The Curtain Falls

Well it's all over now

What has been a total of seven months in the planning and execution ended on Saturday evening and as they would say in Alan Bennett land" it's all over bar the shouting!"

It was a great success. Like all good parties it was hard work and tested everyone involved to the nth degree, but it seems to have paid back in spades.

For Janet and Jan, as anyone who saw it will know "Green Forms" was a big challenge for just six days rehearsal, but one that they rose to with style. A slightly hairy first night when a couple of pages went astray did not ruin the enjoyment of a packed house and the week just went from strength to strength.

Thanks to our fabulous producer ( just a little biased here) we were sold out at every show and had queues for returns most evenings. There is nothing like the feeling of being involved with a big hit and that is exactly what we had here.

Our fabulous crew team, all of whom joined us because they wanted to do it rather than for any connection with our cause, were superb. They worked long and hard all week and pulled off a stunning set, dressed and lit with great style and that caused a wow from many people entering the auditorium. Quite an achievement when the set is described in the text as "an office with three desks!"

 I remember my first season at the National youth Theatre coming to an end. After 6 long weeks in London in the summer of 1974, I thought the world had ended. Since then of course lots of shows I've been in have ended. This gives one a variety of feelings. There are some shows that I've been in the car and driving out of the car park within 10 min of curtain down on the last night, so little love have I had left for them. On other occasions I have spent the first 3 days after the show missing the camaraderie and the companionship of the people I have just been working with. As you grow older  you grow slightly innured  to the pangs.

I shan't miss having to get up early every morning to get to rehearsals, but I shall miss the joy and laughter of being in a rehearsal room with 2 talented actresses and a great crew. I shan't miss all the admin and double-checking the production details, but I shall miss working alongside Richard to create something that is ours. I think every marriage should have a project! We'll have to start looking for our next one.

Thank you to all the friends and colleagues who came along to see the show. Thank you to all the people who bought tickets just from seeing the advertisements in the publicity. Thank you to everyone felt it anyway possible. We made an amazing sum of money, and although Richard is still doing the accounting, I can say is far more than we ever thought we would make. Catch up here next week to find the real figure.