Over the water to the Emerald Isle

Week 4

The Gaiety Theatre, Dublin

(This is Siobhan, she is in Ireland, her country at The Gaiety and delighted!)

ALL EYES ON TOUR

Our time at The Yvonne Arnaud seemed to end before it had even begun. Two weeks melted away like the fading summer sun that warmed us all as we performed our first 8 show week which included a Friday night press performance in front of all the national critics.

We bade this lovely welcoming theatre adieu on the Monday and departed to our various homes with the plan to assemble en masse at various intervals at Ireland's most beautiful theatre- The Gaiety

(Esther, Steven and Siobhan arriving at Dublin airport)

The first move is always the most difficult. From having a team of 20 people to get everything ready for the first performance- when you arrive at the theatre, as Zac did, at 9am on a Monday morning you find that you are in fact all on your own! In fact Zac had left home at 4am to arrive bright eyed and bushy tailed at 7:30am at Dublin airport. Zac was in fact the forward party to be joined later in the day by CSM Mike and the tech team at the theatre- but nevertheless it is always a bit of shock to the system. A new country, new theatre with a set and group of actors who have all got very used to a theatre in Surrey.

The Get-In as it is called is very aptly named, does in fact what it says in the tin. You get the set in, some big shows can have up to 2 weeks to get everything ready, shows like ours have somewhere between one and two days. We had allowed a day and half with the actors and remaining stage management arriving later on that Monday evening.

Zac and Mike manfully got the set down the rather long and scary back alley to the theatre's dock doors as the rest of us met at the departures desk at Gatwick. You can see from the picture above, that although we all knew that we were off to work, there was a slight sense of giddiness- a feeling that maybe we might be off on a little adventure. Even seasoned travellers and touring dab hands can admit to feeling a tinge of excitment at jetting off (on a snazzy Aer Lingus plane) to foreign climbs. As the rest of the country awoke to grey skies and a distinct feeling of back to school blues- here we were off to  entertain our way around Dublin.

The office had sorted some lovely apartments about a mile out from the city centre, as Charlie will no doubt tell you on subsequent blogs- having a nice play to stay can make all the difference when you are away from home. Particularly if you are out of the country- so thank you Willa for making us all comfortable at the South Dock apartments. The first thing however on our collective minds on arriving was not to sleep, it was rather to get out and sample a bit of Dublin's legendary night life. We found ourselves a short walk from the newly opened Bord Gais Theatre, which is the polar opposite of our Frank Matcham designed theatre up the road. The Bord Gais stands on a newly renovated part of the town off one of the canal walks- and we found a little restaurant and settled down to enjoy the experience of once again being away from home and living out of a small suitcase.

Of course this week was very much Siobhan's home coming- and we were reliant on her inner GPS and local knowledge to steer us in the right direction. As she assured us that Lanigans public house was surely the next on the right (for the third time) maybe some may have questioned her, but not us, and fortunately just moments later we were tucked up in Dublin's oldest pub just in time for last orders sampling a pint of Guinness.

As Tuesday dawned we were faced with the serious task of fitting a performance that had worked for a 550 seat venue into a venue twice that size. With three levels and conversely a stage that was far more narrow- the actors had lost about 3 metres of width which meant all their moves would be seriously affected.

(The Auditorium of the Gaiety, this time minus a Siobhan)

Zac, Mike, Lauren and Esther were in early doors and had quite the task of getting everything ready. The actors arrived in at 4pm and had themselves only an hour to acquaint themselves with the new space

(The set, or part of it taking shape on the Gaiety stage)

As the director, the task at this stage is simply to try and ensure a consistency in the staging in spite of the various factors that are changing around you- ranging from the aforementioned size of the stage, auditorium, acoustic, changes in lighting, sound- backstage space etc etc. This can be a vey trying process, but in this case we have a hardened group of old pros. Zac did a sterling job replicating Tony's lighting, Lauren sorting out Dom's sound design, Esther doing a thousand jobs backstage and Mike overseeing everything. The actors to their credit did a rather sterling job without complaint at adapting their performances- once again it struck me as a great privilege to be working with this merry band.

(Here is the merry band at work reworking the play)

With all the buzz of activity it was easy to forget that we had a pretty much full house watching what we think was to be the Irish premiere of these plays. Never before seen, to our knowledge, in Ireland. There are many references to 60's London in both plays, phrases like, 'you mean like Andrews Liver Salts', 'Gin and French' and mentions of Soho nightlife, 'Norwood', 'Isleworth' and 'Putney' all drew peals of recognition, nostalgia and laughter amidst audiences in Guildford. In Ireland there were big questions as to how such references would play- and further more of course how the plays themselves would work.

First nights at The Gaiety are always special affairs, ushers stood on the street outside the front of the theatre selling programmes, red carpets, VIP's, Alan the long serving theatre manager charming the crowds in his dapper shirt- and lots of people of all walks of life of all generations flooding into the three levels of this old queen of a theatre. Tonight was no exception and there was a palpable sense of  these audience members having absolutely no idea what to expect as Rupert appeared mid dance to the 'Hippy Hippy Shake'. Watching at the back it was very hard to tell how it was being recieved, the audience were laughing, Rupert and Steve were playing it well- but clearly it was a big adjustment and maybe some of the control was lost to the exuberance of the occasion.

Yet of course the director is always too critical, and a director who is on stage can hardly comment properly. And yes, that was another change, as Mike is a man of many jobs and responsibilities- the director had offered to stand in for Charlie until his return. Charlie although only seen briefly on stage during the transition (now called a 'coup de theatre' by Charlie Spencer in the Telegraph...well done Chrissie and Hayley!) plays a crucial role backstage- so the stage managers are working doubly hard and I am doing my best not to bump into the furniture during this complex 3 minutes of stage time. 5 entrances timed to music, dressing Steven, putting on a moustache and rolling out a mat...trying not to be the one to bugger it all up. 

Fortunately except forgetting a chair...(sorry Mike), we pulled it off and the second half started with a bang...although for the first time not greeted with the applause we had got so accustomed to in Guildford. It was just a further sign of how much audiences and venues can shape and change a performance, the applause in itself created a beat- and as the actors on stage and off- you sort of begin to get accustomed to where these beats- laughs/silences/gasps/round of applause etc come and they get absorbed quietly into the rhythms of the night. We all learnt a lot from our first night- and celebrated by embracing the joys of the legendary back stage 'Green Room' which is essentially a little pub with green leather couches festooned with posters and faces of the amazing shows and people who have populated the stage here in the last 100 years.

(Jasper and Steve discoursing in the Green Room post show)

Naturally Siobhan had friends and family in, in fact Siobhan had people in all week- I think we worked out she single handedly brought in 30% of the entire audience on Saturday night! So we all sat back- for the first time as a whole company since our opening night and toasted the Irsh premiere.

We came in the next day did a few tweaks and played another large and appreciative house- this time both plays were played by the cast with renewed vigour, control and dexterity. I listened from the wings with a big smile on my face as the laughter pealed and the team operated on stage and off with oily efficiency.

Thursday saw the first understudy rehearsal, this meant that Zac, myself and Esther under the auspices of Lauren and Mike spent a complicated three hours working our way through The Public Eye. It is a tough job being an understudy. As Charlie has ably explained, the job requires you to learn up pages and pages of text, then put those words to moves you have no time to rehearse on stage and face the prospect of always being needed to stand in- sometimes with only a moments notice. It is a nearly impossible job. Esther and Zac are doing a sterling job- but it is hard not to get daunted by the job sometimes. As I stood trying my best to ape Steven's performance, the pressures of the role of understudy hit home- so next time when you head to the theatre- don't forget to spare some applause for this indomitable, crucial and massively undervalued role.

Friday could well be made memorable by a cracking performance from the company to a delighted (and delightful) audience, alas for me it was made unforgettable by a visit to Dublin's '40 FOOT' sea swimming pool.

To reach it you had to board the DART train from the centre for about 20 minutes following the coastline past Sandymount and beyond, a short work from the station and you start seeing red faced, smiling, wet haired folk walking in your general direction. Accompanied by a slightly mad girl from the west coast of Ireland (you know who you are Siobhan O'Kelly) we were assured that the water was 'lovely' and 'not cold at all'. Naturally there are no changing rooms, so whilst the small number of hardy Dublin folk change quickly and without embarrassment, the more naturally retiring West Britton (Englishman) played a delicate game of hopping in and out of his swimming shorts trying to shield his modesty.

 (Siobhan looking demure, the director looking and behaving less so)

Eventually with Siobhan already in and swimming like a little frog, I traced my way down the stone steps into the icy water. It was truly freezing and it was only due to the peer pressure from an Irish gentlemen shouting repeatedly, 'GO ON!' that I plucked up the requisite courage to fling myself into the Irish sea. It was er....refreshing, and as I said unforgettable...

(I have no memory of this moment)

Hyperthermia was fortunately avoided by a a hastily consumed bowl of soup before travelling back into the theatre for the aforementioned evening show followed by the requisite pint of Guinness surrounded by yet more of Siobhan's friends.

In fact by this point in the week the rest of the cast and company could only sit back in sheer bewilderment at the number of family and friends of our leading lady who attended from all corners of Ireland. The audience for matinee and evening shows were quieter in numbers but as we stood out to take our bow in the evening the sheer volume of cheers and applause made it feel to those of us on stage that we were at a concert of One Direction. We took the cheers (meant for Siobhan!) and headed off for a quick half pint in the theatre's pub- as Jasper, Rupert, Steven myself nursed our pints in quiet reflection of another week completed suddenly the doors of the green room flung open and within moments the place was full of what have been about half the audience- with early flights in the morning- there was an intention to get an early night, but such was the effusive atmosphere and good will from what must have been Siobhan's whole family that we stayed on chatting until well after one, by which point the technical team had finished their GET OUT (the opposite unsurprisingly of the GET IN) and we shared a final pint in very fine company at a very fine theatre.

(The Green Room at 10:06pm on Saturday Night)

(The Green Room at 10:10pm on Saturday Night)

(This is what happened to the English)

The theatre might not always have been as busy as we would have liked, but our Irish audiences made us feel welcome and appreciated, it is always an honour to be at the historic Gaiety theatre and my thanks as ever extend to all it's staff and crew who made our week so very memorable (and to Siobhan who single handedly provided us with an audience)

(Here i am posing on the now empty Gaiety stage at the completion of the get out, luckily it's very dark so you can't quite make me out)