Holy Mackerel! We're Nearly There...

So here we are Day Sixteen of rehearsals for our forthcoming fantastical, fast-paced, farcical, fishy theatrical presentation (commonly known as the ‘Eastern Angles Christmas show'.)  With less than one week to go we're quaking ever so slightly (much like a fish out of water) in our little yellow sou'westers.

This is my first time working for Eastern Angles and what a joy it has been. The team here are, in all sincerity, wonderful.  Hard-working, lovely people who are passionate about what they do.  It's a family, it's a hub and it's clear to see why the company has been such a success story.  Looking around our green room/your bar, gazing up at all the productions that have gone before us, and with the reputation that Eastern Angles has for its Christmas shows, it is a little daunting but also an honour to be up next.

So what is ‘Holy Mackerel!' (exclamation point: vital) about?  The clue is in the title really- Fish and Wesleyanism. The  two go together like Torvill and Dean, like Simon and Garfunkel, like Cheese and Pineapple, like Ipswich Town and Norwich City. Throw in a smattering of rioting, paint the back drop in Cornwall, give it a dose of East Anglian humans (of course), a guest appearance from Sting, a boyband, a girlband, mistaken identity, a love story, a monocle-apparelled villain, a vicar and a cow; and that, to be frank, doesn't even touch the surface.  It's jam-packed with laughter and pace and craziness and I am loving it.  We are hoping our friends (that's you) the audience will too.  It's really interesting doing a comedy in rehearsals.  With only our director Tim and (exceptionally brilliant) stage manager Penny offering up a very generously placed chortle now and then, it's hard to know how to pace it and where to allow for laughter.  As a rule of thumb whenever Dan Copeland (a fellow actor) has a line, I need to allow space the size of the Grand Canyon in order for you to split your lovely sides.  The guy has funny running through his very core. Watch out for his uncanny take on Sting.

We are a troupe of five who rapidly transform from character to character with the addition or subtraction of aprons/deerstalkers/anoraks/beards/accents/air grabs/ hot pants. (The jury's still out on hot pants- but the boys are certainly cutting a fine figure in leggings.)  We have not yet worked these costume changes into the technical running of the show and I anticipate some extremely enjoyable ‘Twister'-like quick-changes with my comrades....more on that next time.

So as we edge ever closer to our Technical Rehearsal (with lights, sound, costume and intense anxiety), so we move closer to our first preview, so we move closer to doing an actual show (say Whaaat?!), so we move closer to, quite literally, you, our audience.

We look forward to meeting you! Come ready to be flabbergasted, fooled, flirted-with, fizzed, and Fish- frenzied! You never look at a mackerel in the same light again! 

See you on Wednesday! Eek.