On With The Show!

Back in a theatre! Well, I say “in”, when in fact we were very much “out”doors for this, my first show back since we were all locked down. Annie Get Your Gun took place on a farmers field on the county border of Cheshire & Staffordshire, with the aims being to bring top-class theatre to this area, utilise the regional talent and bring work and future prospects to those involved. This followed a small outdoor concert last year, which I wasn’t involved with, but the ambitious plans to expand this to a full week of musical performances with a full cast and 7-piece band were duly realised.

As you may expect, much of my July was spent rehearsing. We had two weeks in a rehearsal venue in Crewe before moving into our marquees on Betley Court Farm. We were very lucky with covid, with no positive tests recorded across the whole run, and even luckier you might say with the weather, with all 8 performances taking place and not a drop of rain to delay proceedings. The only problem was the heat, with my thermometer closing in on 36C at one point in the band tent as the sun bore down! But it was a nice problem to have rather than worrying about cancelled performances for other reasons.

On our opening day, I assured the company that we would work steadily, expecting “match fitness” to be an issue after such a long lay-off for everyone. In fact, although we ensured to keep the pressure off, the process was so enjoyable that no-one ever seemed tired, even when working flat out. I think we were all just so delighted to be back doing what we love.

In the end, the production seems to have been a success with the audiences, most intent on returning for whatever Betley Court Farm do next year, and the company finished heartened at being part of this small corner of the restart of the theatre industry. Now I have some time off, largely to enjoy some Olympics, before more work beckons in a couple of months time! More news soon…

Betley Mere (L), Betley Court Farm and its temporary theatre (R) at sunset.

...Like Show Business

I am a little later than usual updating the website as I actually went on a real-life holiday for a week. Only to Wales, mind, but I treated myself to days of scenic drives, beautiful walks, great food and drink and catch-ups with friends I hadn’t seen in real life for quite some time. All very much needed!

Before the holiday began, the phone rang with a bit of work for July, so I got as much prepped before packing the suitcase. I will be MD-ing Annie Get Your Gun - a one-act outdoor version - at Betley Court Farm near Crewe, and tickets are available here. It’s my first bit of live theatre since lockdowns began, and I can’t wait to get started, with rehearsals getting underway tomorrow!

Covid protocols are still very much in place, after the government delayed the final part of their roadmap by four weeks, with the aim (as I write) to remove all legal restrictions on July 19th, which also happens to be my 39th birthday. What a day of celebration that will be for us all! I am keeping all fingers crossed that theatres can reopen their auditoriums fully, and that self-isolation rules which are currently crippling productions are eased somewhat. Of course, with variants circulating, I just hope everyone stays as safe as possible.

Jabbed

Spring has been a bit backwards, weather-wise, with a relatively warm & sunny March, a drought-inducing April, followed by one of the wettest coldest Mays on record. Selfishly, I have been quite glad of the inclement weather these past few weeks as I have been holed up in the home office, working through various essays, portfolios, dissertations and videoed performances submitted by Edge Hill students on the Musical Theatre course, giving each one a mark and feedback as I go. There are some seriously talented people about to graduate from this course - the industry had better watch out!

The wet weather went against the public health guidelines at the start of the month, which only allowed outdoor hospitality in England. It will be strange to look back on this time at images of people desperately clutching a pint during a hailstorm, or tucking into scallops in gale-force winds. I certainly experienced this a couple of times - I don’t think I have ever left home for a pub lunch with a bag containing so many items, from sun lotion right through to woolly hat and gloves! Today, at least, the warm sunshine has turned up ready for what is hopefully a warmer June.

As lockdown eased further, it was heartening to see live music returning to the airwaves, with The BRIT Awards & The Eurovision Song Contest a couple of examples that included a live audience. Theatre productions have also restarted, although hopes of full auditoriums later in June are dwindling somewhat. I had quite the experience earlier in the month when attending a concert recital in Huddersfield, hearing a full band playing live for the first time since March 2020. What was especially nice was how ‘normal’ it felt, thankfully. Here’s to hearing much more live music in person over the next few months and years!

This month also saw my 1st dose of the vaccine - Pfizer, and a sore arm, if you must know - and the first few meetings and availability checks for potential projects over the next few months. It’s a great feeling to have the phone ringing and emails pinging once more. I hope we can get everyone in our industry back to work in the not-too-distant future.

These Boots Are Made For Running 400km, Then You Must Buy New Ones

An air of optimism seems to be growing, day after day, after week, after month… cases still haven’t risen here in the UK, having been falling since January, and with virus mutations currently kept at bay (as far as we are aware) the “great unlock” continues. Pubs are finally open! I had a haircut! You can shop for things other than groceries! It’s the little things, isn’t it…

One of my little lockdown projects to tide me over was to run a half marathon distance. Starting the programme four months ago, today was “race day” and was happy to run under 2 hours on my first attempt, clocking 1 hour 56 minutes 45 seconds today. It’s quite easy to train when you have the stunning Delamere Forest a couple of kilometres from your doorstep!

News of more shows reopening have been coming in, with some of the big West End productions setting summer reopening dates, as confidence builds that they can operate at full capacity. Test events are taking place at the moment, including a club night in Liverpool and 100% attendance at the snooker in Sheffield, to see if the science is on our side when it comes to getting back to large events, and normality as a whole.

Work-wise, my tutoring at Edge Hill is approaching its climax as assessment deadlines near. We waved goodbye to the 3rd years this week and soon will have plenty of their dissertations to mark! A lot of them have been working on creating performance projects, which this year have to be filmed beforehand, and I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with.

As for the month of May, we have “Roadmap Step 3” to look forward to, if all continues to go well. I wave goodbye to Edge Hill for now and I am hoping that the increasingly warmer weather will mean more countryside walks (with the occasional stop at a pub, of course). Now I think it’s time to put my feet up for the rest of the weekend!

The Great Unlock

With practical university courses prioritised for face-to-face learning, I found myself back on campus at Edge Hill on the first day of “Roadmap Step 1a” on Monday 8th March. Schoolchildren and students have had a particularly raw deal these past 12 months, and the eagerness to start learning once again without inevitable “Zoom lag” was palpable. I am helping a group of 1st years who are on a Musical Theatre songwriting course and seeing the 3rd years through to the end of their course, which in part involved teaching chorus numbers (socially distanced etc) in the on-campus theatre. It felt good to be note-bashing once again after so many months!

“Roadmap Step 1b” on 29th March, coupled with glorious weather, has brought about a big collective gulp of fresh air to the English populous. This unlocking schedule, while tediously slow but ultimately cautious, is at the very least allowing theatre producers to plan accordingly, and the slew of announced re-openings over the next few months is heartening to see, and it really feels like we will have (at least) a busy summer season of theatre. Ultimately the canniness of commercial producers, coupled with financial help such as the Culture Recovery Fund, appears to have salvaged much of this industry from a situation where it was felt many of our big theatrical institutions and buildings would disappear.

This month sees me take a proper Easter break from university work (I could get used to these “normal person” holidays!) before getting straight back into business there. All being well, there will be the odd pub garden to visit, a long-awaited haircut and more friends to catch up with. And - who knows - maybe news about some forthcoming theatre work? We’ll see… Happy Easter, everyone!

WFH

So, we have a roadmap. All being well, and numbers continue their downward momentum, we should see the first theatres reopening in May, a few bigger shows operating from June/July, and undoubtedly a whole raft of outdoor events that have been planned over the past few months to take advantage of the warm-ish summer evenings.

With schools going back next Monday, I will also begin commuting for work once again, as Edge Hill University reopens its campus and the work I do with the 1st years resumes as face-to-face teaching immediately on March 8th. Aside from the odd drive to our nearby forest to exercise, I haven’t left my immediate area, so I hope to not be too shell-shocked by unfamiliar surroundings!

Again, the university kept me nice and busy through another month of lockdown. I have been tasked with guiding a big group of 3rd years through their dissertations, and I had my first pair of lectures with the 1st years who had to sit there whilst I waffled on about some shows I had done pre-pandemic. At least the remote learning allowed them to go off and do some hoovering, or something, without me noticing! It has all been good fun, though, and (while I miss theatre terribly) I have definitely got into my working-from-home routine now.

The vaccine programming has been quite the success so far. My mum has had her 1st dose already, with dad booked in next week. At this rate I could be fully vaccinated before I even step foot back in a theatre! Let’s just hope everything stays on track.

Wet January

The pandemic entered its new chapter with gusto this month as vaccinations became the daily headline news. As January ends, there are the most tentative of signs that numbers are beginning to drop, certainly in terms of cases, but daily deaths remain high and everyone took stock as the United Kingdom’s total number of deaths ticked over into six figures. The decline in numbers is expected to be slow, with the expectation being that those numbers need to be much, much lower (perhaps 10% of what they are today) before restrictions are eased in such a way to allow a semblance of normal life to continue.

A winter lockdown has been particularly hard, stuck inside with incessant cold and rainy weather hitting the country. We were impacted further here when a flash flood caused by Storm Christoph took out half the floors in our bungalow. We’re still drying the ground out and I have moved onto the sofa bed until such a time as we can get new flooring down! Warmer and dryer weather cannot come soon enough, but I fear February will be much like January, in terms of temperature at least.

On the plus side, my part-time job for Edge Hill University has kept me pretty busy, even though work is now fully remote. Much of January involved looking over recorded assessments and marking essays, very much a new venture for me! It was good to have the spare hours available to consider each submission, as I expected this to be slow-going. The next semester is now underway, which includes helping the 3rd years with a performance portfolio and a separate practical dissertation, as well as helping out on a 1st year songwriting course. The hope is that we can be back on campus at the same time that schools reopen, but in the meantime at least all this work can be done satisfactorally online - as long as the broadband holds up!

I hope everyone is hanging in there. Keep looking forward to the spring, and I will see you in a theatre before we even know it.

Covid '21

As expected, much of my December was spent at home, either working online or preparing for the festivities. We were fortunate to be together as a family over this period, at a time when so many remain apart. As expected, the Christmas period was a relatively chilled affair - I sought out as many unseen 5-star films as I could to pad out the rainy December afternoons! Ben-Hur and Spartacus certainly whiled away a good few hours.

In-person work at Edge Hill university ended with what should have been a full musical production, but instead ended up being a half-hour filmed section for the purposes of a final-year assessment. Even so, it felt like old times being back in a dark theatre, at a keyboard, with full lighting and costumes in front of me. It was like slipping on an old comfortable pair of gloves! The students have been brilliantly adaptive this semester under such difficult circumstances, and all really pulled it out of the bag for the performance. Inevitably, the return to campus this month has been delayed by a few weeks, so there will be a bit more working from home. At least it means more time to get back to some degree of fitness!

It’s safe to say that few people will be looking back on 2020 with a great degree of fondness. I’m sure there are elements of it, such as weighing up career vs finance vs family; a better focus on health & happiness; finally getting a home task done, a new skill learnt, or just getting that box set finished. These are qualities we have been forced to consider, if simply to prevent most of us going doolally! But I hope some of these can change me for the better once we begin to emerge from the other side of this pandemic.

2021 should see a degree of normality return, but it’s so hard to know exactly what or when. The big shows are planning a full return by late spring and summer, which is a possibility but nowhere near a certainty. If the pandemic isn’t under control, restrictions could easily return for Christmas next year. My hope is that the level of restrictions we begin this year under will end up being as strict as they get, with a slow relaxation over the next 6 months. I certainly hope to be sat in a theatre once again by then!

Whatever it brings, I hope you have a Happy New Year. Keep taking each day as it comes, and before we know it we will be back doing the things we love.

Tier We Go Again

England is about to move out of its autumn lockdown just as Wales goes back in to one. It’s a pattern likely to continue over the winter, although fortunately some theatres are at least able to stage Christmas shows this year (as long as your local area hasn’t been put into Tier 3), and the first snippets of news about vaccines has heartened the belief that an end could be in sight at some point next year.

My work as an Associate Tutor at Edge Hill University continues, although plans had to be changed this month after the news that students were to be tested and, if negative, sent home early to enjoy the Christmas holiday with the family. With the modules I work on largely involving practical assessments of performance, the in-person elements of this are being brought forward and/or adapted for the time available, ultimately meaning that the 3rd year’s performance of a full musical is replaced with a 30-minute filmed section of the show. The students adapted brilliantly in what is a ridiculously tough time for all year-groups, with the filming happening over the next week before they are sent home.

Understandably, though, not much else has happened in this lockdown month! I continue to admire the resilience of the theatre industry, was overjoyed to hear this Overture of Overtures, orchestrated and arranged by Alan Williams, and excited by the daily casting announcements and streams of musicals, which have been made possible due to the government allowing rehearsals to continue throughout this current lockdown. Just the small matter of a socially-distanced Christmas for everyone to plan next month, now!

Lockdown 2

I am typing this the day after Boris Johnson played a “trick” on All Hallows’ Eve, reluctantly announcing that England needed to enter another lockdown similar to the one in March, although this time attempting to keep as many people going to work and education as possible. Unfortunately with theatre being a “leisure industry”, once again all venues across the country close once more. The aim is to lift many of these restrictions at the start of December and return to a local tiered system, but in reality it’s looking like hospitality and leisure will largely remain shuttered until the first signs of Spring next year.

With all the effort and expense put in by producers, creatives & artists across the country to reopen as many productions as possible, the timing - in the run up to Christmas - is heartbreaking. It’s the setback I feared, and I expect there to be more along the way, and I hope we are able to keep as many people afloat this time. Personally, I am settling into my part-time work at Edge Hill University in Lancashire (which has been under Tier 3 regulations for some weeks now). I am working in some capacity across all three years, which has certainly kept me busy with prep, show-learning and other elements of academic study that I have had to brush up on as part of this associate position! I don’t know yet how much this new lockdown will affect me, but 50% of my hours were already online anyway, with more practical stuff (singing & accompanying) occurring with a limited amount of students. The third years continue to rehearse towards a full performance of a musical, but we can only work week-to-week at present under ever-changing circumstances. That means in simplest terms, therefore, I continue to note-bash harmonies!

Available for weddings, bar mitzvahs etc…

In happier news, I got in touch with a couple of mates who I knew had also moved to Cheshire. It turned out they were actually planning a wedding, and I ended up playing for their service! It was a beautiful setting - I even got my own leafy laurel background - at a Masonic Lodge in Knutsford, and it was so lovely to be a part of this moment in their lives, especially since so many members of their family & friends were unable to attend. Notably, it was also my first “gig” since the start of lockdown! I am not expecting many more in the coming months… but huge congratulations to Gemma & Matt!

Stay safe this November, everyone. Now, where’s that recipe for Parkin?

To The Edge

Within days of my move north, and with unpacking complete, I realised how long it has been since I have actually had all of my stuff in one place! Now, if I need something, I don’t have to wait weeks until I can search for it, or FaceTime someone else to find it for me. I am not expecting this move to Cheshire to be long-standing, though, so quite a few boxes are staying put in the garage.

I have also been able to set up a little office space in a corner of the living room (next to where my keyboard currently lives) to help with bits of work that have been trickling in. More promisingly, some part-time work at Edge Hill University has come up which I will hopefully start soon, working with students who are on a three-year Musical Theatre course. It ranges from workshops through to full productions, which in this age are having to be carefully thought through. How do you execute the requirement of staging a musical? There are some fascinating examples already popping up from elsewhere in the country, and the filming route is one example. I have also been trying out Rehearsal Live Share as a possible way to conduct virtual rehearsals. It’s a promising bit of kit, still in the early stages of development, but could definitely be of help.

Elsewhere in life, I’m back running and trying out some new healthy meal recipes. I have been following a meal and workout plan run by 8fit, although I’m sure I’ve entered some data wrong as the food portions seem to be massive! I certainly haven’t been going hungry. I have had to wake up at 7am pretty much every day to fit in all the cooking and exercising before I can start the day, though! I’m not sure how long I’ll keep up the strict regime, but it’s fun for now and I feel great for it.

All being well, this part-time tutoring will gain momentum through October, and will be something to build on while the long wait for our industry to reopen continues.

Relocation

So it looks as though my time as a “Londoner” is at an end. I had one final walk into Central London along the Thames, taking in the breathtaking sight of the City skyline from the banks of the Thames at Bermondsey. I also finished the Capital Ring, the 78-mile path around London that starts and ends in Woolwich, passing through various locations largely in Zone 3. A fitting way to bow out of living here. I plan to be back, of course, although I envisage settling somewhere a little further out, probably northwards, so that I have better road & rail access to the rest of the UK.

Drinking & dining was weird in August, wasn’t it? I had a few people to catch up with before leaving, and each cafe, pub & restaurant had their own take on how to interpret the rules. Some operated on a near-normal basis, while others were decked out in perspex and required you to sign up to wifi, download apps and solve various cryptic equations before you could order a pint. It is of course nice to have this part of society back, and whilst theatres can now technically reopen indoors (and indeed some performances are underway), the large-scale productions I tend to work on still aren’t able to happen while the guidelines are in place. The wait goes on.

Moving house is always a good time to sort out life. In the end, I didn’t throw as much away as I thought I would, largely because as someone who tours a lot, I don’t have a great amount of stuff! Still, two boxes went to the tip and another two to a charity shop (which was happily accepting donations again). There looks to be enough space up here in Cheshire for me to unpack what I want, whilst keeping long-term items and memories safely boxed up ready for a move back south at some point.

With address changes nearly done and the unpack continuing nice and steadily, attention turns to autumnal plans. Without shows, it looks more like one-off gigs, workshops and educational-related projects are the way to go for now. Time to put the feelers out!

For the Foreseeable

It has been 140 days since I last worked in a theatre, and still no sign of getting back there in any meaningful way. July was the month that the government announced the £1.57 billion bailout, although nearly a month on there isn’t much information on how exactly it should be distributed. One thing that seems sensible, though, is that the government should continue to support individual workers & freelancers on top of this, allowing much of that to be spent on the infrastructure of the Arts Industry.

This was also the month that outdoor performances could resume, with mixed news in this regard as Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre began preparing for a concert production of Jesus Christ Superstar, whilst Six The Musical’s drive-in extravaganza was unfortunately cancelled as local lockdowns made the prospect of a UK Tour unfeasible. Indoor performances began trials, such as Beverley Knight’s concert at the London Palladium, however these have now stopped as case numbers have begun to rise again. For now, theatres remain closed.

Back in my non-theatre world, highlights included the first haircut of lockdown, my 38th birthday, and finally a return to my flat in London. I also completed a 10km running programme I have been following since March whilst up in the Cheshire countryside, managing to run the distance in 56 mins 40 secs, which I’m quite proud of! I think a combination of that and doing Joe Wicks’ PE class at 9am most mornings have kept me that little bit healthier than a sedentary lockdown would otherwise have been.

Now back in London, largely to move out of the flat I have been in for over six years. This has been planned before Covid-19 swept in, but obviously the pandemic has forced a bit of a change of plan as I move temporarily back to the parents until work starts up again in any meaningful way. The month of August will largely involve throwing a lot of stuff away, packing the rest in boxes and organising changes of address. Outside of that, I’m hoping to have one last socially-distanced beer with London friends and finally complete the Capital Ring walk that I started last year!

A Rainbow Renaissance

Preparing for a pint in the pub? I think I’ll hold off a few days until the beer gardens calm down a little. It has now been 109 days since I last slept in my “home” bed in London, having stayed at my parents in Cheshire since my tour was curtailed. I still have all my winter stuff with me! All being well I’ll be getting back to London later this month for a proper sort-out.

My days have been a mixture of reading, news-watching, exercise (regularly getting out for a run each weekday morning, mercifully), some music software learning or piano playing, with evenings spent catching up with friends or some TV. I’m trying to learn a new food recipe a week, but my dad’s taste are quite finicky these days, so I’ve tended to tread carefully with that more recently.

The Theatre - and wider Arts - Industry continue to cry out for government support. In response, the politics veers more to getting venues open as quickly “as it is Covid safe to do so”, seemingly unaware that most therefore won’t fully open until the virus is under control, bringing the whole debate back to financial support - both for companies and individuals - for the time being. While the whole saga is clearly depressing, the increasing amount of broadcasters, media publications and MPs pressing the government on this issue brings with it a sliver of optimism for the future.

June saw the Black Lives Matter movement really galvanise, with the real systemic shift being the realisation from across the world that this was as much an issue for white people as it was if you are another skin colour. The difficult realisation was that by standing aside and leaving it once again for black people to fight solely, you could make yourself part of the problem, not the solution. Rather than standing aside, it was finally time to stand side-by-side. This summer has felt like a cultural shift rather than a moment, and I desperately hope that this momentum is kept up for as long as it takes.

Unfortunately, this brings us back full-circle to the prior issue: the rapid demise of the arts industry as we know it. It will return, of course, but great progress was being made in equality: race, gender, age, class… Those producers with available money will be the first to mount a comeback, and I worry that it deprives a voice to those who will have been left in the worst situation post-pandemic. The emergence of young performers, technicians, creatives and designers from poorer backgrounds could be near-non-existent in these next few years, and the cultural hole could be massive. My hope is that those with the remaining funds (or grants) prioritise equality in a similar way to how an Industrial restart needs to really focus on green energy and climate change. The next chapter in this country’s legendary Theatre Industry should be its own Rainbow Renaissance, rather than a Whitewash.

Have a fabulous July, and try not to drink a shot of Covid-19 by accident!

Holding Pattern

I hope you are all enjoying your newly government-mandated gatherings of up to 6 people outside and a visit to a car showroom! Lockdown officially continues, and for the theatre industry it’s looking like it will need to be in place for a very long time. The month of May, from an industry perspective, was focused on the financial survival of both the individuals who work in theatre as well as the survival of theatres themselves. At the moment it feels both are towards the bottom of a very long to-do list for this government, and pressure must still be applied to MPs and keep exposure of the issue to the general public at its maximum.

I’ve continued my lockdown isolation at my parents’ house in Cheshire, having completed 11 weeks here now. It’s only the three of us now, with my sister escaping back to her home in France with her daughter halfway through the month, followed a week later by the pet cat needing to be put down. It’s certainly a quieter start to the month than the last one.

My education of music technology continues very steadily, as the draw of the warm sunny weather for the past few weeks has meant I’ve not been at the keyboard as much as I perhaps expected. I have at least been able to play about with the mechanics of Logic on my laptop out in the garden! I have also been continuing my running program, complemented by a bit of Joe Wicks in the morning, and was delighted to smash through the hour mark on a 10km run - something I didn’t expect to be able to do until July. My current record stands at just above 58 minutes! I’m feeling very healthy and fit thanks to all of this extra time to hand to exercise.

The coming month obviously won’t be much different to the last, other than continuing to monitor the latest lockdown rule changes with a view to getting back to my home in London soon. Thanks to all of you who continue to visit this blog while nothing much is happening, and hoping that you are all coping as best you can during this time. Have a lovely June!

The Waiting Game

In the absence of live shows and any meaningful work, April saw me largely contemplating my next (small, gradual) steps. I’ve been buoyed to see the myriad of different ways colleagues are reacting to this sudden harsh shift, whether it be online performances, workshops, or even helping out in the local supermarket or hospital. Inevitably the Beautiful company wanted to do their own version of those performance-at-home videos, so we have all recorded instrument tracks and vocals (all with video!) from our respective homes and that should be out in the wider world in the next few days. I got the impression everyone appreciated a little musical project to allay the repetition of lockdown…!

I have been looking to upgrade my own at-home setup as my current keyboards are pretty old. I purchased a Roland RD-2000 stage piano and have managed to successfully get it communicating with my laptop, ready for any future piano track etc. I even took the time to need the operating manual from cover to cover! Throughout May I plan to do a similar thing with MainStage (which I’ve only ever used passively rather than programmed) and eventually get into the real nitty-gritty of Logic. I would have done that this past month, but the combination of sunny days and a toddler running around has meant I’ve been outside in the garden more often than sat at the keyboard.

There has been a smattering of work meetings and colleague catch-ups via Zoom (largely involving a coffee or a beer, let’s be honest) and occasionally I have had to remember how to keep the brain ticking over for professional interactions! Life seems to move quite slowly these days compared to pre-pandemic, so talk of future projects brings quite the mental jolt. I’m still not looking too far ahead, though, just waiting to see what restrictions are eased first and what effect that has on any prospective work. Until next month!

Covid-19 Hits

March 2020 won’t be forgotten in a hurry. As the month began, we were already well aware of the impending pandemic, if not totally aware of its eventual impact. I had bought alcoholic hand gel from Boots in Woking in February - very much a scarcity these days! - and was encouraging the band to keep up their hygiene whenever at work. Some chatter over a meal or a post-show drink would turn to the virus, but it wasn’t until we started our (what would turn out to be) final week of the tour in Cardiff that I could really see what was about to hit.

Like a looming dark storm cloud, it felt like only a matter of time, yet we carried on with shows (and even rehearsals!) as normal. The week of Cardiff was when Italy went into lockdown, and the need to halt mass gatherings here was already very obvious. As the week went on it felt stranger and stranger to be doing shows to 1,000+ OAPs in a theatre in Wales. The message from our producers was not to panic and continue on as normal until government advice changed.

Merely as a precaution, I removed my valuables from the tour at the end of that week, but I did feel as though we were going to at least open in our next venue, Sunderland, before a ban on mass gatherings came in. As it was, when Boris Johnson announced on Monday 16th that he would prefer if people didn’t go to the theatre, that was enough for SOLT & UK Theatre to close all productions. Our get-in in Sunderland was turned into a get-out, and still a fortnight later the show (and everyone’s belongings) remain locked on trailers somewhere in the UK.

Friday of that same week was when Boris Johnson officially called for theatres to close, and as a result our contracts were immediately terminated, with the rest of the tour now cancelled. I had decided to hold my position in Cheshire, with my parents, which is where I am to this day and expect to stay until non-essential travel is once again permitted. The fact that the industry I work in disappeared overnight has taken quite some getting used to, but I try and concentrate my mind on helping the NHS as best I can by keeping myself and the rest of the family safe from the virus. I also try and remember that when I feel slightly useless and a burden to society: the best use I can be right now is to stay inside and not do anything!

So the diary is completely empty now and I don’t expect to be back in a theatre until the middle of next year. Hopefully it will be sooner and that will be very welcome, but I’m readying myself to hunker down for the long haul. Whether I find a hobby or another line of work is for another day - at the moment it is small steps, as well as actually enjoying an earlier-than-expected break! For now I am back running around the (local) Cheshire countryside, aiming for 10k at some point, trying out some new cooking recipes (we’re taking it in turns as a family to make each other dinner), getting some box sets and films ticked off, and I suppose at some point I should get back to some piano practise.

I’ll keep this blog updated monthly as ever, but of course there will be a slightly different “lockdown” slant for the time being! Stay well, everyone, and stay inside.

Covering Arrangements

The tour continues! At the show proper we have already have all our understudies ready and prepared to go on, with dress rehearsals completed for every role. One of our 1st covers has already completed a whole week covering illness, and its testament to her and the rest of the understudies and swings that the performances remain at their absolute top level.

Talking of super covers, Assistant MD Luke Holman made his conducting debut in February - a triumphant first few performances and a fabulous opportunity for me to finally see this show from out front. I certainly have my work cut out when it comes to noting the music side of this show as everyone on stage and in the pit are maintaining their brilliant accuracy! I’m not convinced that I am going to tire of playing this show.

As for the venues, Northampton’s Derngate welcomed us back with open arms. I’m always struck with how friendly everyone is in this city - proper service with a smile wherever I went, and this was maintained by the local staff at the theatre. It was great to see some truly fabulous cafes, restaurants and pubs springing up since my last visit in 2016. There’s even a brand new local coffee roastery across from the theatre which makes a mean espresso!

Eastbourne was struck with the first of the February storms while we were there, so not a great time to be on the coast! It was also sad to see the damage from the big hotel fire which has closed the promenade by the pier. The Congress Theatre has had a nice redesign, though, and again I was delighted to find that a couple of fabulous coffee shops (both run by Urban Ground) had appeared.

Woking was a delight - my favourite orchestra pit of the tour so far, with lots of space and good acoustics for a pop show. We of course had to visit Pizza Express! And we finished the month in Bristol - it’s only been 9 months since I was last here with Matilda, so the week was spent visiting some of my favourite haunts: Small Street Espresson, Cargo, Bare Grills, Three Brothers, plus the legendary King St and its associated bars. This was also the week Greta Thunberg visited, plus the Bristol Light Festival was on, so it was all happening!

March is dominated by some of the big venues as we play the Alhambra Theatre, Bradford, Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre, The Empire Theatre of Sunderland before seeing out the month back in the capital at Wimbledon Theatre. We then all get our first well-deserved week off!

All Aboard!

We are open and on the road! It’s a bit crazy to think that since 2020 began we have completed rehearsals, teched, previewed, opened, moved venue three times and completed the first cover run for the understudies! But this is to be expected from a fast-paced weekly tour.

This tour covers most of the United Kingdom, but we aren’t hanging around, usually playing just 5 days in each city. We opened in Bromley to a near-100% capacity run with great reviews all round, especially for our amazing Carole, Daisy Wood-Davis, who has to be one of the hardest working actors I have had the pleasure to rehearse with. She had never played piano before getting this part! The Churchill Theatre, Bromley, was actually the theatre she used to go to as a kid, so to open this tour there was even more special for her.

The rest of the cast provide bucketloads of talent, with practically every person on stage getting to front one of the many iconic numbers included in the show. We have of course been joined on the road with a ridiculously good band of musicians, and our technical & backstage support is the envy of the industry. Everyone is upbeat at the expectation that we have a great tour ahead!

Our second venue was Hull - its New Theatre even Newer since my last visit in 2013. Having been a Capital City of Culture recently, the theatre has been transformed inside with a brand new backstage and (mercifully!) a larger pit. Notoriously viewed as a bit of a backwater these days, I took great pleasure in seeking out some gorgeous amenities in the Humberside city, including great coffee, fabulous beers and some seriously incredible food from across the region and the wider world - a great reminder that Hull was once at the epicentre of international shipping.

Next was Aberdeen, a city I always look forward to visiting. I usually end up driving, but this time it made more sense to fly, which meant I missed seeing the stunning Aberdeenshire countryside on my travels. The Granite City, however, still stands proudly and I was able to seek out some of the great restaurants, pubs & bars that I remembered from previous visits, notably Brewdog’s very first bar and The Grill, a legendary whisky pub on Union Street. The theatre is small but perfectly formed, and thankfully there were no problems with snow during our visit as often happens in the winter months.

As I type, the show is moving into its 4th venue: The Derngate, Northampton. The tour stays fairly south for the month of February, playing Eastbourne, Woking & Bristol. We have a bit more rehearsal to go as we work with the remainder of the understudies, the second covers, as well as preparing my Assistant Musical Director, Luke, for his first conduct. Although the schedule is busy, we do at least get Sundays AND Mondays off, leading to the rather novel luxury (in our theatre industry) of a proper two-day weekend. Lovely!

Happy Normal Visual Acuity

Happy New Year! Rehearsals for Beautiful have been well underway and we are into our fifth week. The rather pleasant disruption of the Festive season has meant that the rehearsal process is a little more stretched out than usual, but we managed a non-stop run in the studio before we broke up for Christmas which pleased everyone, not least our splendid cast.

The show is a joy to rehearse. More of a play than I first imagined, the legendary songs are largely performed within the context of the story, e.g. at a concert, a bar gig, an audition, a studio recording session. This means more of a focus on the acting sides, but has meant that the moments of polished performance have to be well-rehearsed to make sure that polish is evident, and equally those times when songs are performed “for the first time” or as a demo need to maintain that fresh in-the-moment feel. It’s really quite different to those musicals when a character breaks into a song as an emotive choice or to move the plot along.

Another thing I wasn’t expecting was to teach so many people how to mime instruments! I knew that our Carole needed to play convincingly, as well as our alternate and 3rd cover. However a dozen or so members of the company also play at some point in the show. So far in my career I have avoided too many piano lessons, dabbling in teaching children when I was in the latter stages of my university course. To now find myself teaching the fundamentals of posture, fingering and rhythm was quite the surprise in the first week! It’s not just piano, as we also have cast who mime on guitars, bass and drum kit. It’s certainly made for quite the change!

We are ten or so days away from our first preview, so there are an exciting few days ahead: we complete studio rehearsals with our last few runs of the show, then the band arrive for rehearsal calls. We move into tech at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley and finally add set, lighting, sound, wigs & costumes. We are hearing that the run in Bromley is almost sold out, and we all can’t wait to put this production in front of an audience!

After our first venue, the show moves north to Hull, and then even farther north to Aberdeen. I’m looking forward to both: I haven’t been to the New Theatre since its renovation, and Aberdeen is a beautiful part of the country that could look stunning in the depths of winter - fingers crossed for non-disruptive but pretty snow! Hope to see some of you on my travels with the show throughout 2020.