Blacklisted!
Currently sitting in the foyer of a certain Yorkshire theatre, which demonstrates all the worst aspects of the british theatrical obsession with trying to prevent you from actually putting a show on. We've been performing two different shows (by invitation), both of which have been in the repertoire for at least four years, and have been performed in major theatres all over the world. Only here in Leeds, it would appear, there are whole departments dedicated to finding reasons not to do the show right here. This is a producing house, and the staffing structures are so rigid and hierarchical that it is hard to imagine a chippy daring to touch a lantern (at least not without written permission from all relevant HODs). Similarly, there seems to be a grade of dullness and lack of interest that pervades the system, if you don't work the way they do, then they're not interested.Trying to get this particular company to do stuff or be somewhere at a specific time is like herding cats, and they are adept at ignoring authority figures, so I derived a certain amount of wry pleasure from watching the house stage manager attempting to get the company back on stage for the post-show discussion. It was only when I suggested that their tray of drinks was shifted onto the stage, that they actually complied.
My final gripe, for the moment, is that the theatre has very good web access, however, it has the most draconian naughty filter that I have ever encountered, so far The Deep North has been blacklisted, as was a download of a smoke fluid toxicity data sheet (demanded by the theatre), I haven't even tried eBay.
More pleasantly, on monday we're off to Bogota to do four shows, and for the first time in my life I'm an actual millionaire, sadly only a peso millionaire, but never mind. My researches suggest that every street corner will be populated by sinister moustachioed drug dealers offering cocaine and handfuls of uncut emeralds for sale, I suspect the reality will be somewhat less exciting.
posted by Lampy @ 3/01/2008 12:52:00 pm
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