hunting and satisfaction of munching fish in the long grass.

A few weeks later I was visiting the Blue Planet Aquarium. They have an outside pen of otters too, and I witnessed them playing in and out of the water; otters splashing one another, finding "toys" in the undergrowth, and so I was spurred on to find my old copy of Tarka the Otter that I have had since childhood, but never read. (You can tell it's a vintage copy of the book, it only cost 30p!)

Meet Old Nog, Deadlock, Halcyon and Tarka.

Henry Williamson's tale of Tarka takes us through an unsentimental journey around Devon. It is a fascinating book for both old and young, male or female, and will leave you with a new found respect for the countryside. What we have lost, how we have grown, and why hunting with dogs should never be considered sport.

The book is written from Tarka's viewpoint...that of being low on the ground, shrubs become trees, man becomes a giant. Henry Williamson begun his novel in June 1923 and finished it in February 1927. He wrote and rewrote passages to ensure he gave his reader the truest viewpoint of a wild otters life, taking in the smallest details of the river, so that armed with a map, the reader could follow Tarka's journey. You get the sense whilst reading the book that this is a true story, and that's not far off the mark.

After the First World War, Williamson was a lost soul. He left London behind him and rented a cottage in Devon, living there alone, except for the wildlife surrounding him. A stranger knocked at his door asking for help digging out some otter cubs from a hole after a farmer had killed their mother. He only found one cub alive and took it back to his cottage where he introduced it to a cat who was still nursing a kitten. After some intervention, the cat accepted the otter cub and nursed it until the cub was old enough to eat solid food. He followed Williamson everywhere, but on one walk he got caught in a rabbit trap. Writhing in fear and pain, Williamson was able to free the cub, however that was the end of their relationship. The otter fled, never to be seen again. This was where the story of Tarka began. Williamson was already at one with nature, preferring it to human contact, but in order to understand the otters life he would have to enter into the world of the huntsman. So Williamson entered the otters world, seeing it both as a carefree animal playing in the river, and that of the fearful persecuted animal, desperately fighting for his life.

A Streetcar Named Desire (Tennessee Williams)

I am a bit of a fan of Tennessee Williams. I love the way he writes about real people. He wasn't afraid to shy away from domestic issues or bring mental illness out of the shadows; he showed people what is was, an illness and one that affected real people. I watched Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Glass Menagerie in February, so when I saw that another of Tennessee Williams’ classics was being produced near me, I thought I should make the effort to see it; especially as it was starring Maxine Peake who I had not seen on stage before.

Maxine Peake is a familiar name to the Manchester Royal Exchange, yet whilst I’ve watched her on TV I’ve never seen her on stage, so for me it was interesting how well she would translate from screen to stage. 

Williams’ plays work because he writes from the heart. His family life was dogged by mental illness, and so he was in a position to bring these issues into the public arena, not overly sentimentalising things, but showing the world that people should be treated carefully, and respectfully. He was close to his family and carried a lifetime of guilt about how his sister Rose was treated. She was given a lobotomy in 1943 which he said left her permanently institutionalised.  His feelings towards his sister and how she was dealt with are most prominently seen in The Glass Menagerie.

Here, in Streetcar, he deals with the nostalgia of his mother and sister and their love for the Deep South. This is endorsed in many of the female characters he has so carefully crafted. In this production, Peake has manged to take the soul of Blanche DuBois and make her this delicate individual, you sympathise with her plight, yet you don’t feel sorry for her. She has this harshness in her turn of phrase that stops you feeling too sentimental for her.

I'm almost sat on the stage!

The staging of the play helps to add closeness to the characters. As Blanche arrives at her sister’s flat, you arrive with her, right into the centre of things. You are practically sat in Stanley and Stella’s home. It is almost like a fly on the wall documentary. You feel a bit like an voyeur, spying on the truth that goes on behind closed doors. 

As Blanche sweeps in, in her glamourous clothes and dark shades, to this darker side of tenement life, you see a snob, someone who looks down her nose. Stanley is beneath her. How could her sister marry such a common person? Blanche is disgusted that her sister lives like this, a one room flat with a bathroom. She has to share the same room as her sister and husband, mattresses lying on the floor to sleep on, but from the start you can see this is all a façade. Blanche is pretending her life is perfect, but is she pretending so she doesn’t lose face with her sister, or is it because she cannot bear to face the

reality of her situation?

It is the element of uncertainty about Blanche which draws you into this play. Peake’s performance is exceptional. She has a real connection with the audience, even at the height of her most awful comments. She can’t stop calling Stanley a “Polack” even when he tells her he is as American as she is. She is living in a world of make believe; as she states she doesn’t really drink, you see her sneaking a quick tipple from the hidden bottle of Southern Comfort! This fragility is exquisitely realised, especially when Stanley delivers the cold hard facts to Blanche as he finds out about her non too perfect past!

Ben Batt is a credible Stanley. Having watched Marlon Brando in the film version, Ben had a lot to live up to.  He watches, listens, and then delivers the truth with an unassuming brutality, both physically and mentally. As Blanche slowly disintegrates before our eyes. It is hard to watch Stanley and Stella’s treatment of her. You can understand why they are frustrated by Blanche’s lies, but they never try to understand why she feels the need to live in world of make believe, they never really talk to her. Blanche is secretly crying out for help, but no-one sees this.

At times it is an uncomfortable play to watch, but this is because of the themes, not the performances. Watching someone descend into madness in front of your eyes is both fascinating and painful. As Williams himself said “to desire a thing…is to place yourself in a vulnerable position. And as Blanche delivers her final lines directly into the eyes of the audience, you feel most intimately that vulnerability.

Goodnight Mr Tom... Burke (part 2) A Madhatters Tea Party, & The Deep Blue Sea @ The National

A couple of non-eventful weeks passed, which gave me time to finish The Cheshire Cat and my “M’lady de Winter vs The Queen of Hearts” costume for the Operation Smile/Burketeers “Mad Hatter” tea party. I do like to set myself a challenge, and this was going to be a huge challenge! I am positive the man in the local hardware store thinks I have a glue addiction! 7 litres of PVA glue later (yes 7!) and “Chesh” was ready for his paint job. Now I’m not a huge fan of Disney, I don’t like sugary sweet films, so my Cheshire Cat was not going to be the fluffy pink cat people were expecting. The fact that a cat can disappear leaving just a big grin in the air is a bit disturbing, and I think my cat had just the right element of being bright, but a little maniacal! (My favourite drawing of The Cheshire Cat has to be Arthur Rackham’s version - below).

My dress was also a great challenge. It’s the first costume I’ve made in a while and it’s the first time I have tried to make a corset. I’ve always fancied doing the course at RADA in corset making, but it’s very expensive and I didn’t know whether technically I’d be able to do something so fiddly. I really loved M’lady de Winter’s red cape dress from the first series of The Musketeers. I thought I could do a mash up of her dress, and the Queen of Hearts, as I was going to a Mad Hatters Tea Party. I must say, by the time I had finished I was actually rather proud of my handy work. I think I’d done rather well, especially with my tea cup fascinator!!!

Friday the 16^th September, and back down to London. Fortunately I arrived at Chester station 45 mins early for my train. Good job I did because there had been problems with the weather in London and my train had been cancelled! Horrified I ran to the ticket office. Before I could say two words the lady at the counter said “SHUSH” “Platform 1 to Crewe leaves in 3 mins. Go to Crewe and get on any train to London…now run.” So I did…whilst shouting “oh my god I love you!” I squeezed onto the train which was packed, and managed to get on the first train to London, nabbing myself a table seat with plug socket so I could read my Cormoran Strike book. Yes you read that right. I thought the books would be that terrible I downloaded them to my Kindle app rather than buying paperbacks. By the time I’d got to Waterloo I’d popped into the bookshop, bought the paperbacks and decided I’d get Tom to sign them all; seeing it was his fault I’d deigned to read them in the first place! (Tom of course will be playing Cormoran Strike in the TV dramatization of the books if you haven’t guessed!)

In the evening I headed off to watch The Deep Blue Sea (is there anything else on at the theatre?!) As I sat down, I thought I recognised the lady about to sit down in front of me. HELENA BONHAM CARTER!!! Arghhhh. HBC is sat in front of me, hang on a minute, she played the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland…and I’m dressing up as her tomorrow at the tea party. Well that’s kind of freaky!

We saw Tom after the show for a hug and a quick chat, I managed to confess to him to that after telling him previously that I would never (ever) read the Cormoran Strike books but would be happy to watch him on the telly…I’d gone and read the books and they were ok. I even managed to bore him rigid with an in-depth analysis of the books! Once he had regained consciousness he signed book number one for me. I had to laugh when I read it, we were no longer on formal terms, and after his message he signed it “Tom.” Apparently we don’t need surnames now! Tom still had things to do, places to go, and couldn’t stay too long, so he went back into the theatre and brought Peter Sullivan down for us to talk to instead! What a lovely man he is, collectively we discussed the changes he had made to his character which we’d witnessed throughout the run. When we each told him how many times we had seen the production he said “WHAAATTT?” It was a brilliant moment! His poor bewildered face!

Saturday was the day of the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. My friend Fiona had done a fantastic job of organising the whole event. It was held in The Duchy Arms, Kennington and the staff couldn’t have been more obliging. Fiona had paid so much attention to detail; we even had flamingo croquet outside! There was a hat competition, and everyone had put a considerable amount of effort into designing and making their hats. I arrived in my jeans and got my friend Cheryl to help corset me up. I tell you what, I could do with wearing a corset every day; it must be the first time I’ve stood up straight in the whole of my life! Sadly it meant not too much eating, but there was plenty of room for a cheeky glass of prosecco or two. As the afternoon of revelry drew to a close, I asked Cheryl to help me out of my costume. I was not going to The National dressed as M’lady de Winter!  Cheryl said she would join me, 10 mins later there was no sign. Thank God Angie was in the toilets to help me out of my bindings! By the time I had got dressed and sorted myself out, I went back into the main room. Cheryl was still merrily chatting and had obviously forgotten all about me!



We left the pub and headed off to watch The Deep Blue Sea – surprise surprise! Well, there was a surprise waiting for us, Minister Treville from The Musketeers was there! We saw Hugo Speer just before we were going to head into the theatre; we introduced ourselves and asked him if we could buy him and his wife a drink in the interval as a thank you for such a special show. He said that was kind, and he held the door open for us allowing us to take our seats. Well blow me, he was sat in the row in front of us. At the interval he came out, and whilst Cheryl headed to the bar to buy him a drink, I asked him what he was up to now. He talked about his work on a new 10-part drama called Britannia. He said it was set in 43AD and filming was taking place in Prague! So no sooner had he left Prague when he finished The Musketeers, he was back again for this!

After the show we sat outside having a drink, wearing our tea party hats! No-one gave us a second glance! Eventually Tom came out and grinned as he saw how ridiculous we looked and he came and signed my third CS book. I don’t know why I told him I’d finished reading it at 6am, but the message he wrote was brilliant…as he handed my book back he said “hmm that could be taken the wrong way!” He stayed for as long as he could, he was heading out with Hugo and his wife, so I think we all managed to get the photo’s and signatures we wanted before waving him off and shouting  we’d see him on the final night. We then decided we really needed to find a chippy, and as luck would have it, one not far from our hotel was still open. Those chips were like the food of the Gods!

I went home for a couple of nights, and then headed back to London for the final night of The Deep Blue Sea. (Really, you’d think Virgin would have given me my own personal seat by now!)

The last night of the show was exceptional. I think every actor threw their all into it; the play was on an entirely different level. Tonight Tom was shouting at Helen, Peter started out speaking quietly to Helen then raising his voice by the end. She was sobbing her heart out. Oh they all really went for it leaving the audience in no doubt that it was worthy of a standing ovation!

It has been an amazing time coming to see this play. I’ve seen how the play has metamorphosed, and discussed with actors why they have made the changes they have, what’s worked, what hasn’t. Obviously it was a thrill to be able to speak to Tom so many times, not many people are blessed to see their hero, let alone engage in conversation with them. But I was a little bit sad that in all the times I’d been down, I hadn’t got Nick Fletcher’s autograph, or met Helen McCrory.

This was my last chance. As I hustled my friend over to say hi to Peter Sullivan, I suddenly realised the lady hidden by a huge bouquet of flowers was Helen. “Please will you sign my book?” I asked. “Yes” she said looking for it. I said “hang on a mo, I left it on the table.” NEVER have I run so fast in all my life. It was worth it though.  Helen’s signature was on my book and I had a quick chat (very quick, I couldn’t breathe let alone speak!) Do you know this must have been about 11pm and she was going to be off filming at 4am the next day!

So there was only Nick to go. I did the unthinkable. I saw him head to the bar with his friends, so I went up to him, apologising profusely, and explained that I kept missing him and I would love his autograph as I thought Miller and Mrs Elton were the best two characters in the play. He was brilliant. He didn’t seem to mind me interrupting him, and he seemed surprised to see all those National Theatre tickets glued to the front of my play book. I got the chance of a quick chat, and left happy in the knowledge I had all the autographs I really wanted…I think by the end I was only missing two signatures!

And so that was that. I’d given Tom a goodbye hug and told him he’d be great as Cormoran and now it was all over.  Time to say goodbye to watching the same play over and over again, and goodbye to the mass of Burketeers’ crowding round the stage door! Well…that is until the next time Mr B takes to the stage.  [You know you can’t escape from me that easily Mr B!!! ;-)]

7 plays in 7 days!

Well that was the week that was! Monday was a trip to Theatre Clwyd to see Kreutzer vs Kreutzer based on Leo Tolstoy’s novella.  I’ve already written a review for that one, but must say once again what a joy it was to see Sam West in the flesh! He’s an incredible actor.

A couple of days in work and then it was time to head off to Manchester to watch Maxine Peake in Tennessee Williams’ classic A Streetcar Named Desire. I can’t remember if I’ve ever been to Manchester’s Royal Exchange theatre before…I’m sure I must have been when I was younger, but I really didn’t recognise the place. From the outside it is a beautiful grade II listed building, inside the building’s Great Hall sits the theatre, a circular steel and glass construction. The unique design means that plays are shown in the round, seating surrounds all sides of the stage, and this brings an immediate relationship between the actor and the audience. I can't believe just how close to the action the audience are. No barriers, the audience are practically part of the stage!

Friday. After spending the night at my friend’s parents’ house, I was kindly dropped off at Stockport railway station for my trip to London. What an amazing journey! I normally end up reading and talking to no-one when I travel from Chester, however, this trip was filled with fun and laughter. The couple who were sharing the table seat with me seemed nice; we exchanged a few words and then did our own thing for a bit. There was a man sitting on the table next to me who somehow looked familiar but I didn’t know why. After an hour the lady opposite me said to the group in general, “so I’m really nosey and you all seem interesting people, why are you going to London? Work or pleasure?”  The chap near me said, “well I’m off for an audition for a new programme on the I-player that Simon Amstell has written.” “Really?” Well this was going to be an interesting conversation, and so it was! We had a nice chat with him, and then the lady and I had a good ole gossip. The time flew by in a carriage filled with chatting and laughter. I must remember in future to travel to London from Stockport and not Chester!!!!

I met up with my friends at St Pancras for lunch and Prosecco! We then meandered to our hotel and got ready for our first show of the weekend, The Entertainer at the Garrick Theatre starring Sir Kenneth Branagh. It wasn’t a play I was familiar with, but I thought it would be rather light hearted with a title like that…how wrong I was. It was a play filled with jokes but with some very poignant moments too. Sir Ken put on a fabulous show, but I left the theatre feeling like someone had ripped my insides out. I was almost void of emotion, a hollow feeling that I couldn’t explain…perhaps a sense of loss over the old music hall days when entertainers were funny because they were clever rather than puerile and smutty! It took a couple of days to come to terms with the play, and to realise why I had felt like that.

Saturday was Chekhov day, the day I had been looking forward to. Three plays one after the other, Platonov, Ivanov and The Seagull. I really didn’t know what to expect. When I read the plays they were rather heavy and full of angst; watching three in a row might be a bit too much. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of comedy in the productions, David Hare had created three fantastic versions of these classic plays.

When I arrived in the theatre, I was entranced by the stage which was like a woodland clearing, silver birch trees loomed in the darkness. As I went to take my seat, I politely said excuse me to this couple, I then looked into the eyes of the lady and thought “Oh my God that’s Celia Imrie.” I smiled and said thank you. OMG…Celia Imrie is a couple of seats from me watching the same play!!!! 

After the plays had finished, it seemed hard not to stick to The National tradition of running round to The Burketeer Table to have a drink. It seemed rather strange sitting there knowing that there was no Tom to walk out for a chat; however, we had our script book to hand and were ready to converse with the Chekhov actors if they were willing. Fortunately the actors we collared were up for a chat and happy to hand out autographs. They thought we were mad to watch all three plays in one day, and then when they realised we’d read the scripts too, I’m sure they thought we should be committed. A big thank you has to go to James McArdle who kindly chatted to us even though he had friends waiting for him (we did tell him to go and join them but he stayed to talk about Chekhov) and Geoffrey Streatfield who had just been announced as part of the cast for Wild Honey which we will be watching in January! It was such a fabulous day, and one that I was sad to see finish.

Sunday. Time to head home. It was a gorgeous sunny day, so I said goodbye to my friends who were heading to the airport and I wandered down to The National for a walk along the river. Cheryl had bought me a book about pretentiousness (that’s another story) and so I sat in the sun reading it, chuckling to myself upon reading the opening chapter. It seems that her comment to Tom was not as much of an insult as I had thought! Soon it was time was time to walk to Waterloo and back to Chester. And yes, the train journey home was quiet and uneventful, that Stockport train really was a winner!

Back home, and one last play to make it 7 plays in 7 days…and of course you already know, we can’t have a week of theatricals without our Tom! The BBC Radio 3 play that night was The Visa Affair by Jake Arnott, all about the life of Joe Orton. It’s a sorrowful and surreal tale, one I had forgotten about, but upon listening to Russell Tovey and Tom Burke, I started to remember elements about the story of the two pranksters defacing library books and the tragic events that unfolded due to the repercussions of their unruly behaviour.

I will eventually write a separate piece about the plays I saw and I know I still have Goodnight Mr Tom part 2 to finish, but I seem to be lacking time at the moment…I can’t think why!!!

So there we are; seven plays, seven days, and now the hit of reality! I don’t head back to theatreland for a whole two weeks, so I guess I should get a bit of writing done while I have the chance!