My Mummy Says...
It's Mothering Sunday and I've steeled myself away from Leicester for the first time in five weeks to spend it with my gorgeous mum, Karen. We're both flat-out on the sofa both having worked quite ridiculous schedules in different parts of the country, but ultimately very content.
We are now underway with previews at Curve, completing a relentless four-week tech period and rehearsals have stepped to another gear I didn't even know we had, as the children's cast continue to be refined, understudies are hastily dealt with, fixes are put in place and my own music department is readied for covering arrangements.
The show looks sumptuous, and I am assured that it achieves similar levels in sound quality. The cast have worked ridiculously hard and all are performing their socks off; the technical team have pulled the rabbit out of the proverbial hat and producing magical transformations every night; and the musicians are simply divine, playing Chris Nightingale's stunning orchestrations with aplomb at every performance.
We reach Press Night on Thursday. There's a slightly odd feeling amongst those of us working full-time on this production as we ready ourselves for the very long 18-month road ahead. It's quite difficult to see past these first two months as the first aim is, as previously mentioned, to get children and understudies ship-shape, but already auditions are taking place for our next cast of children who begin rehearsals in July, and soon I have heard we will be formally announcing our 2019 venues.
Annalise, Lara, Nicola and Poppy - our four Matildas - are reminding us every day how special this show is to be a part of. All four are working so hard and the results are outstanding. The mechanics of this show are complex, and from the conducting podium I really feel like I'm squeezed in amongst the cogs, wheels & bolts that hold this show in place. But the ultimate aim is for this show to be a real experience for everyone sat behind me, and it looks like we're achieving that.
I can't wait for you to all come and see it at some point. We're really proud of this production. Here's to our official opening and to a successful run of #MatildaOnTour!