The arrival
March 9, 2012
Well, we're in Stratford. The weather coming up the M40 was as bad as could be – when overtaking a big truck meant being blinded in its spray. You know what it's like.
Last week we had an early Spring and now the fields in Oxfordshire were white with snow. But as I turned into Stratford the sun broke through the clouds; patches of blue sky and dramatic dirty cotton wool clouds made a perfect backdrop to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. I've often thought that Stratford seems to enjoy its own micro-climate. In my memory the sun shines more often here.
One of the great joys of being at the RSC is that one is surrounded and supported by a range of expertise that is quite the best in the world.
For a producing house, this is a huge organisation and it is significantly to its credit that the spirit amongst those who are working with us here is so evidently positive and friendly.
One might expect such a complex organisation, where there are so many departments reliant upon each other's efficiency and understanding, would be a hotbed of impatient internecine dispute.
Well, it may even be so, but the justifiably proud effort and will involved in getting a big show on means that everybody is just so reliable and responsive.
Actors, I would have thought, can't be the easiest people to service and support, but the welcome and hospitality we have had here has been amazing. I think that the general good humour enables us to understand how we, in turn, are in service to a greater common purpose that binds us all in mutual respect.
How immensely privileged we are. After all – if we do it right – it is the actors who will be so humbly bowing as we are overwhelmed by waves of applause. If only you could see the theatre, during the technical rehearsal that we have been undergoing, crawling with people – all absolute experts in their field – attending to the multifarious disciplines that a big show like this demands.
Jon Bausor's design is extraordinary. The space beyond the thrust stage speaks so eloquently about the world of the play.
The lighting is already ravishing and Jon Clark will be adjusting and tweaking it for a week or more yet.
The wigs and wardrobe departments work wonders. Literally within minutes of a suggestion being made, someone appears with the answer. I thought it might be an idea for Sir Toby to have a pair of shoes, rather than his default espadrilles, for a particular scene.
When I next get to my dressing room Jess the Shoes is waiting there with a pair for me to try on. I discover I need some invisible socks to make them more comfortable for on my bare feet. Within minutes they are supplied. Then we guiltily reject the idea and nobody feels the effort, while they are doing a hundred other things, was a waste of time. You may gather that I am in awe.
It's been a long tech day (9.30am to 10.00pm) and I'm off to bed. I'll tell you more tomorrow.
Photo: RST Mission Control
by Nick Day
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