The opening night and nothing fell off ... the end of my blog

At last we have arrived at the first night for Glengarry Glen Ross here at the Library Theatre Manchester! It went very well; the audience loved it, Chris Honer our director, was really pleased and the actors came out into the bar afterwards looking relaxed and happy. I am always surprised to hear them talk of having been nervous; I would be so in their shoes, but actors always seem to have so much confidence and poise. But when you think about it, it’s a big moment when a play is first presented to an audience and if it goes awry the actors are the ones onstage having to deal with it. All the rest of us who have been involved in the production are safe backstage or out in the auditorium, or in the case of some directors I know of, lurking in the bar! When the set gets stuck, or the leg falls of a chair, or the gun fails to go off, or some one misses a page of dialogue which just happens to explain a crucial twist to the plot, it is the acting company who have to get the show back on track, and they often do so without the audience ever becoming aware of how close they were to watching a crash and burn situation!Thank Goodness! The revolve worked beautifully, the legs stayed on the chairs, these characters assassinate each other with their tongues rather than with guns, and as far as I could see, the acting company was word perfect. We now have two more previews before the press night on Tuesday, so the director will continue to do a bit of work with the actors until then. I have only one more job to do and I keep trying to persuade myself that it is unnecessary! I was hoping that my duty to this show from now on would consist in putting on a nice dress and my new black patent shoes and giving the set a quick look over, before strolling out to the bar to enjoy the press night performance. The problem is the blackboard which the office manager in the play uses to display the sales figures. Its frame has been painted a very dark brown and it just doesn’t look right to me. The model piece was painted a mid-brown which looked much better and fitted in with the other wood on-stage. Why couldn’t the scene painters have just copied the model? Why can’t I just not mind? There is no point arguing with myself, I know I’m going to have to re-paint it. So back to B&Q tomorrow for more paint!
In all other respects, I am pleased with the set; it looks good, it works for the actors and Nick’s lighting sets it all off beautifully. But when you go, don’t forget to notice the costumes! I think they look fantastic and yet most will take them for granted – just seven men in suits after all. But you are now an in-mate of my designer world and know what goes into it all, so you have no excuse for not noticing the subtle range of colours, the styling which reflects the different ages and character of the men, the perfect shaped collars and the ties which pick out colours in the set.

Enjoy the show! Take your friends! Thank you for reading this blog which comes to an end now. After Tuesday I have another little job to work on – the design for The Importance of Being Earnest, our last show in the present building.

Suddenly I am transported from the 1980’s back to the 1890’s
and I enter a whole new world.