We have our very own Nursing Lives drama - Associate Artist Richard Fletcher, joined us on day three of rehearsals, having just closed a gruelling panto run. He worked like stink on that Wednesday to catch up with what he’d missed, and then on the morning of day four he trapped his finger in part of the set, breaking it in two places. So as I write, he’s now sat in A&E for the third time in a week having it dressed and having the infection monitored (a second course of antibiotics is the latest newsflash), with me being reminded that he should have a doctor’s note signing him off on sick leave for a fortnight. In theatre? No chance, the show will go on Feb 9th, and no bloody, broken, gangrenous finger will stand in our way!
So in the first week we’d reached the end of act one – and in quite a fair state. We have being playing with time, narration and the exploration of changing history....in full mask, without any words! Yes, it’s challenging and head scratching, but between the feisty minds and debate of myself, James Greaves and Alan Riley (with a shared experience of 83 years in mask theatre between the three of us!) and complimented by the clear head and thorough logic of our genius composer Janie Armour (with whom I’ve been beating out the Nursing Lives structure for the last 6 months), fuelled by the playful offers of Sarah Hawkins, Marissa Gunter and uncomplaining, painkiller induced Richard Fletcher, we are flying!
The show is based on the version we made in 2009, but is so different; we could have renamed it, “Nursing Lives, the best bits of 6 years ago, with thousands of lessons learned since.” It’s darker, yet funnier, more gruesome, yet charming, with more emotional depth, oh dear, so much more emotion. We are also having great debates in our post rehearsal chats- discussing how we share knowledge that we often take for granted as an experienced mask performer with a new mask performer; the importance of clarity, economy of movement, intention through pace? At the end of the day (after a few pints) we realise that we are debating a non-verbal theatrical genre with words, and that the best way to explain and share what we mean, is through demonstrating (.......without being demonstrative, but that’s another, longer conversation!). One of my favourite phrases that I use in rehearsals is: “Don’t tell me, show me.”
But what excites me most is being in a room full of talent, and the variety of those talents. Along with the aforementioned cast, dramaturg Alan Riley and composer Janie Armour, this week’s rehearsal room has brought together the beautiful design and designer, Carl Davies, with changes being built into the set during lunch time by Gavin Lewery (if you ever need a set being built out of metal, then look no further), with our terrifyingly precise choreographer, Rachael Alexander, so that by Friday, our lighting designer, Chris Barnham, can see the first run through and add yet another layer of brilliance. It’s a busy team, a clever, and most importantly, a happy team.
Rachael
Richard will be well placed to bring the reality of A&E to the show then!
This all sounds incredibly exciting, I can’t wait to see the show.
ReplyI’m exhausted just reading your blog Rachael! Very best for the show and I hope to see the performance at John Moore Theatre xx
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