Stage Right: Behind the Basque

Hi everyone, I hope you're having an amazing June. I most certainly am as after having a few weeks off from the world of theatre I managed to cram four musicals into three days plus the West End's biggest musical extravaganza! So I'll start at the beginning (as Julie Andrew's famously said, 'It's a very good place to start') and keep your eyes peeled for the three blogs after this that will look into The Book of Mormon, Top Hat and War Horse, but for now it's time to show the world your fishnets as we head to the wonderful world of Rocky Horror!

Yes, you're right I have already seen this show twice, once in Grimsby and once in Cambridge (please click to view) and am soon to be jetting off to see it again in Cardiff...I'm crazy I know. However, this time's adventure was to the bright lights of Manchester for a very special trip as my friends and I had booked a Behind the Basque package.

So let's begin...after picking my friend Holly (if any of you have been looking at Adult Child/Dead Child blog I've mentioned before then you'll know Holly from there) up from her house on the Wednesday (19th June) night, waking up ridiculously early on the Thursday morning (according to Holly) and walking my gorgeous dog, Meggie, we set of to pick up the other member of our party, Ellie. And soon we were on the road...the journey to Manchester didn't take too long and passed relatively smoothly, however, finding the Travelodge where we were staying was nearly impossible. We'd realised that the postcode from the website wasn't recognised but hadn't thought this would be a problem...well after driving round Manchester/Salford, finding the wrong Travelodge, parking in a very expensive NCP car park in the hope that this Travelodge would give us directions, losing the parking ticket, getting very brief directions, finding the parking ticket, getting out of the very tight car park, driving aimlessly around, asking two random chaps, screaming at one because he pointed out our Travelodge and finally finding the correct car park and Travelodge we arrived!!!

After all this it didn't give us too long to get ready in and I was rather pleased we'd set off early (well 10.30am ish). So after donning half our costumes (we were going to dinner first) and doing our hair, make-up, etc., we were ready and off we set (in a taxi this time) to have some dinner before arriving at the theatre to have our backstage tour. We ate in a little Italian restaurant just across from the theatre where the staff were really lovely, changed into our full costumes in their toilets and headed to the theatre.

When at the theatre we were shown inside to the bar to wait for the tour to begin. Whilst waiting we chatted to some of the other people who would be on the tour with us, all of whom were really lovely...and then in began. Now sadly and obviously I couldn't take too many pictures but I was able to get one looking out from the stage into the auditorium. During the tour we learnt that Dani (Janet) has to stand on a box in the bed scene so she can be seen and that they had to change the reveal of Rocky when Harry Neale was playing the part because he was too tall to fit through the hole in the revolve so ha to be covered with a sheet instead. We, also, got to touch the note that Eddie writes to Dr Scott, Eddie when he had been chopped up and most impressively, Frank's feather boa and cape (a cape which cost £3,000! and had been worn by Oliver Thornton...swoon!).

After this amazing experience we decided to go and get our programmes, glow sticks and other merchandise before the masses came, however we ended up hanging round the merchandise desk and chatting to the lovely guy behind there until the show began...who we still don't know the name of even though we went back to visit him in the interval and had some pictures taken with him!

And then it was time for the show, which was incredible. Once again Oliver Thornton stole the show for me but the rest of the cast was awesome too. The new members from the last time I saw it were: Dani Harmer who made a wonder Janet, very cheeky and very feisty but, also, innocent when needed; Henry Davis was the new Rocky and was absolutely super... in my opinion he wasn't quite as muscular as Harry Neale, who I'd seen before, but, as the show confirms, he only needed one big one :p!; sadly Abigail Jaye wan't able to play Magenta that evening, however we were treated to a stella performance by Maria Coyne who played Magenta very differently to Abigail but just as amazingly.

The other big surprise was that this was a signed performance but, not only that, it was signed by the same guy, Andy Higgins, who signed the performance of Priscilla in Southampton that I saw...spooky I know. I'd loved Andy in Priscilla but he was completely fantastic in Rocky Horror as he even signed the audience shout outs and had some great interaction with Philip Franks (The Narrator). I know that performances are signed for serious reasons but after these two experiences I'm starting to think that all performances should be signed as in both these occasions it made the shows even more hilarious than they original are...which is saying something!

After the show had finished we were shown back down to the bar for the cast meet and great. During this time we got chatting to some of the other people there as well, including the lovely Charlotte, Sarahlouise, the guy who's name I can't remember but who was really nice and dressed up as Frank in the lab and the lovely lady in purple amongst others. This to me made this experience as well for chatting to other fans is always nice and it just made it feel like a family event :). Additionally, it was a really nice way to meet the cast as you could take your time and have a chat with them without feeling that other members were going to run off and you'd miss them...plus it was WARM!!! So after getting all the autographs and photo's we needed...Oliver even signed my iPhone case but this has sadly rubbed off...oh well...we headed back to the Travelodge (in a taxi who had no idea where he was going!). Oh and it was only on the way back that Holly realised that Dani Harmer and in Tracy Beaker Dani Harmer was Janet and that she'd stood next to her and had a photo...it was at this point where we were all subject to a very loud scream that nearly shattered the windows of the taxi...I dare say I'll be killed for including this bit...oh well ;)

So that was all for that day. I'll leave you with some pictures of my experience...less cast one's this time as I normally put up cast photo's so I'll treat you to some different ones...