Tag: theatre

Our Country’s Good

Ladies & Gentlemen!

You may wonder why I have disappeared from the MySpace scene somewhat of late…
Well – there’s a bloody good reason – I have been rehearsing..

Rehearsing for a play no less
Which play?

Our Country’s Good
…by Timberlake Wertenbaker

To be performed by The TACIT Theatre Company
(of which I am now a member)

At:
The Arthur Cotterell Theatre
Kingston College
Kingston Hall Road
Kingston Upon Thames
KT1 2AQ

On:
Wednesday 8th to Saturday 11th November at 7:30pm.

Tickets are £9.50 (£7.50 concessions)

These can be purchased online at
www.tactittheatre.co.uk

By post from:

TACIT Theatre,
PO Box 857A,
Kingston
KT1 9FZ

Or in person from:
The Tourist Information Office in Kingston Market Place.

Getting there:

Streetmap: For You

Or failing that – get a train to Kingston Station and walk from there!

A note from me:
I know a few of you came to see me in the One Acts Festival back in April, (before I went to Thailand – go back to the very beginning of my blogs and you’ll find them), and know how well received they were…
Well some members of the above company saw me in those two plays and invited me to audition for their next show.

This is it!

The play is looking really good. I am writing this after having spent all weekend rehearsing and I am shattered. However – I am very excited about this performance and it is something I hope to be quite proud of when it’s over.

I would be really chuffed if you all could come along and support me and the theatre company in what I hope to be a rather excellent production.

A note about the play:
“The theatre is an expression of civilisation… It will remind them that there is more to life than crime, punishment. For a few hours we will no longer be despised prisoners and hated gaolers. We will laugh, we may be moved, we may even think a little…”
Amongst the wilderness a new colony is struggling to survive, populated by a ship full of convicts and a handful of Royal Marines to guard them. These unwilling pioneers find themselves trapped between slow starvation, the brutality of martial law and the terrors of this strange new world.

In effort to raise flagging morale and to create a more humane society in the makeshift colony, the Governor suggests the convicts stage a play. A young lieutenant is chosen to lead the rehearsals, with only two copies of the text, a cast of convicts, and one leading lady who is about to be hanged.

This entertaining and life affirming play tackles the controversial and very contemporary issues of prisoners’ rights, community development and national identity. Our Country’s Good was winner of the Laurence Olivier Play of the Year Award in 1988.

A note about TACIT and what they stand for/believe in:
TACIT Theatre is an exciting new type of company based in Kingston-upon-Thames, dedicated to producing rewarding theatre for today’s audiences.

The company membership comprises professional and amateur actors, directors, designers and technicians who, together with their audience, seek to understand ways in which selected classic and contemporary works can inform our modern lives.

By fusing amateur and professional talent, TACIT Theatre creates both touring and community productions, which allow everyone in the company to realise their own theatrical ambitions.

The company also runs a series of workshops led by theatre professionals, enabling all members to develop new skills and achieve the highest possible artistic and technical standards.

In this distinctive way, TACIT Theatre serves both its members and its audiences; but above all brings high quality, accessible and entertaining theatre back to the local community.


AND FINALLY!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!!

COME AND SEE MY PLAY!!!

Cheers.

James.

PS – If you can make – let me know.
That way I’ll know to stick around afterwards so I can buy you a drink… ;o)

First Night!

Well – first night all done!

(and I’m STILL detoxing! I had some Almonds earlier – NICE )

Anywhooo…!

Mum’s Legs had its Premiere this evening at the Cornerhouse in Surbiton.

It went down very well indeed! We (Jim and I) easily got the most laughs of the evening!

In fact – it actually threw us at one point! We werent expecting them – I mean we knew we’d get them at some point but not straight off the bat and also – y’know, you dont get that in rehearsal.. so yeah – when the first laugh came – I nearly cracked myself!

Thank God I didnt.. but I nearly did.. I felt it y’know? But then – once we’d settled into the rhythm of the piece we managed to milk it a bit more.. trying to keep the whole thing as deadpan as possible y’know? ..and some of it really worked!

The writer of the piece was there tonight too – he was very complimentary. .. Our Director was chuffed with it too. Image

So yeah – it wasn’t perfect – I think it’ll be better on Wednesday night and then fantastic on Friday night.

But! Mustn’t think about that now! I’ve got to open Alone tomorrow night! Oooer! Should be good – I’m quite lookin forward to it actually.. its a bit bleak and nowhere near as funny.. but its still equally as challenging as an actor.. y’know? So yeah – got that to come..

OO ooo! While I remember –

So I’m standing there chatting away to the Director and this woman comes up to me and says –

“Where did you get the legs?” (we have to prosthetic legs on stage with us the whole time)

I begin to explain and then Andy (the Director), butts in, carries on the story and then says:

“Yeah.. they belong to a bloke called Dave, he’s coming on Wednesday night and he’s bringing some friend from his amputee group…”

WHAT?!

Brilliant.. Got THAT to look forward to! Hopefully they won’t be offended by any of it!

____

Anyway – must get to bed now – gotta be at work bright and early to keep things sweet with the boss. We had words today.. I think we understand each other – things are just a bit tender between us at the moment y’know?

So yeah – must dash – need bed.

Speak soon.