Clapham, au revoir
March 6, 2012
Well, that's it. Clapham, au revoir. It was a celebratory day in some ways. I persuaded the staff at Clapham North tube station to write my own bon mots on their 'Thought of the Day' board at the top of the escalators.
We had our last lunch at the Fish Club in Clapham High Street. The lunches have been fun; GBK, Belgo, Eco and the occasional luxury of Gastro.
In our last two days in the London rehearsal rooms we have run each of our three plays and had a bit of a notes-fest. The runs went OK, but this morning the last of the three, The Tempest, revealed a company that were tired and stretched. I think everybody's hearts and minds are halfway to Stratford already.
It's been tough for those who have understudy parts to learn and rehearse alongside the three parts they are doing in the main rehearsals. They've had word-runs in the evenings while I've been comfortably sitting at home with a glass of red.
The stage management team are also working really hard, with barely time to pack their things for the move to Stratford. The rehearsal rooms have accommodated us for four months and were beginning to look a bit like a charity shop after an earthquake.
I remember our move out of Clapham last year, when I helped clear out the kitchen; I filled three black bin sacks with food from the fridge, some of it rather green and furry. This year most of us were dismissed early and left the final clear-out to our uncomplaining and seriously hard-working stage managers. They will be in the theatre on Sunday a day ahead of us, and still greeting us with smiles on Monday morning.
There's a welcome drink for us in the Duck on Sunday and then on Monday morning we start the tech rehearsal for Twelfth Night at 9.45, finishing at 10pm. We have the first preview on Thursday now firmly in our sights, but between now and then we have much to find out. A hotel-style lift, a tank of water, a revolving door... all sorts of things that we can't really reckon with and time until we are on the stage with them. And I bet we have a lot to discover about the sight-lines, too.
Emily Taafe had one of those dreams last night...
I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.
by Nick Day
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