The Last Lap

It is less than a fortnight to go until Much Ado goes up and Progress Blog sat in on a Saturday afternoon rehearsal. We can report that it flowed well, the actors knew their lines (well most of them) and it made us laugh. It is going to be a good show.

The rehearsal period has not been without its problems. The director, Lesley McEwen, has been ill and has suffered from not having a production manager. This has meant she has been sending out ever more desperate emails to find people to help with set lighting and sound. Luckily these calls have been answered and there will be light (and sound).

Everyone in the cast pulled together and built the set in a weekend. It is simple but effective. At the moment it is all white but some bits are still to be painted to give a grey stonework effect.

Stage manager Mandy King turned up last weekend expecting to watch a rehearsal but instead found a paint brush thrust into her hand. Mandy was back this weekend and did get to watch a rehearsal this time. She bought her laptop and was using it to draw a plan of the stage and mark off where all the furniture needs to be. She was also trying to work out which cast members will have time to help with scene changes.

Tony Powell, who plays the Sexton, rushed on stage during the interval to nail up a dartboard. Tony only turned up to the auditions because he was giving his daughter Emma a lift. She got the part of Hero and Tony was persuaded to audition himself. To quote the director, “Tony has been a legend”. As well as being a handy set builder he has taken on finding all the props – which explained the dartboard.

To see the results of all this hard work come and see ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ it runs from 26th November to 5th December 2009. Tickets available from the Hexagon 0118 9606060.

Coming up ...

Auditions for 'A Couple of Poor English-speaking Poles' by Dorota Maslowska on Sunday 29th November at 2.30 and Tuesday 8th December 7.30 both at Progress Theatre.

Auditions for ‘Intimate Exchanges’ by Alan Ayckbourn Sunday 6th December 2009 1.30pm-4.00pm and Wednesday 9th December 2009 7.30-10.00 both at Progress Theatre.

See progresstheatre.co.uk for more details.