An Obituary

I hope the following does not offend but I felt moved to write it. It is a very small gesture, kindly intended and I hope not too badly executed.

2007 ended with the death of Mark Wakeman's Mum after a stroke. Mark Wakeman is a very gifted young man who I have known now for many years since he appeared in "Martin Chuzzlewit". I have got to know him better over the last few years through "Dude" and through his strong friendship with my son - in - law, the Natty Chap. Mark's Mum was a character in the best possible way. When she attended performances, which she did often to support her son, who is a prolific performer and playwright, you always knew she was in the audience. She made you feel good and special as an actor. She took me on one side just over a year ago and said I should play Hobson in "Hobson's Choice" as she thought it would be a perfect part for me. We were both more than a little piqued when the Chichester Festival Theatre included it in their 2007 season with John Savident in the role. We both thought that the director at Chichester must have been eavesdropping on our earlier conversation. Her generosity of time, praise and support will be missed by all of us but particularly by Mark and his Dad. My Mum died over thirty years ago, not long after the Best Beloved and I married. I still think of her lots and raise a glass to her memory on occasions.Her birthday is 6th April 1917 so my Mum would have been 90 in 2007. I know she would have loved Best Beloved, Firstborn and Kitten fit to bursting. I regret that she never had the chance to express that love. I am pleased that Mark's Mum had the opportunity to show how much she loved and was proud of her son. Those are the memories he must hold on to at this sad time of mourning.

Approaching a New Year

We met up with the Caddy clan yesterday and a good time was had by all. One of the questions I was asked often was what was I doing in the new year. I have lots of little projects and nothing major planned. I will still have lots of time to waste outrageously.

I am working on a submission to the Bench theatre company of a proposed production of "Hamlet". My last production as a director was November 2007, when the play was David Hare's "Racing Demon". We are lucky enough to have a Bench Theatre website at www.benchtheatre.org.uk and so I was able to look back and read my own notes on the play. I was definitely in a political mood even then and certainly found myself in accord with a great deal of what David Hare has to say. The following two quotes are taken from those notes and are copyrighted by David Hare himself.

"The one thing I have learnt and understood from five years' study is that British society needs not to abolish its institutions, but to refresh them. For, if not through institutions, how do we express the common good?"

I still believe the above to be true but am not sure how to go about refreshing the institutions. It is one of the reasons I am interested in local politics. In conversation with my brother in law, Christopher Caddy, who was, before he retired, Chief Planner for the Vale of the White Horse, he was discussing the frustrations of being a minority party local councillor. Excluded from the corridors of power, such as the Executive, even majority party councillors can feel marginalised and out in the cold. This can impact on one's ability to serve one's constituents.

I am indebted as always to Trevor Hare for his comments and the one on the Queen revealed a great deal to me. Yes, it was the Queen to whom I referred as a rich woman, not my mother in law, Trevor. Trevor's comments also resonated with me as I read the second quote from my "Racing Demon" notes. I am not sure where I got this quote from but I believe it was from a book written by David Hare. Although, as I have said before, I love collecting such quotes , I am not always scrupulous about their source.

When I give bread to the hungry, they call me a saint.
When I ask why the hungry are hungry, they call me a communist.

I am getting cold feet about the submission. I think it is because I am not totally clear in my own head as to why I want to do it, which is rather a Hamlet type situation to be in. I began to try out some of my proposals on the Best Beloved yesterday as she is a member of the Artistic Panel. She is a tough questioner and after a very short while I began to feel my enthusiasm wane. It wasn't the response she expected and so she was a little upset. The truth is I was arguing with my head but my heart wasn't engaged. Am I offering a production because I can rather than because I want to? I believe I am a good director but can I be bothered getting off my arse to prove it?

The production would rely on the black curtain surround on offer at the Arts Centre and building up a stage area using the Arts Centre's own blocks. The latter would need hardboard covers so some expense there. I am not doing the designer's job but rather cutting my cloth to fit the basic ideas. I haven't resolved the stabbing in the arras problem although have a couple of ideas in mind. I would like to use large laundry baskets, probably four, as props and onstage storage and as furniture and even part of the stage. (At this juncture, the Best Beloved asked what I would do about storing these things afterwards. I can see the logic of the question but always wonder why the person asking fails to see the broad sweep and magnificence of the idea itself.) I would use the majority of the production budget on hired Jacobean costumes. I am tired of productions set in modern times or in eclectic costumes just because they are cheaper to produce. I would want the wardrobe department to concentrate on looking after and organising the costumes (possibly even their collection from and return to the hirers) rather than making or designing. I would like the July 2008 fortnight slot. I would like the fortnight because I believe a production of this scale needs eight performances rather than five of the one week offered in September 2008. The play will grow during the performances. I would like to concentrate on filling the seats of the first three nights from within our membership and supporters in particular as these would still be preview nights as far as I was concerned. The Sunday and Monday in between performances could then be used to rework any aspect considered necessary. Each preview night would have notes provided by director. After that the show would be allowed to run solely under commend of stage manager. The News reviewer could be invited any of the three preview nights as the review is useful to spread word of mouth for the second week and could be published as late as the Monday of the second week. Tuesday of that second week may also need a substantial push from the production and box office team. I will be going on holiday for a fortnight in the rehearsal period but these rehearsals can be run by the stage manager from the book. The cast can reinforce lines and moves while I am away. Hopefully I will come back refreshed and with a new impetus - could be a scary prospect for the company!

As this seems to have become a Bench Theatre posting, I am on the lookout for raising £250,000 towards providing the Bench with rehearsal space. Any ideas as to how this money could be raised would be gratefully received. A lifetime in public service does not prepare one for the entrepreneurial skills required for such a project.

Bad Heart

It was one of those simple comments that came up in last Tuesday's exercise class. Alan was relating a story of someone he had met in hospital who had claimed he was unable to do something because "he had a bad heart". I had to think about it for a moment but I don't consider I have a "bad heart". My heart is perfectly fine and strong. legally I had a heart attack back in January 2007 but not technically. My heart simply complained that it was not getting sufficient blood and oxygen to do its job properly. The triple bypass is just to replace clogged tubes with ones that will dilate sufficiently to allow an adequate supply of blood and oxygen through to the heart. Thanks to Debbie Hobbs and cardiac rehab phase 4, I feel fitter now than I have done for a few years. I thank God for a good heart although I am not always goodhearted. I upset my mother-in-law by questioning how a woman with a huge estimated personal fortune should spend Christmas Day afternoon lecturing me about looking out for the homeless. I am not totally happy about the money I have invested in Northern Rock apparently as it doesn't seem I am getting a great deal out of it. We watch the Queen's Speech out of respect for Old Gran and as part of our family traditions on the Day. Unfortunately it tends to counteract the good warm and humane feelings I have after the traditional Christmas morning church service Best Beloved and I attend.

For the first time, Natty Chap and the Firstborn stayed overnight at the end of the Christmas Day celebrations. This certainly extended the event into the early hours of the morning and was full of daft family games.

The Kitten has applied for a course run by the London Actors' Workshop. This covers 12 Sundays from January to April. She may have to make a weekend of it by going up on Saturday for a bit of theatre and stay with friends. However if she gets the afternoon sessions, she might even be able to make it in the one day. I spotted the course in "The Stage" last week and felt my regular subscription may be beginning to pay off. I was pleased that she thought it was a good idea immediately and got straight in touch with the course organiser and sent off her application form.

Pompey are playing Arsenal this evening. Pompey have lost their unbeaten record and now have to scrap a bit to recover their way. For what it is worth, 'Arry, here is my suggestion. At home keep the defence as it is but hope that Pamarot comes back as Hreidarrson isn't the same quality. at left back. In midfield keep the same players with Sean Davis protecting the defence (substitute with Hughes if and when needed), play Diop and Muntari as midfield enforcers but give former a kick up the arse, bring in Taylor as wide left midfield and find someone to replace Utaka as wide right midfielder (I don't know that we have anyone other than Mvuemba), play Nugent up front as lone striker (Benjani needs a rest when we are at home particularly) with Kranjcar as playmaking midfield in the hole behind him. This formation leaves Mendes as a substitute for role Kranjcar is playing. It also leaves Kanu and Utaka as tactical substitutes in attack. The suggestion is we are going to approach Arsenal for their younger players as loan signings. I have no objection to this plan and believe a lot of good could come out of it. However, I still believe we need a right winger and a proven goal scorer. Spiderman Guiterrez with Utaka in the middle would replicate a formation used elsewhere with reasonable success. Spiderman and a big forward might work. Johnson with a more traditional full back behind him might make something of that right midfield berth. We still need that big striker though! It would be a worthwhile investment.

To hear 'Arry complain about the African Cup is a bit rich as he signed these players but doesn't seem to have had a back up plan in mind. I thought our squad was supposed to be stronger in depth than in previous years. It should be able to cope with absentees as it would have to do in a European campaign. If it isn't strong enough then the Chairman is going to have to dip into his pocket again. The possible rewards are such that it would be a shame to spoil the ship for a pennyworth of tar.

Play up, Pompey!

Strictly Come Dancing

I was delighted that Alesha won the 2007 Strictly Come Dancing contest. I voted for her but must confess that I voted for her consistency throughout the series rather than her performances on the night. If I had to vote solely on the performances in the final, Matt would have won the my vote. He and Flavia were fantastic on the night. Flavia is a fabulous dancer and her choreography really was exciting and played to Matt's strength. In particular, the show dance by Matt and Flavia with its one handed lift was outstanding. In contrast, Matthew Cutler's choreography seemed a little tamer and playing well within Alesha's ability. However I cannot fault the partnership and think the pairing of Alesha and Matthew were worthy winners.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this series of "Strictly Come Dancing" even more than the one which Darren Gough won. I still want to learn to dance ballroom for those French fetes. I am trying to persuade the Best Beloved to attend the Fred and Ginge classes on Monday mornings at the Havant Arts Centre in the New Year.

Christmas Eve 2007

I had to raise a glass of "Bushmills 10 Year Old Malt" to toast Big Jimmy's birthday yesterday as I hadn't any Jameson in the house. I am not sure that the old man would have minded too much but would have appreciated the gesture anyway.

I am learning "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost as my seasonal poem contribution to the evenings on the 28th and 29th.

I collected the turkey this morning and brought it safely home. I also visited Waitrose at some unearthly hour to stock up the drinks cabinet. I didn't buy any spirits as we seem to have plenty in stock already so concentrated on wine and soft drinks.

The Firstborn is downstairs at the moment setting the table for the Christmas meal. Kitten is installing some coloured lights in the kitchen. Best Beloved is sewing and ironing a pair of curtains for the dining room. I am sitting here typing up an extra blog posting. Other than that, everything seems in hand for the great festivities.

Big Jimmy's Birthday

Today is Big Jimmy's birthday. If he had survived he would be 98 today having been born in 1909. Big Jimmy, by the way, is James Patrick Corrigan, sire to Peter John and Andrew Patrick. His favourite song was "The Mountains of Mourne" and I will have to play the song once during the day and perhaps raise a glass of Jameson in fond remembrance. I used to get the Kitten when she was singing with Amber, the girl trio, to sing "Danny Boy", which was another of his favourite songs. The old man was a mixture of John Wayne and Robert Mitchum in my imagination. I cannot watch either of these stars without fondly recalling my dad. He was something of a failure as a dad having divorced my mum when I was five. However even the judge at the divorce court proceedings had to admit it was one of the strangest divorces over which he had presided as both parties, but especially my father, appeared to love each other. It was just that though they loved each other they couldn't live together.



We have had the last minute scramble to find those last minute presents. We were unable to find a CD of Andrew Carter's Christmas music for the Best Beloved because it turned out to be one of the most popular CDs for some time, even play.com and amazon.com were sold out!



I am working on the video equipment for "Attempts on her Life" as Stage manager. It has led me into some interesting ways and byways of the electronics world. As usual I end up a bit overwhelmed or over-faced (as my Gran would say) by all the advice and help offered. I think I am getting a handle on what I want. One piece of advice was straightforward about working out what it was I wanted actually to do. The trouble is I don't know what I can do until I get hold of some equipment to have some trials. Once again I am reminded of the Pie Corbett advice: imitate, innovate and invent. I need to see some ideas or to be shown a range of what could be done before I can begin to decide what it is I want. This is also to be balanced with whatever the production throws up as well; the creative energies of the director and company have to be added to the mix.



I am also working on the role of the Stage Manager. I think we are going to need a Deputy Stage Manager for "Attempts On Her Life" so that he/she looks after the book during rehearsals or on the night while I try and maintain overall technical control. We may need a couple of ASMs to work the camera and projector. I also need to establish a routine with the Bench that I don't think exists yet. The Stage Manager is in charge of the show on the nights of performances. That includes FOH. There should be a House Manager but they deputise for the Stage Manager out front. The analogy would be the Chef in the Kitchen and the house staff in a restaurant. In other words the Stage Manager controls the calls to the audience and the curtain times not the House Manager. That voice you hear in professional theatres asking you to take your seats is usually the Deputy Stage Manager under instructions from the Stage Manager. We have had the situation where the Stage Manager sits and waits for the House Manager to tell them the house is ready. There will still be an element of that but the understanding should be clear that it is the Stage Manager demanding to know when he/she can start. The show is ready and the audience loses out by tardiness.



"Bronte" is auditioning on Monday January 7th and I need to be there as Movement Director. I need to get some ideas together before then as to how to ask the company to audition. There is a strong movement element in the play and I need to help the Director chose wisely. I have also suggested that the Director look at an Accents CD from the National Theatre on the Yorkshire accent to help the company gain the necessary expertise in dialect speaking. I can speak Yorkshire but helping others to master the accent is another thing entirely.



I have written to my film extra agency asking if they can substitute my head and shoulders portrait for my full length one in the initial display shown to prospective employers. I am hoping this will have some impact on my chances of being hired. I haven't appeared in any films yet and am beginning to annoy my family by taking the opportunity to say "I could have been in that" whenever extras appear on TV or in a film made in this country.



I am learning a poem to ease my memory cells into the task of learning considerably longer monologues such as "St Nicholas". I need to learn the poem for evening events on the 28th and 29th.



We are booking a canal boat holiday for the middle two weeks in June so need to include this fact in as part of my pitch for "Hamlet" in July 2008.



My cardiac rehab classes have closed down for the Christmas and New Year break (http://www.cardiacrehabphaseiv.co.uk/) so I need to fit in as much walking and exercising at home as I can this festive season. My weight is stuck at the 112 kg or 17 and a half stone mark. One New Year resolution must be to lose two or three stones in 2008. I did get down to 16 stone in 2007 but the technique employed was too scary to contemplate going through again.

I wish all my readers a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. (I will probably get in another posting before the new year but just in case....) I do enjoy writing my blog and the fact that more than one person has complimented me on it is very reassuring. Sometimes it is just the trivia and minutiae of my life but occasionally there are glimpses of the passions that drive me.

Kitten's Birthday

Nearly missed my weekly blog posting because of the Kitten's birthday. I won't mention her age as that would be ungentlemanly but it certainly gives me pause for thought (I think there is a pun in there but I can't be bothered sorting it out)!

The kitten, firstborn, natty chap and I went for a six mile walk this morning before meeting best beloved and old granny in the Castle Tavern for roast Sunday lunch. My legs, lungs and heart survived but as usual I sweated excessively and ended up with a stiff neck. My shoulders begin to ache and then I tense up my neck and bingo! I had to have a hot shower on returning home from walk and pub to avoid the chill.

Old Granny was returned home before we watched "Strictly Come Dancing". Delighted that Alesha is in the final as she should be. It was really tight decision between Matt and Gethin. On the dances on the night I think Matt probably shaved it but think that the five dances required for next week will be a taxing task for Matt. I feel Gethin would have given Alesha more of a challenge in the Final next Saturday.

We then played games in celebration of birthday and had pieces of cake baked by Herself. The cake was very tasty as is Herself. Firstborn and Natty Chap repaired home and the three survivors watched "Cranford". I haven't watched the other episodes like the girls have, but thoroughly enjoyed the quality of the final episode. I don't know the trilogy upon which the series was based and neither did the girls which added to the enjoyment.

We are off Christmas shopping in Chichester tomorrow. Our friend the Cattermoles are coming to tea. Terry is accompanying a school party from where his son, Simon, is headmaster, to the Naval History Museum. Terry's journal when he was an officer in the Royal Navy is an exhibit there and so he is literally a piece of "Living history". Best Beloved is then off to the carol concert at her old primary school where she taught not where she attended.

This week is end of term for my exercise classes and the cardiac rehab Christmas lunch on Thursday. The Bench Club Night on Thursday is the one hour panto, where groups are given an hour in which to improvise a panto from scratch to show to the rest of the company. I missed out on last year's so am looking forward to the fun.

I am also pursuing the video equipment recommended for "Attempts on her Life". I hope to finish Bronte Act 2 and do some more work on my "Hamlet" submission for a Bench production in 2008. Need to complete booking a winter sun holiday. Our canal boat holiday in France is underway, folks.

London Theatre

One of the things I promised myself last December was to make regular visits up to London using my Senior Railcard and catch up with a bit of the London Theatre scene. I was even presented with a wad of theatre tokens by the school as a leaving present to make this dream come true.

Yesterday I managed my very first such visit of the year. I had used all the theatre tokens to help me pay for tickets to the season at the Chichester Festival Theatre, a decision I don't regret as it was again another splendid season. I don't know how to finance the 2008 season but I still hope to repeat the attendance.

Yesterday I discovered day tickets for £25 and went to see "Billy Elliott". I travelled on a return ticket for £16.65 (which would have reduced to £13 if I had travelled after 8.00 p.m. In the end I caught the 7.15p.m. back from Waterloo.). I managed to read the first half of "St Nicholas" on the return journey and was thoroughly gripped. I need to read the second half as a matter of some urgency! You can tell it was good because I didn't fall asleep which has been a longstanding tradition on return train trips from the capital.

I enjoyed "Billy Elliott" but wasn't bowled over by it even though I wanted to be. It appeals to me as a subject matter. I come from mining stock on my mother's side and have no difficulty in relating to their dilemma. I feel very strongly about Thatcher the Milk Snatcher and destroyer of several cherished English values. The use of police as army (the use of army as police?) on English streets is unforgivable. The transfer of Metropolitan policemen to subdue North Eastern miners was a blatant misuse of political power. The desire to centrally govern every aspects of our lives was not a Thatcher invention but has rarely been so openly and brazenly applied. The neo-Thatcherites called New Labour still clearly have this desire and social justice and individual liberty have to be sacrificed to economic efficiency at all costs. It is good therefore to see that the economic efficiency so prized and vaunted is coming back to bite them on the arse. Why don't politicians learn from history?

Anyway back to the musical. It has some gripping moments and I like the roles of Billy's Dad and brother. I found them to be quite truthful and invested them with my sympathy and empathy. I liked the dance teacher and the uneasy relationship with the Elliotts. The clash of the middle and working classes is always a good mainstay of English theatre. I liked the anthems especially the one where the miners return to work and descend en masse to the coalface, with their pit lamps blinding the audience. The choreography was excellent if a little repetitive. The solo dance by the young Billy which impresses his father enough to take him to the Royal School of Ballet auditions. I liked the auditions and warmed once again to the father. The music generally though was not very inspiring - loud and enthusiastically played - but not inspiring. The lyrics failed to grasp me and though moved by the swell of music and the enthusiastic dancing the lyrics will not live with me. Older men such as myself always claim to come from a working class background. However we lived in a back to back in Clipstone Street, Bradford, with a toilet out the back down the passageway. It belonged to my Granny Frost and my Mum worked in the Bulmer and Lumb textile mill at the top of Wibsey Bank. I couldn't dance or sing but I think I read my way into the middle class I now find myself in. The storyline of "Billy Elliott" should in theory reverberate strongly within my breast but perhaps the beta blockers etc which now keep my blood thin so it runs smoothly and easily through my arteries have also lessened something of the passion and power of feeling that used to grip me.

It is a pity therefore that my first London theatre visit should be somewhat anti climatic. The second Thursday in the month seems like a good time to go. Yesterday was the 13th and on the 12th January (not a Thursday) a family and friends group is decamping up to the Donmar to see "Othello". The reviews are very good so perhaps this will be a theatrical treat!

I saw "Wicked" this year (that must have been a trip to London theatre as well as I was on my own for that as well. The mind is treacherous and perhaps yesterday wasn't my debut.) and now "Billy Elliott". I found both of them rather empty vessels so perhaps West End musical is not my true scene. I would like to find more chamber sized and new musicals at the Drill Hall for example. I still seek a musical director at the Bench for several projects jumping around in my head. I would also prefer to visit some of the off-West End smaller theatres with new cutting edge theatre. Ah well, who knows what 2008 might bring?

Weekly reviews

This is the first of my Sunday morning blogs. Usually I post as and when the spirit takes me but I am hoping the discipline of sitting down on a Sunday morning regularly will impose some order on my life. I suspect that this is a hangover from my professional life, which I haven't totally succeeded in leaving behind.

I love reading other people's blogs and do a circuit almost daily of my favourites. I notice Archimedes the cat has had a great deal to say, while his owners, Himself and Herself, have been a bit muted. I suspect the workload as we head to the festive season has got on top of them. The Best Beloved and I have been invited to a meal in the new Year to discuss "projects" and I am already salivating at the idea - the project as much as the meal! Natty Chap has given up smoking and is enjoying cold turkey before Christmas. He is also writing an interesting blog about his production of "Attempts on Her Life", due for presentation at the Havant Arts Centre in February. I am feeling a little guilty as I am Stage Manager for the show but haven't attended any of the rehearsals yet. Nathan said I was expected after Christmas so I took him at his word. I am reading "Stage Management:The Essential Handbook" in the meantime and researching the use of CCTV for stage purposes. The Handbook says that the stage manager should be in attendance all the time and I am not sure the Bench have got quite the right angle on stage management. I might even write a document to that effect. Anyway if I can solve the use of TV, I can then make a visual recording of the rehearsal process, which should be more valuable and pertinent for "Attempts" than the usual Stage Manager's copy.

The weather yesterday prevented me from putting Teak Oil on the Firstborn's garden chairs. They are stored in the garden shed and. when the chairs are in there keeping dry, there is no room for me to get in there. let alone wield a paintbrush. I am hoping Kitten will find a solution to the bike stored there. If the bike goes, I can at least get into the shed alongside the chairs. The garage looks like a theatrical furniture store with the dining table and chairs from "The Wild Duck" and the Kitten's store of furniture. It is therefore not much use as a workshop or a garage. I put Garden Furniture Protector on the chairs on Friday when the weather was cold but dry and my exercise class for that day had been cancelled.

It is two more weeks and the Christmas break will be upon us. This is when I have a break from my exercise classes as well and so am looking to have lots of walks to make up the difference. I am eating healthily and well. I feel fitter than I have done for many a year but I still weigh eighteen stone. I went down to sixteen stone during the early part of the year and that is probably where I should be if the truth be known. However the weight creeps up on you. I try to claim some of it is muscle rather than fat, but it still feels like a feeble excuse. I am going to reinstate Sunday afternoon as a visit to the gym and the treadmill or static bike, in order to bring my exercise sessions up to four per week. I also try to walk on Mondays and Thursdays - non exercise class days. Saturdays are slobbing days and I watch football as much as I possibly can. Yesterday's game against Aston Villa at lunchtime set the standard. Pompey didn't play well and never really got their act together but still ran out 3 -1 winners despite giving away a penalty.

I have a meeting tomorrow night with Tim Dawes, which might result in yet another project. I owe Tim an apology as I quoted extensively from a newsletter, of which he is the author, in an earlier posting. I don't think I actually gave him the credit in the posting and I would like to point out that the copyright is his. I am something of a magpie when it comes to ideas - decades of being a primary school teacher - but lack the academic discipline of clearly identifying and thanking my sources as I should.

The Cattermoles (Robin and Terry), our friends who live in France, are coming over this week and Terry would like back the two books he lent me when we were over there earlier this year. I am ashamed to say that they are still unread by me. I am beginning to get the hang of this reading lark but it tends to be theatrical works or play scripts at the moment. The former tends to be my bedside reading and the latter needs sit down concentrated time for it to be absorbed by me. I still haven't finished Act 2 of "Bronte". I was chastised by the Kitten because I couldn't remember the plot of "Shadow in the Smoke", the second part of a series currently being filmed and shown on telly with the girl from Doctor Who and Secret Diary of a Call Girl (name escapes me). I read the whole series a couple of years ago but haven't retained the plots. I don't think this makes me a wicked person, an absent minded waste of space perhaps, but again some of the ideas will emerge in future productions and I will claim them as my own. I remember still Pie Corbett's advice to creativity: imitate, innovate, invent. I am still firmly in the realms of imitation in most areas of my endeavour. Occasionally I will take an idea and add something new to it - innovate. However invention is still a distant dream!

Billie Piper!

There's life in the old dog yet!

Beware fair maidens - and you know who you are ( I may forget a name but never a pretty face or turn of an ankle)!

Bench anniversary

The Bench began to discuss its 40th anniversary season in 2009 at last night's club meeting.

The Artistic Panel put forward a revival idea of productions from the previous decades. I think there is some limited value in this idea but don't want to do it for the whole season of four plays. The Panel put forward four suggestions, one from each decade, of plays that struck the individual Panel member.

I was struck by "Death of a Salesman" (third ever production) and "The Entertainer" (fifth ever production.

There is a wonderful article in the Guardian this week about Shakespeare and star roles. It is mainly looking at Ian McKellen, Ewan MacGregor and Patrick Stewart, all of whom have become known to mass audiences through sci-fi or fantasy films and are taking on Shakespearean roles in London at this very moment. The article writer draws attention to the fact that Shakespeare provides star roles, Lear, Iago and Macbeth, which modern writers usually fail to do in contemporary plays relying more on ensemble work.

However Willie Loman and Archie Rice are certainly star roles written by Arthur Miller and John Osborne in the two plays mentioned above. I loved playing Willie Loman in a Cunning Plan production a few years back. However at the Bench I would propose Peter Woodward would make a marvellous Willie Loman and David Penrose would make a fabulous Archie Rice. The Bench would be looking afresh at these theatre classics, which still speak loudly to today's audience. None of the original casts are still with us - at least not the leads! I did play Archie's son in the original Bench production (my Bench debut in fact). I think I am probably too old to reprise the role. Archie Rice was played by the dear departed Ray Osborne. John Batstone asked who played the original role so perhaps he is tempted by the idea? I would certainly be tempted by "Death of a Salesman" as director.

Organ

"My brain is my second favourite organ" Woody Allen.

Pompey line up for home games (as compared to the 4-5-1 away from home):
James, Johnson, Campbell, Distin, Pamarot (no change there)
Utaka, Diop, Davis, Muntari,Taylor
Kranjcar (in the hole behind the lone striker)
Benjari (as lone striker)

I would sell Lauren and Traore in January window. I would hang on to Taylor (see above).
In absence of Davis I would use Hughes as holding midfielder in front of defence rather than Mendes. Pedro I would use as cover for Kranjcar in home formation above. Nugent would cover for Benjari. Kanu is a one off and should be used tactically.

Kranjcar could move across to replace Utaka in away games if needed as suggested by "Julie, Cosham" in yesterday's News.

I still think 'Arry is right in pursuing a striker to increase number available up to 4. A right sided midfielder or wide player would also be a good purchase to provide a different option to Utaka. Loss of four players to African Nations Cup is heavy but should have been anticipated when being bought. Still feel there is room for creative player(s) in midfield. Someone makes point about Croatia players and other European teams in today's News.

I am almost certain to submit "Hamlet" as my pitch for July/September 2008 at the Artistic Panel meeting on January 10th. I will need to make my apologies to "Attempts" as stage manager that night as a rehearsal clashes. I will need to ask the Artistic Panel if I can be an early item on their agenda that evening as it also clashes with my first meeting of the Libdem Executive Meeting. It's like buses, nothing for ages, and then three come along all together.

I will have to start a "Hamlet" blog although that might be a bit presumptious until I get selected. However i have lots of ideas buzzing in my head and it would be good to write them down and look back at them later.

Trevor, I hope you might have some ideas about using closed circuit TV on stage during "Attempts". I also need a digital video camera for recording rehearsal outcomes - any ideas or suggestions?