The final curtain. It has come and gone. The last two days went by in a blur. Out with Mother and Dad for lunch on Friday. Evening show. Curry. Coffee with them here on Saturday morning. Frantic rush around. Saturday matinee. Frantic rush between shows. Saturday night show. Party. Set Break. Post set break lunch. Sleep. All quite straightforward...
Well of course it's not straightforward otherwise I would have stopped there. It misses out the fact that secretary and I took Mother and Dad to the pub where acolyte has just started working for their lunch. Well to the Italian Restaurant section around the back. Very nice too. It misses out my long conversation about money and presents with director her outside the pub. It ignores the fact that once we had dropped them off at their hotel we raced into Slough for me to pick up a cake and present(s) for high priest's birthday. It doesn't mention that after that secretary and I then sped over to Taplow for her to buy a variety of things at a couple of shops.. while I was told to wait in the car. And it doesn't explain why we need to hold production meetings to discuss the set up for my special performance with my toes and bottom. Sorry, you had to be there. Well rather, you had to be part of the text communication. Only set man, box office, previous producer and secretary will have the faintest idea what that's all about. Hey-ho.
Friday's show was great fun. Maybe the thought of a curry afterwards stirred everyone into action. Maybe I was concious of Mother & Dad being in the audience. Maybe it was the fact that we had to squeeze in some tables at the back to accommodate the extra sales. But the finest performance of the night came from producer and Cutwell in the male dressing room as they were getting changed after the show, with a stream of witty conversation masking the full blown lovers' tiff that was raging behind them. Introduced set man to Dad. They discussed the relative merits of civil and mechanical engineering.
Secretary and I shared a table with the ginger one and the animal lover (they are married), box office and maid (they are not - thank the gods!). Good food. Didn't eat too much - I ordered two vegetable side dishes which I could share with the animal lover, who is a vegetarian plus. Normally I end up with way too much. Well that's what curries always end up like if you're not careful. And I'm not normally careful. Box office stayed overnight at ours. Goodie-goodie yum-yum was supposed to go to the curry and also stay at ours but didn't.
Saturday was a rush job with M&D round for coffee. I just about had time to shower before they appeared and ate breakfast once they had arrived. Dad was most impressed with the technical skills used to put the production together. Surprise, surprise! Secretary then spent ages trying to print out photographs from her laptop but wouldn't let me help.
The afternoon show wasn't packed, but there were plenty of people there who wouldn't have been able to make any other show. Previous producer and producer put in a great scene together at the job centre. The fight went well. And there were ploughman's lunches nleft over to have for supper between the shows. Secretary and I went to Budgens and Threshers in Langley to buy some stuff. She dropped me back at the hall to have my make-up retouched while she went home to pick up a red bow-tie and dress shirt for producer geezer to wear on front of house. And to have another go at the pictures.
Saturday night. I step out onto the stage. And there they are. In the front. At the middle table. Scud and previous chairperson. And they laughed all the way through. It was great. And I suddenly realised just how much I have enjoyed performing opposite the ginger one. Lots of laughs all round in fact. Right from the first scene. In the job centre (although my hood had dropped way too far down at that point). Even the Rite of Ashkente. That scene got better show by show. Another great fight. Both shows I gave the table a massive whack to knock the Duke's hourglass off. And at the end the ginger one and I hugged instead of just shaking hands.
Having been told by others (including Albert, doorknocker and director him) to pull my mask up for the walkdown I was instructed by director her to do so for the afternoon show. Albert said you take the bow as yourself not as your character. When I walked down for the final time I was apparently bright pink underneath the mask. It had been phenominally hot inside the mask every show. That one was just insane though. I came off after scenes one to six and was sweating then. After the fight and the final scene I could barely breathe. But the applause was wonderful. I think people applauded more when they saw who the man behind the mask was. We stepped forward together and bowed. Then we stepped back and bowed again. The curtains closed. They opened once more. We bowed. And then they closed for the final time. Hello Spider. What came after comes later.
Thought for the day:
'Now with the help of your good hands.
Gentle breath of yours my sails
Must fill, or else my project fails,
Which was to please.
....
Let your indulgence set me free.'
Epilogue spoken by Prospero. The Tempest. Shakespeare.
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