Saturday 17 November 2012

And We're Off....





At the Drama School Ball
Dark Horse here, or Helen-welcome back those who have seen the first post, and welcome those who are reading this for the first time. This is the second of my blogs which as we stated in the initial stages is a sort of 'personal South Bank Show' where anything may be written about...........anything goes !! For my background-please see the first blog ! This gives an overview of the blog's premise.
Here goes...........










Firework-pic by Helen




Pumpkin photo by Helen



Son with sparkler-Photo by Helen

Hope you all enjoyed Halloween and Guy Fawkes Night if you did venture out through the smoke. Number One Son had a great time with setting up and helping to set them off. Also employed with the odd sparkler-luckily the weather stayed fine if a little blustery and very cold.







The time of the increased darkness brought the use of a cinema voucher which had hitherto remained in a box since last Christmas.
Not just any voucher but one for 'The Directors' Hall'-very posh !

My dead men at the Directors' Hall-Photo-Helen
Directors' Hall-Pic, Helen
I saw 'Skyfall' and thought it was entertaining and a good film but not the best Bond film as some have dubbed it in my view. Not much humour or sex this time but impressive stunt scenes, chases and much more of Judi Dench. Will say no more about it otherwise I will spoil it for those who have yet to see it. (If you thought you knew the elderly man in it and couldn't place him it was Albert Finney.) Which brings me nicely on to my next topic.




Actors' Stories


'Lawrence of Arabia' directed by David Lean had a stellar cast of actors which included Sir Alec Guiness. In one scene set in a tent, one of the actors Henry Oscar as Selim was required to quote heavily from 'The Koran' in a section called 'The Brightness'. This would have been fine but several times he had stumbled and failed to remember it properly thus causing the actors in the scene with him to have bouts of the giggles-especially Peter O'Toole who was playing Lawrence. This eventually became almost hysterical and out of hand. Eventually Guiness exploded with "gentlemen, gentlemen, remember we are professionals, let us remember that....." and stormed out. Lean decided the actors needed a break to sort themselves out. They paced around the tent with O'Toole chanting to himself. " I must not laugh, I cannot laugh, I will not laugh, if I laugh again it is the end of my career, I must not laugh, I cannot laugh, I will not laugh...." 
Guiness walked around to himself, "I hope they don't laugh, they must not laugh......" It was decided to place parts of 'The Brightness' everywhere Oscar looked. On the table, on his arm, on the lamp, above the bed etc.so that he could not forget it and was prompted wherever he looked. In walks Guiness."Action!" shouts Lean.
Guiness:
"Welcome 'awrence, welcome welcome- we have just been listening to Selim reading from the Koran from a selection called 'The Brightness'. Sit down and listen, and now Selim..."
Turns to Henry Oscar who is all glued-up, words everywhere he looks and says
"Give us the Brueeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeee."



Two old actors appearing in a touring play which had been running for a long time were having difficulties. One night they were in the midst of a performance and they were thinking of what they were going to have for dinner that night or what card game they were going to play later and suddenly they both dried stone dead.(Which means forgetting your lines....) The girl in the prompt corner whispered a line to them. Nothing. She hissed the line again a bit louder this time. Still no glimmer of a response. Finally she shouts the line very loudly. One of the old actors slowly rises and walks over to the prompt girl.
"Yes we know darling we heard you the first time-but which of us says it ??!"




An Agatha Christie play was in its final denouement and the Inspector was going around the suspects questioning their movements. He reaches the prompter's corner and dries.
The prompter hisses "Try and remember."
The actor is outraged by this and still is stuck. Again she shouts "Try and remember". This happens several times.
Eventually the actor playing the inspector storms over and grabs her by the lapels. She gags:
"Try and remember what you were doing on the night of the eighteenth....."
   

One story I recall from performances is this. Was in the middle of a Chorus scene during 'The Sleeping Beauty' and suddenly became aware of the gentleman behind me-who seemed to be fiddling with something and it started to feel like he was 'touching me up'. I was rather livid about this........As we came offstage I accosted him angrily although he was twice my size and basically tore him a strip off about being unprofessional etc. Along the lines of what the hell was he playing at........??
He meekly said "So sorry me ring broke and I was trying to pass it to you........." Needless to say I  wished to drop through the floor !


On the last night of the same panto. some stage-hand had placed plastic sick in the font to make us laugh. Not really a fan of practical jokes but it produced some merriment.


On the final night of 'Worzel Gummidge' some stage wags had rigged up pulleys at both sides of the stage and out of the corner of my eye I spotted something/s moving back and forth. They were little toy hedgehogs being worked by said stage hands. Tried not to laugh and turned upstage in case !



The Witch and I as one of her robotic guards in one of our Pantos had so scared the children that we decided to do backstage tours afterwards to show that we were nice people really !



Met Dame Judi Dench after she had come offstage playing the lead in 'The Cherry Orchard' by Chekov in the West End. She was lovely and could not have been more welcoming. She signed my programme and when she heard that I and my two fellow pupils were at Drama school she said that she hoped that we would work together but she would be playing our Grandma............she did tell us to drop her a postcard to let her know how we were getting on. We never did do this-maybe one day we will........as we left I recognised Michael Frayn the playwright, director coming along to see Judi carrying some flowers. What a nice lady she is !

 



Meeting Lord Attenborough



New Walk Museum-Pic taken by Helen.
 For some years Lord Attenborough has has been collecting Picasso ceramics and has amassed quite a collection now. His intention to leave it to the museums of Leicester. I was at the New Walk Museum when he launched his exhibition and signed copies of the catalogue. I hadn't intended to go as I thought there would be no way we would get to meet him. How wrong I was !!There he was mingling and talking to people. He had spotted Number One Son from a long way off as I had picked him up to cuddle him. Approached Lord A. gently and he asked if I would like a picture. Would I ?!!He picked up N.O.S. and here is the picture !


With Lord Attenborough.(Don't know who the bearded man is on the left !)



Some Picassos-Helen

Lord Attenborough holds court.(Helen.)





Was so pleased to meet Lord A. He was a Leicester Lad through and through and had fronted and chaired so many organisations and of course was an exemplarary actor and director-I prefer him as actor. Was heavily involved in the BAFTA and RADA where he trained. I always felt I was on hallowed ground when I passed by his photograph at the foot of the Little Theatre stairs. Hope it will always remain there. I never pass it without looking at it. I give thanks for all that he and his brother Sir David has done for the arts and for Leicestershire as a whole. I shall always recall his kindness to me on that day. Bless you Richard x 

















  

Short Soapbox




 Please stop dyeing dogs-they do not have a say in the matter


Similar vein-stop using children as political slogans


Buses stop leaving early or late-just be on time


Before you do anything which involves others please ask if anyone minds ?!


Fingerless gloves-why ?!


Stop whinging and just do it !


Large Company tax evaders should be made to pay as they penalise the small man in the street-and lady


Please go out and vote-an abstention is a vote for the status quo.(Not the Pop group.....)


 Please can we have the pavements gritted-they are like an ice-rink. Is it any wonder that there are masses of people in A&E with broken limbs and sprained ankles ??!!

 

Writers' Houses and Worlds



 In deepest Dorset there is the former home of the author Thomas Hardy-run by the National Trust. (Don't try to get it on your SatNav as it is not on for some reason.) Also don't rely upon there being a Public convenience there as there isn't one. (One wondered where the staff went then ?!Woods nearby possibly.....as my son was forced to disappear behind a group of trees too.) I however had to wait until the next village for this purpose.Having lowered the tone now I shall raise it again with some pictures.

Thomas Hardy's Cottage in Dorset-another stranger in the picture-Panoramic Pic-Helen.





Monument to Hardy-self explanatory-All pics by Helen


 What struck me about being there was that although it was sparse-it was very peaceful-a must for any writer grappling with his work. No gift shops or playgrounds here just the writers' retreat and worth a visit. Read the inscription on the monument.



Cloud's Hill (Helen)


Now we come to 'Cloud's Hill' former home of T.E.Lawrence-yes of Arabia again.And he was a writer as well. There is a small hut near the house showing biographical DVDs with a bust of him and masses of information and background on the walls. Not sure where to look first. Again a peaceful retreat. If I thought that Hardy's cottage was on the sparse side then this was bordering on the most basic to survive. His bed was very high up-not sure the reason for this maybe it stems from being safe from any attack which would have been drummed into him in the Army. There was a gramophone and a domed cheese server. Not much at all but then I suppose he was used to this whilst living in the desert. (Just as Gandhi had very few belongings-it also may have been spiritual.)



Information Centre (Helen)




After visiting the house if you travel down the road there is a restaurant/cafe which has many links to Lawrence and especially interesting or macabre depending upon your view is the table which holds the cake selection there. It was the bier which was used to carry Lawrence's casket down to the churchyard !* But something clicked with me that its function had gone from a sad one to a happy one. 'Post Nubila Phoebus' after the clouds comes the sun I think the translation is although as a girl I wasn't allowed to do Latin at school but might have liked to.....one for my Soapbox feature another time perhaps.....

The Bier which carried the casket of T.E.Lawrence to the Churchyard (Helen)





I must show you the local church, in whose grounds Lawrence lies, as it has some unusual and beautiful windows.


  
Pic by Helen


Photo Helen

Pic Helen
You guessed it- pic Helen





Finally we come to one of the houses where  'Pride and Prejudice' for the BBC was filmed with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. It is a B&B in Teigh, Rutland called 'The Old Rectory'.The lady who runs it provides a cream tea and allows a tour of the house and a look through her photo album. The only thing she asks for is a donation to church funds to be passed to her. Her house was used for the Reverend's scenes played by David Bamber.     



(Pic Helen)
 

Son unimpressed


 
Featured in P&P the Reverend's room (Helen)



One of the bedrooms there (Helen)



One more look ! (Helen)



Coming up in the next Mosaics installment..........

 

 

Some Book reviews

  

Son's Sayings

 

Soapbox

  

More Actors' Stories 

Sport For All and Specifics

Music-A Prelude









See you soon !                  Lots of love....