Day 18: Into The Cockpit

Well, if you expect this to be a long blog entry, think again. I've just gotten into bed after a long day which began with a line-run out at East 15 before we all decamped to Marylebone and got our first look at the theatre. It's a lovely space which has been transformed by the brilliant tech team into a playground fit for us lunatics. There was much ooh-ing and aah-ing at the set, the lights, the costumes, the make-up and each other just for fun. We teched our way through Act 1, getting as far as Jacques Roux's madcap adventures before Mike called it a day. I have to say that I got tingles every time we broke the action and I got to relax, turn around and see the wonderful sight of my fellow cast-members piled up on the back wall of our bath-house, grubby, scarred, bedraggled and brilliant. I whispered to Helen (the ever-faithful Simonne) "Doesn't that just look wicked?" She agreed. We all do. It's just wicked.

Tomorrow: Finish tech, dress rehearsal, opening night. Easy.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Great syrup-acting, Robbie". Dunno what it meant but it was just after Robbie had been fondling his codpiece and his extravagant toupée fell off. So it was funny.

Days 16 and 17: Fun Run And Sun

Ahhhh. Saturday. A day of rest. Oh no, wait...

Saturday was a day of fun for the cast of "Marat/Sade", as Mike felt a fun-run of the show would help keep it fresh and loose - two adjectives we like in this profession. It was nice to speed through the play, enjoying the characters, making fun of ourselves and each other, occasionally even finding new things we hadn't discovered already. At one point, Nico and I engaged in an "Alec Guinness-off" as we battled to see who could deliver our lines in the best Obi Wan Kenobi voice. Amazingly, a lot of the lines worked almost as well with Star Wars references as they did when referring to the French Revolution. We have decided that "Vader/Kenobi" would be a worthwhile sequel and shall be approaching George Lucas about it. To be honest, he should be approaching us - I don't know why no one has ever thought of this before. "After each pamphlet was published I had to go into hiding - on Tatooine. They came with lasers. A thousand men of the Imperial guard surrounded my house". Seamless.

Sunday was a real day of rest, and it turned out to be the hottest day of the year, closely followed by Monday when we gathered for rehearsal, men in shorts, ladies in dresses, everyone in a shiny gleam. Nico had come in an hour early to work on some things with Mike before the rest of the Merry Men arrived and it was a very steamy day all round, both weather-wise and acting-wise. There were some quick-fixes to be done on act one, keeping everything on track, while the singers tightened up songs and revised things which had become sloppy. We all reconvened shortly after midday and Mike took us through a visualisation exercise in which we imagined ourselves as the characters and plotted our mental states throughout the play. It really helped to reinforce this, like double-checking directions even though you're sure you're on the right track.

Lunch saw several of the cast indulge in ice-cream in an effort to replenish sugar supplies and keep cool, but it was still a glistening group who assembled to run the play with no set, costumes, props or air-conditioning. It was never going to be the best run ever under these circumstances - even lucky old me, topless though I was, ended up perspiring heavily, and there were dropped lines and a few bum notes. Nevertheless, it wasn't a disaster and didn't destroy confidence. We all know the show is in good shape and hopefully nothing will occur during the tech or dress to disillusion us! We go into the theatre for the first time tomorrow night which is very exciting - I keep having moments where I think "Wow - we're doing a play! HURRAH!" It's what all the training was for and now here comes the payoff.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: In a Scouse accent, "Calm down! Calm down!" The puppets in the National Assembly give Liverpulian Coulmier (played by the even more Liverpudlian Ryan) some cheeky backchat.

Day 15: Up And Running

Today, hallelujah, oh happy day, mirabile dictu, we did our first full run of the show. The crew were in attendance to see just what the hell we've been doing with ourselves these last few weeks, as were Andrea Brooks (our acting tutor at East 15) and Colin Sell (musical supervisor for the show). It's always a formidable challenge, this type of run. The temptation is to suddenly try push too hard because suddenly there's an audience, or alternatively the nerves kick in and hamper the freedom which had previously existed. But never fear, Mike Bradwell was on hand to give us a wee pep talk before we began and helping us take a couple of minutes to find the character. And before we had time to really think too hard, we were off and running.

There were, of course, a couple of hiccups - an odd dropped line, the occasional song in the wrong key - but we got from beginning to end fully intact and the general feedback was very positive from both audience and actors. It was nice to finally experience the whole thing, to discover the thread that runs through the piece both as a whole and individually. One notable comment came as Colin suggested that Andrea didn't actually need a guitar strap for her guitar. Now, as Mike says, "The ongoing saga of the guitar strap is by now running longer than the collected works of Ibsen" - it's been a topic of debate for sometime, and so it seems we will be getting a strap, testing it and then probably not using it!

We took an early lunch and settled in for notes afterwards. Mike, in a red shirt to match the red socks poking out under his trousers, felt the show is where it needs to be right now and a lot of bits and pieces won't fully fall into place until we finally get to the Cockpit itself. The double-entendres were in full flow as he asked at one point "Ryan, what gets you off?"But that wasn't the only excitement, as Claire (Rossignol) had to leave us for an appointment with, would you believe it, an AGENT! No doubt they will sign her instantly and she'll be given her own dressing room and PA for the show next week. Fabulous. In her absence, we ran over the National Assembly scene, which is threatening to become a full-blown Spitting Image sketch, and good God it's getting harder and harder not to corpse as my colleagues become more and more adventurous and outrageous with their ad libs. Respond to what you're given, not what you expect, as we were advised. Be prepared. Dib Dib Dib!

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "You've got out of being in Oasis and you're now in The Beatles - but you're Paul McCartney and I want you to be John Lennon" - Mike Bradwell encourages Nico to push it as Sade, to which Nico responded "Yeah, and I'll leave the Ringo behind".

Day 14: Enter Jonty

Boys oh boys, I am not gonna lie: I am one tired little actor tonight. We didn't do anything especially strenuous or active today and I spent most of it sat in my bath, but this acting lark can certainly drain you. It's a good tired though. It's the tired of people who are deep into a rehearsal process, who are slowly but surely investing more and more in their characters, who are dying for the show to be good and putting every bead of sweat into making it so. That goes for the creative team as much as the cast, a fact emphasised by the arrival of a fantastic little finger puppet for Simonne a mere day after Mike had casually remarked that it would be great if she could have "something" during the National Assembly. What arrived was more than just something and was promptly christened Jonty. Maybe my favourite moment of the whole day was looking over to Helen after running the scene and seeing that, in Marat's absence, Simonne had bandaged up Jonty instead.

Aside from the tiredness, the other thing about being so deep into rehearsals is how they all begin to blend into one another. There are things that have happened that could have been this morning or last week for all my memory seems to be able to deduce. I know the bath reappeared today, pared down and painted, and placards with revolutionary slogans were painted during the afternoon. We managed to tighten up act two, putting the finale song on its feet and then returning to act one to revisit old ground. The extra lunatics and Madame and Mademoiselle Coulmier joined us for a stagger through this evening, with the ladies discovering some nasty surprises lie in store for them during the show.

In the midst of it all, a copy of The Sun newspaper had found its way into the rehearsal room, a fact which most of us were less than thrilled about. However, it gave us all a good laugh when we saw that the page 3 girl had apparently, according to the caption, been fretting about Non-EU immigration and she even used the phrase "as my favourite poet, TS Eliot, opined...". She certainly looked very fretful, with her hand in her hair and no clothes on - she'd clearly been so worried that she forgot to dress for the photo-shoot to accompany her little opinion piece. Maybe I've misjudged The Sun and it is in fact a fine bastion of journalistic integrity which gives a voice to the silent and naked minority who express their clearly refined and researched views in a succinct manner. That, or some sub-editor was really taking the piss with that TS Eliot line.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "That doesn't look like a cock - not to be vulgar" AND "Are we going at it semi?" - Stuart remarking on what is in fact Duperret's codpiece and then asking a perfectly innocent question about how full-on we should act but in the sort of language which set everyone else's lavatorial minds racing.

Day 13: No More Double-En-What Now?

It was the best of days, it was the worst of days. More rain made it worst, great fun in the rehearsal room made it best. So many apparently mature people, yet so many innuendos and double-entendres that we all needed a cup of tea, a dose of smelling salts and a lie down well before we actually stopped at midday. Tube delays had led to some people being late, not a great start, but the head of steam we had built up by day's end was pretty impressive. It was, by necessity, one of those days when we had to do lots of little things, with Mike taking principles aside to talk through the rather lengthy passages towards the end of the play and Andrea and crew disappearing off for half an hour at a time and returning with a full song learnt. Meanwhile Joe and Hayley, our new stagehand cum rubber-apron-wearing nurse, would occasionally present new props and costume pieces.

The highlight of the day was, without doubt, playing with the massive cartoon heads and puppets in the National Assembly scene. One of the actor's most basic pitfalls is corpsing - laughing onstage -, something which I've only rarely suffered in the past. However there is something irresistibly funny about a couple of benches heaving with rowdy puppets and papier-maché heads, all shouting out rude remarks, clapping their little hands or just generally making silly noises and, even with my back to them, I could not help but laugh at the slightest thing. God only knows how funny it will be to look at - hopefully very. Only the audience will be able to judge that. One of the sweeter moments of the day involved Helen (Simonne) making a little finger puppet of her own - bless her, the big puppets are too scary for Simonne but she wanted to join in!

The Copulation Round was beautifully choreographed by Mike, with input from some suddenly very enthusiastic actors - there was a certain disappointment when the scissoring position was dismissed as being "too difficult to sing through". We managed to reach out and touch the end of the play, a scene which involves Leonie "acting from her lady-garden", Stuart giving us the full Ardoyne Experience and the audience being kettled by the actors. All we need are a few burning cars, a defaced cenotaph and a fire extinguisher and we might actually cause some proper civil unrest. As it is, the ending will hopefully be exciting to watch - it's certainly exciting being in the midst of it. It's also exciting getting to the end of the play at last - there are plenty more places where it needs to go still but it's on the right track.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Robbie, poke her when it comes up". Another epic stage direction from Mike B.

Day 12: Layer Upon Layer

A far nicer day than yesterday weather-wise, as the sun made its long-awaited return, was marked by a nice day in the rehearsal room as well. Sade, Marat, Coulmier and the Herald worked solidly on the ground we had already covered, reassuring ourselves on where we were, what we were saying and how we felt at any one moment. It was nice to revisit material which we hadn't touched for a few days, refreshing our memories and polishing the scenes up. Then again, there were previously undiscovered moments - I'm sure I heard Nico, at a point when Sade was apparently offering whispered advice on the script, finish a sentence to Clare with the words "...shove it up her ass". He's really connecting with that character.

Then Leonie and Robbie subbed in and we disappeared for a cup of tea, a biccie and some work with Colin Sadler, voice-coach extraordinaire. He gave me an especially useful exercise, involving swinging my arms around me as I speak which helps to free the voice and to give variety to the pitch and rhythm of speech. He then set about making Nico's accent less American and more RP while I spent an enjoyable twenty minutes laughing at Duperret groping up poor Charlotte Corday. The desperate efforts of Leonie to slip from Robbie's clutches were sinister and hilarious, like a sleazy music-hall dance routine.

After lunch, the rest of the team joined us and, with Asa watching, we showed her some of the set-pieces which involve the duck-boards and masks. Then we divided again, with Andrea leading some singing and puppetry practice while Nico, Leonie, Robbie, Clare and I edged ever-closer to the end of Act 2, stopping just before a dagger was shoved into my ribs - which was a relief, of course. Joined by our extra lunatics for the evening, we ran the whole of Act 1. It's a constant delight to act in the midst of this brilliantly playful cast. It takes a whole lot of hard work from everyone to maintain the inner life of their characters and, at this stage, the characters are very much alive. It's getting slicker, it's getting more confident. When we finished, the feeling was one of satisfaction with where we are and optimism for what we are creating.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "The difference between directors and stage management is we make things look good, they just count them." Mike Bradwell, tongue firmly in cheek and never one to mince his words.

Day 11: Puppet Up!

We returned from the weekend, some people bearing battle-scars from a serious night of partying on Friday. Cleo, our resident Mad Animal, had been DJ-ing in the school and her disco music clearly had led the little ones astray. Never fear though, some games were on hand to lighten the mood and raise spirits. Cleo introduced us to Masters And Slaves (a game that is far less risqué than the name might suggest), I led the idiotic Penguin Song and Leonie taught us all the joys of Baby Shark. We'll have to include samples on the DVD extras. We then dived headfirst into the show, picking up from where we had left off in the wake of Sade being whipped by Corday. I spent a good deal of time being paranoid in my bath, as is my wont, having to deal with the Enfants Terribles (ie: our singers) barracking me with songs and mockery. Fiona and Claire were especially ruthless, with hair fondling and spidery fingernails across my back. Marat was definitely feeling very hemmed in by the interval, which we reached at lunchtime.

One of the best things about working on a production like this is finding the little things which make you laugh. Helen and Leonie certainly found one during Corday's Second Visit where, for no apparent reason, they both burst into fits of giggles. We ran the scene again, and the laughs came in exactly the same spot. They seemed to be infectious and by the time the cast trooped offstage, the song which was meant to cover the exit had collapsed into a muddy mess of snorts and titters. Mike took a few seconds before looking meaningfully at us and, completely deadpan, remarked "Yeah, very good". That just set us all off again. It wasn't. But I'm sure it will be.

After lunch we broke the back of the National Assembly scene, which involves me as Marat speaking a lot and the rest of the cast providing House Of Commons-esque interjections such as 'Hear Hear!', 'Mwah Mwah Mwah!' and 'Bravo!' To achieve the effect of a full parliament chamber, the brilliant design team had constructed some wonderful puppets based on a cartoon of French politicians of that era. Andrea gave her cast-mates a quick lesson in puppetry and slowly but surely they took on very lifelike qualities, shouting at Marat, clapping their hands and chattering away to each other. This scene is shaping up to be a really fun one, although sadly I spend pretty much all of it in front of the "parliamentarians" and have to carry on speaking, all the while hearing the audience laugh at the brilliant shenanigans being played out behind me.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Em...my character's supposed to be mute". Mike's request that Kim (aka Marianne) shout out "Hear Hear!" is met with a kindly reminder of her character's unfortunate situation.