Treading the Boards

A few years ago, I completed my Masters degree in Contemporary Theatre and thought, what now? I've never wanted to act full time. I was commissioned initially to develop a piece of work that I wrote and direct it in London and Cambridge, and I did that with a really wonderful cast. And then I let work swallow me up, and put my passion to one side.

My friend recently became a published author for the first time, and then subsequently published his first play. He needed a cast to help to workshop it and perform it on stage for the first time. He put out a call for an actress in my age group on facebook, and I thought, why not? 6 months later and many successes and setbacks, and an 80 page play to learn, and we finally performed it in two shows on stage last week!

'My Lot' and is a two act comedy that is a tribute to the modern day family who, despite the issues with 21st century living, can and do still carry the strength and values family life needs. The characters within the piece all represented some sort of stereotype. I played an over the top mother who bullied her slightly downtrodden husband, the other characters included a gay son, a pregnant teenage mother, a very smart and misunderstood daughter, a fussy auntie and senile Grandpa! The seemingly dysfunctional family is struggling with a blackout and have to learn to talk to one another. Little moments and revelations occur throughout during this time that really bring the family back together. The whole play is also thread between the telling of a really long joke! If you'd like to learn more about Darren O Sullivan's work please do click here.

The whole process was a lot of work but I was really honoured to be asked to be a part of it. It sort of filled a gap in my life that until then I had been too busy to notice was there. The play is set in northern England, so I also learned that I can do accents if I really try, something I was convinced I couldn't do before!

Most importantly for me, I met a group of local actors and actresses that are keen to work together on new projects, which is really great. We have decided to revive the piece that I created years ago, through another show in the local area. I'm really excited about this because it is really close to my heart and was a huge achievement for me to direct such a talented cast. The performance is called 'The House of Secrets' and is based within an actual residential house, and was written to raise awareness about sex trafficking. The audience interact with the show by walking round the different rooms, which all have different stories told by actresses in various ways. The feedback we had last time was really moving and I can't wait to develop it even further. You can find out more about this and watch a promo video here. 

Have you got any hobbies you don't get to do enough? Let me know!

A Jaunt in the Big Smoke and a Review of The Monty Python Live Show!

So I don't normally do theatre posts (though, fun fact, I actually have a Masters degree in Contemporary Theatre), but last week myself and the other half hopped on a train to the big smoke to catch Monty Python - the last ever live show. I thought this most certainly deserved cementing in history, or at the very least, a blog post and a nod to the occasion.

I've mentioned my love of visiting the capital before, and nothing really excites me more than taking a few days out and exploring London. We decided to make a big deal of out of it and booked an airbnb for a couple of nights. We have an emerging tradition where we always find a good Groupon for a nice meal out when we go (call us cheapskates if you like, but its expensive to eat there) and this time was no exception, we found a lobster/steak meal for two with a bottle of wine for £30! Needless to say, I do quite like lobster.

We had a bit of a wander around Camden town during the day, I threw a new outfit together with one of my favourite Bershka shirts, and it also gave me an excuse to take out my new handbag that I picked up from 'Asylum'. My best friend runs the shop and honestly, I can't walk past without being coerced into buying something, (but I do love it all).














Now onto the show itself - I'm going to start by admitting that I felt like a bit of a sham going to see Monty Python. Trig got the tickets for us, but in reality my parents are much bigger fans than me and I've barely ever watched it. I almost felt guilty going, because I thought someone else should probably be in my seat! Every MP fan I've ever met can usually recite entire sketches by memory, which is just an indication of its cult following, really. Although they were initially only going to do one show, it sold out within 45 seconds so they kept adding new dates until it stopped selling out. We got tickets for the second night, and I tried to get myself up to speed before we went without watching too much MP at home and ruining it for myself.


We met some of Trig's workmates and chilled out in the Sky VIP lounge beforehand int he o2, which was a really nice touch! The staff were so friendly and made us feel so welcome.

I happen to have what we could call a minor fear of heights (OK - I really don't do well with heights) and luckily for us our seats were the very top of the arena on the absolute highest tier. Once I got over that (and begged to swap with someone for the end seat so I didn't have to climb over anyone) everything was splendid. The show itself was about 2 1/2 hours long. They did recycle lots of their famous sketches which they have been slated for in the press, but if you're doing a last show of an iconic comedy spanning decades, you would be silly not to. That is what their audience and fans clearly wanted. There were sketches even I recognised, their famous dead parrot sketch, for example, which was really great to see live.  Others I didn't know but would now like to watch. John Cleese was phenomenal on stage - a natural comic, they were all great. I have an odd sense of humour, and the slapstick elements don't usually tickle me, but I enjoyed it immensely.

They also added new material - with guest spots from Lee Mack live, and recorded material with Stephen Hawking and Brian Cox (Stephen runs him over and flies off into the sky to 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life'.. perfect) John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones all had such great chemistry and it was fun to watch, especially when things didn't go to plan.

What I loved the most, was that you could tell that they were old friends with history, getting together and having a laugh, remembering the good times, and nodding in respect to the late Graham Chapman, one of the original Pythons (they jokingly titled the show '1 down, 5 to go!).

The show closed to 'Christmas in Heaven' and 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' which everyone was on their feet to.

Overall I loved it - some things you just feel fortunate to be a part of.

Have you been to the Theatre lately or are you planning on going? Let me know! x