Fourth Monkey is on fire it seems. Not actual fire, obviously. That would be terrible. But this season seems to be going down a treat, and it is a proud group of monkeys who stroll up to the Theatro Technis each day, albeit cursing the £2.85 they've just spent in Costa. Coffee is a vital ingredient of this season though so we justify it by reminding ourselves that "this is for our art".
If rep is the best training a young actor can have, then it is also the most fun that you can have. You only have to walk into our dressing room upstairs before Bacchae and listen to us being led in the fine art of rap by The Three Mad Dogs (that's right we have a Dionysus inspired group) to know that we're having a ball. It's a lady-haven up there with everyone happily doing each other's hair and make up, and generally getting glittery. I let the lady side down yesterday by accidentally gluing my eyes together with liquid eyeliner; a terrifying minute of my life, a clearly hilarious one for everyone else. Our rapping has extended itself into Psychosis prep and we have a jolly old time jumping about chanting "she is the couching place where I never shall lie" making that scene increasingly difficult during the show. The point is we're having a blast, I'm not part of Lord of the Flies but from the delighted squeals that come from the cast, and the energy they have on stage it is clear as day that they are having the time of their lives too.
The shows are all up and have all opened now and the responses have been lovely. I haven't been reading the reviews but it sounds like the earth ensemble are getting all the praise they deserve; with multiple special mentions for Leanne, Emma, Thea, Georiga, Max, Sean and Jack and so delighted that Katie Cherry has been pulled out for her excellent work in Psychosis! From what I understand it seems like the majority of the praise has been reserved for the ensemble as a whole and that is a real credit to the company and what we stand for. It sounds like Steve and Charleen's direction has been getting all the praise that they rightly deserve too, and Pablo-the-genius has been nominated for an off west end award for his lighting design of 4.48 and we couldn't be happier for him!
Bacchae is a colourful blur of screaming, laughing, dancing, singing, guitar-ing and cross dressing; it is strangely not unlike our dressing room beforehand. I think the show is growing every time we do it. The boys are doing a stella job and all of them were making me have to hide my giggles behind my fan as they well and truly rocked it last night. Especially as Stuart's dress was tucked into his tights for the duration and I definitely guffawed too loudly at the curtain call as I noticed he still hadn't rectified the situation.
Psychosis is a joy to be in. We're all so proud to be a part of it and know how lucky we are to be doing it. The power of the ensemble is evident in every element of this show and we are very close because of it. If ever the merits of an ensemble company were on display I think it's here.
I'm not sure how Abi hasn't died in the tech box during it but we are all very grateful to her for being so brilliant! Maria broke the set one night, but Maria can ad-lib her way out of anything and I hope the audience heard what she was muttering after she ripped the side of the stage off; it was hilarious! People have gone flying, costume has fallen off, and we've all shown off our nude pants to full effect. The hatch is smaller than anticipated and this combined with the necessary arse-shuffle to get into it means that when the lid is closed my kickers are well and truly in a twist. Literally and metaphorically. It's a right old eyeful for stage right when I do emerge and for this I can only apologise. Despite these little losses of modesty we abso-bloody-lutely love doing this show; recalling the wise words of a happy Hamish, "T.I.T.B; This is theatre baby!" It is a very joyful feeling in that little corridor backstage when we're all back there together again after the show.
My only concern as we near the end of the run are Maria's continued veiled threats to poo in the hatch. Given the size of it that would be a disaster!
Lord of the Flies is simply brilliant to watch. It's stripped back to the max, everyone is exposed and consequently everyone shows their class and shines! There are really stunning, stunning performances from everyone and Leanne's Piggy is just out of this world! The energy is unreal and their pre-show looks like so much fun and I am always so jealous watching it!
We're a very happy bunch of monkeys. Our lives have been made very easy by the hard work of the powers that be, the prime example being the ridiculously long hours our directors and designers put in pre-plotting and we're so grateful.
It will be a very sad day on Saturday (Sunday for LOTF) when this season will be over. I have never smelled worse (I had to buy f'breeze yesterday to spray my Bacchae costume with for the good health of Citheron) I will soon be lost without my Baccahe fan, I'll miss being 'dipshit bacchae' who wore the wrong outfit, I might even miss being in the hatch or losing my shoes every day, or repeatedly walking into the railings at the entrance to technis but I think it is very safe to say we shall definitely all miss doing this. With that in mind we are all determined to have one hell of a week and go out with a bang! If you haven't been to see the shows yet please pop along in this final week :)
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