Now there are those in this funny old business who believe firmly in never mentioning that Scottish play, or whistling backstage, or wearing green on a Wednesday or what have you, and those who think that all those funny foibles are just that. Foibles. This week however, perhaps even the most skeptical viewpoints were challenged, as in both Bedroom Farce and Dry Rot things went awry.. and in Dry Rot's case, not only in the thirteenth week but on the thirteenth show too..! I mentioned the Bedroom Farce upset last time, but bear with me if I repeat myself a bit here.
For Bedroom Farcers, we experienced collapse of the sound effects speaker at a crucial point where telephones need to ring, allowing characters to speak to one another. As it's live theatre, it means we're standing very close to one another and could quite easily wander over to have that conversation or simply shout. But we're not in reality, we're playing through walls and over distances. So, what to do? Does the actor 'dialling' decide to make a ringing noise? Or maybe the person at the other end where the actual ringing should be coming from? What if they both decide to and the whole stage erupts in bad telephone impressions? Panic starts to set in. Thankfully it all worked out just fine, with much quick thinking by our Stage Manager Daisy & George Banks who best placed to frantically make something up while the problem was solved! He figured out that only his character could feasibly go off to find out the problem, whilst covering his absence with convincing noises and the odd improvised line that made it all pretty 'normal' to the audience. As for Jessica Ellis suddenly left onstage without her 'hubby', clutching a phone that wouldn't ring, well, that's showbiz! Thankfully she could see the funny side of it all and also is a real professional, going with whatever George shouted from the wings and keeping calm... You can suddenly see where farces come from, especially ones like Noises Off and silly books like The Art of Coarse Acting. There are two kinds of actor when it comes to things like that too. Those who take themselves and this business far too seriously and who would never be seen dead reading a book like that. You have guessed I am not in that camp dear reader! Honestly if you don't laugh at these things that go on you will go bonkers crazy! So much is out of your control in live theatre, that it is best to trust it will all work out in the end!
The Dry Rot kerfuffle began early on in the play, when the beautiful front door of the Bull & Cow hotel, upstage and centre, failed to open. Stuck fast. A little crucial in a farce about lots of comings and goings, eh? In a farce, doors have to open & close and trousers have to come down on cue. That's not too much to ask is it? The splendid James Duke was onstage at the time, awaiting the arrival of Flash Harry played by the equally splendid Nicholas Goode, while the rollicking ( yes, and splendid) Chris Hannon was busy being 'drunk' on the floor. Nicholas dutifully tried to enter through the aforementioned door, failed, so knocked hard, only to have James shout, "It's locked!" Those immortal yet unscripted lines had us all backstage scuttling to the monitors to see what had happened. A ghastly silence ensued as realisation sank in all round. At this point, all the options open to an actor don't always appear as logically as they would in any other walk of life. The collision between a practical problem and the need to keep playing the fictional reality can result in interesting outcomes. The kitchen door was clearly not an option, nor the dining room door as both are interior. The garden door was a possibility, but if your character never uses it, it can fail to register on the radar. So, instead, the best idea settled on by all parties behind the scenes was the nearest- the secret panel,-which Flash is not supposed to have any idea of. Cue much confusion as lines had to be made up to explain the anomaly. Thankfully, Nick, James & Chris had great fun improvising cheeky little lines to one another ( and the bemused audience) to tie up loose ends as it became clear that the door was utterly jiggered and the show this time, couldn't go on. At this point, on comes the lovely Jo Jones, company stage manager, I hoped, to deliver the line, " Is there a joiner in the house?" but sadly not. She announced a pause in proceedings to attempt a repair. Having stopped the show, the doughty stage crew did their best to rectify the matter but had in the end to dismantle the latch mechanism, leaving the door swinging gently in the breeze. At least getting the door open did get a round of applause! Now it's bad not being able to get on stage in a farce, it's just as bad not being able to have the element of surprise provided by a solid object that opens on a hinge. Thankfully, the interval wasn't far away and in that time, new door latches were tracked down & the door back to its previous opening & closing glory. Following that, a few cheeky improvised lines from the boys and on we went back on track!
So if there are any deities or spirits out there presiding over the world of show and all who sail in her, please let us get through the next few with just the usual scripted chaos and mayhem? Thanks.
Next week, we continue building the world of Roma & the Flanellettes, having been taught our choreography & our harmonies.. now just to find those characters and learn those lines..
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