Neal's Blog

Events sometimes conspire to create a memorable show. We were three scenes away from finishing an open-air production of Horrible Histories at Hampton Court Palace when the power went off which killed the sound and lights. Apparently the generator had run out of fuel. So my fellow actor Morgan Philpott and I carried on with no mics, no lighting and no sound effects to the end of the show. It turned out to be possibly the funniest performance I’ve ever been in. Morgan was amazing: “Loud sound effects happening here, actors losing their limbs and voices everywhere” – but we got through to the end, including an unaccompanied rap. I can’t imagine doing it without Morgan – he was absolutely hilarious. I normally plug our next production at the end of the show and found myself promising the audience it would be worth coming because the Apollo Theatre had a roof, sound and lighting. The audience completely went with it – they quickly realised they were watching a one-off and had a fab time. One family came up to us in the café to say it was like watching The Play That Goes Wrong for real. And as we headed for the dressing room we both received impromptu applause in the car park. I wouldn’t have swapped it for the world. My only concern is that tomorrow’s performance will probably feel boring by comparison!

Events sometimes conspire to create a memorable show. We were three scenes away from finishing an open-air production of Horrible Histories at Hampton Court Palace when the power went off which killed the sound and lights. Apparently the generator had run out of fuel. So my fellow actor Morgan Philpott and I carried on with no mics, no lighting and no sound effects to the end of the show. It turned out to be possibly the funniest performance I’ve ever been in. Morgan was amazing: “Loud sound effects happening here, actors losing their limbs and voices everywhere” – but we got through to the end, including an unaccompanied rap. I can’t imagine doing it without Morgan – he was absolutely hilarious. I normally plug our next production at the end of the show and found myself promising the audience it would be worth coming because the Apollo Theatre had a roof, sound and lighting. The audience completely went with it – they quickly realised they were watching a one-off and had a fab time.   When the power went off, the organisers at Hampton Court Palace expected to be dealing with a thousand refunds, but not one was requested. One family came up to us in the café to say it was like watching The Play That Goes Wrong for real. And as we headed for the dressing room we received impromptu applause in the car park. I wouldn’t have swapped it for the world. My only concern is that tomorrow’s performance will probably feel boring by comparison!

I love hearing the comments from the kids as we leave the stage after the curtain call: "Skellig! We love you Skellig!" and my favourite so far "What happened to the toilet?"

I love when you arrive for your early morning show feeling just a tiny bit underwhelmed at the prospect and the audience turns it into one of the best shows of the run! They were such a rowdy bunch this morning you almost felt they wanted to be on stage with you. What's great with an audience like that is having a part like Skellig - who can be engaging, funny, and then frightening, so they never really know what you're going to say or how you're going to react. As the Americans would say, it's a part you can turn on a dime. And as the show went on, the audience fell more and more into silence. Grand stuff!

The BSC is in that wonderful position again of having three excellent shows on the road. David Wood's brand new adaptation of GEORGE'S MARVELLOUS MEDICINE opened this week in Horsham and went beautifully - a wonderful cast and crew doing a fabulous job - and the audiences loved it. Big congrats to the HORRIBLE HISTORIES team for the Manchester Evening News Awards nomination for best family show. It's the second time HH has been nominated in Manchester - awards night is Dec 8th. HH, SKELLIG and GEORGE - three shows to be proud of - and all directed and designed by that clever duo Phil Clark and Jackie Trousdale.

My friend, who is not an actor, had an interesting point of view concerning the fuss over the delayed opening of COMPLICIT: "Surely RD unsteady with his lines is still more enjoyable to watch than a lot of actors who are on top of their lines?" Certainly a view that could start a debate...!

I have fallen in love with an American cop series called THE SHIELD. It has certainly the best scripts, the best filming and the best acting that I have seen on TV in a loooooong time! Having tuned in late into the series, I was always behind on some of the plot, so I bought the first series on DVD. What a treat! Thoroughly recommended.

It's not often you get the chance to work with the original author of a play or book, so it's been a real thrill to have David Almond in rehearsals for SKELLIG for the first two days. Even more so when you're playing the title role yourself, getting the chance to be sure you're thinking along the right lines about the part! This is the first time the play has been produced since the celebrated production at the Yonng Vic five years ago, so there is a lot to live up to. The first two days have been great. Once again, the BSC is able to enjoy the fact that it has three fabulous companies in production and on tour. We couldn't ask for a better group of people in each show. Each production has a lot to live up to!

Well no-one who reads this blog expects me to be conventional, but I was a surprised to find myself sitting outside of this film. I was once told and have since believed that a true test of whether a film or a play works, is if you forget you are in a theatre and you are transported into the world and along the journey of the play or film you are watching. So I've always felt it's a sign that something isn't working when you never feel you've left your seat. Even more obvious is that lovely feeling when you leave the venue and think "goodness, it's London on a Monday night" when for the last couple of hours you've imagined you're in America in 1892. Sadly this wasn't the case last night. What's more - and I am really sorry for being contrary - I didn't really believe DDLewis. I was always aware I was watching someone performing. A very fine performance, but a performance nevertheless. Worse still, I wondered if a different actor would have been more suited to the role. For my money, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN is certainly more gripping and has more convincing and interesting performances within it. Despite the fact that I still don't know what NO COUNTRY was all about! (Interestingly, I read an extract from Cormac's book and I reckon this mystery is probably solved by reading the book! So that's me out!) I am now even more certain that I shouldn't go and see ATONEMENT!