Sunday 22 May 2011

Quiet night in Gloucester


Saturday night saw the first pub performance of the run of "Mad Jack and The Severn Bore" at the New Inn in Gloucester. To say it was a small select audience would be honest. Didn't know before hand how many if any were turning up and we got a few. The show went very well with nice comments and accolades from the audience, who were unfortunately rattling around in the very lovely function room at the very nice and hospitable New Inn.
I wondered at first whether we hadn't put out enough publicity, or whether it had gone in the wrong places and yet everywhere I went to refill the leaflets they'd all gone. Had someone mysteriously snuck up behind and thrown them away or was it genuinely that no-one was around in Gloucester on Saturday night?
The mystery was compounded by two other things - ten minutes before the show I nipped out to have my customary warm up - a quick smoke - and wandered up to the centre of the town. It was like a scene from 28 Days Later. One Big Issue seller and a snoggy couple and that was it! For the centre of a busy city on a Saturday night? And after the show as we packed away we counted the total number of people sitting in the bar. Six! Where were the good citizens of Gloucester on Saturday night?
Any way, onwards and upwards, next show at the Sub Rooms Cafe, Stroud on 15th June after a week in libraries for half term. Should be a good one. If anyone knows where the Gloucester folk were on Saturday night (and I'm not just talking about the show) I'd like to solve the mystery.

Monday 16 May 2011

Randwick and beyond


Played the first double bill of The Fearless Navigator and Mad Jack and the Severn Bore last Saturday to a great audience of 60 people at Randwick Village Hall. Its always strange when you do a performance for the first time as you're never to sure whether it's going to work, whether what you've created is easy to undersatnd or has enough depth to it.
As I'd already performed Fearless Navigator was very confident with howard Blackburn's story but Mad Jack is a different kind of character. The real man from what I know from reading about him and talking to his sons was almost a comic book hero from the Commando magazine series. As such he comes across to a large part as quite cold and emotionless.
His adventures are fantastic but have I found the real man in the script and performance. Within the script I've added elements which make him more than this. It was whilst watching a documentary about Eddie Izzard that something was said which seemed to sum Jack up. Eddie was talking about his dad (a career soldier) and about his mother who died when he was 7. He said something along the lines of grieving along the army lines - without emotion. So maybe I have got Mad Jack right!
The audience feedback afterwards was great and lighting and sound courtesy of Mr. Broadbent were brilliant (no pun intended) as well - adding just the right amount to the performance.
Next show in the series is at Nailsworth School for 60 children and then on Saturday we are doing a one off for Help for Heroes at the New Inn in Gloucester. £ 5.00 a ticket and all profits go to the charity. Come along and find out more about the first man to surf the Severn.
After that it's the Sub Rooms Cafe on Wednesday June 15th, before an extra gig at Yorkley on Friday 17th June and then down to Devon. the good news is that we also now have an event which is being publicised on the Olympics website as we are doing a show at Nailsworth on 23rd July, one year before the 2012 Olympics kick off. Lots to do, lots of excitement and hopefully lots of fun!