Midweek. (The Bucket List Begins.)

So we pre-Gala'd on Saturday & it was Good. The mannequins behaved, got dressed quickly & didn't answer back. Perhaps our new, far quieter, potential clients?  ;) 

A far swankier photo taken later on into the evening: 

http://robynoneill.com/

The Hat from The Wedding

 


The tables were decorated with hats & headpieces from previous productions as well. 
   

Made me laugh to notice this one, used in a scene for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. ^

Oh & some Local History for you which I skipped over the last time: 

There's a lot of 'gators in the Jefferson's hotel shop. Reason being that following a grand re-opening in 1907, alligators were present in the marble pools of the Palm Court & the lobby ~  just swimmin'.... 
Alligators were a feature at the hotel up until 1948, when Old Pompey, the last alligator died.

__________

I've been privy to a lot of theatre this week:

Sunday night, I crossed the bridge to Manchester. (Yes, I know.) Destination: "The Shop" to see BC's staged reading of "Osama The Hero". Kinda odd to see a bunch of Americans take on a play from Saath Landaan, set on a housing estate. 
  We talked it over afterwards & agreed to agree that it doesn't entirely work. Some of the vocabulary was swapped around: sneakers for trainers; a bag of potato chips for a packet of crisps - but not all. So notably, at least to my ears, there was mention of Tesco's & Sainsbury's and a catalogue of British newspaper names. It's a tricky line to navigate. 

IDR: "Invited Dress Rehearsal". As the Tours begin to leave town, I'm being dispatched to watch dress rehearsals & take final notes for costume tweaking. That which doesn't quite sit right or stay put.

3) The Mysteries of Ancient Egypt
2) Sweet Chariot
1) Hugs & Kisses

"Sweet Charioty" sounded just beautiful. (Everyone keeps calling it by the Musical's name so I've quit with trying to refer to it properly.) Lovely voices, the three of them. 

A sneak peek at their set. It's cleverly done on flats. Simple but effective.
 
Easy to turn around for a "reveal" at the end,
easy to load in & load out amongst the tour actors at each venue.

Just the one errant flying hat. For the first time ever in rehearsal but still,
I stitched a haircomb in nonetheless to anchor it & prevent a repeat of any additional drama.

Today I got to see "Hugs & Kisses" - the music is frustratingly catchy & often repetitive but in terms of the work that particular cast will do over the coming season, that's the most significant part. Here's why. Theatre IV/the Rep are understandably proud of & quick to promote their signature TiE show. 

     I've been working on Thumbelina tour alterations ... I've been making a butterfly.  :)

Happy Fabric!

 I've been making the Richmond robots famous too! 

The weather... my goodness, the weather!

From  snow to summer heat to wild winds, I'm only just keeping up.

 Yesterday hit 74F (24C) & we've been down in the thirties for weeks. 

(I rather enjoyed people talking about things freezing at THIRTEEN degrees. How? What?!)

So I grabbed my pink summer jacket & I grabbed Billy-Christopher & we headed for the Canal Walk. There's something incredibly empowering about introducing someone to something in their own town. Yup, back at my favourite spot in the evening light. Lovely.
 

River Reflections

 

I did it! I braved it! ...

Scene from inside the Penny Lane.

Oh yes.

It wasn't so bad on the inside. Rather friendly & cosy in fact.

Over a shared English pint, we started compiling my Bucket List
with help from the helpful Liverpudlian barman.
 
.... I have things yet to achieve, places to visit here before I leave!