I may not look anything like Kiefer Sutherland (I’m small , Jewish, and my Gran is from Iraq) but in the last few days, the creative team behind Natural Selection and team 503 have worked tirelessly in to pull off a marvellous feat that Jack Baur in 24 would be proud of. I saw a run of the play on Saturday in the rehearsal room, and the acting is astonishing. It was now important to match that on the technical side.
Whilst England has no doubt been enjoying running after ice-cream vans (a favourite past-time for Daniel Rigby aka ‘Vlad’), playing in the parks amidst the glorious sunshine and pollen increases of the bank-holiday weekend, different things are happening at Theatre 503. The foyer area of 503 has been turned into a painting and decorating/DIY showroom, in which anyone can have a go with a roller. In the theatre itself, there is a lot of talk radio-mic’s, glazing, fenals and phil/olli. The latter names being instrumental in the construction of the set. We always knew the get-in was going to be tight and with the first preview approaching everybody is working as hard as they can in their respected fields.
Richard Howell is like Tarzan swinging from a ladder or balancing like a ballerina on a banister as he fits up a focuses the lights. Libby Watson has designed eighty shows in her career but that does not stop her from getting stuck in and doing a bit of ‘chalkin’ (an exotic process I was only recently made aware of. Using sting and blue chalk, the painter is able to mark out a straight line before he/she applies paint and in this case Libby uses it to meticulously create the tiled floor). Tara and Lizzy, the Whippet producers, demonstrate that being a producer doesn’t just mean white toothy smiles and cocktail parties. They run around non-stop; paint, lift, supervise (not boss, TARA) and make sure that people are hydrated with beer or shandy. Pip Thurlow’s official title is ‘Stage manager on the book’ and arguably he practices what he preaches; In the four weeks I have known Pip, he has never used grammatically incorrect language or swear- an incredible achievement if you consider how vulgar our cast can be! However Pip does not just police words but also the props, and alongside the ASM Beth Pitts, they have worked efficiently and as calmly as possible to meet the ambitious necessities for Natural Selection.
Other people involved, but maybe less useful;
Myself; when painting the set I fell over and left an astonishingly visible hand print. I am not practical but try my best not to create a catastrophe so near to preview night, and find my niche; hoovering...it is very difficult to make a mistake in this line of work.
Tim Roseman turns up with a cheeky smile and so many chocolates that he looks like he has robbed the local newsagents...the chocolates boost morale infinitely and he did direct a play, so maybe it’s just me in this category.
The Tech arrives and although it is a necessary evil, Richard Hammerton’s beautiful score, composed specifically for the play lifts my mood.
The preview starts... I am at the back with members of the creative team and as the lights go down the amount of note-pads and pens make it look like we are watching a scientific experiment and not a play. This feeling disappears in two seconds.
After the show, I manage to speak to a couple of the audience members full of compliments for all aspects of the productions. Their jaws drop when I subsequently tell them that this preview was actually a dress rehearsal! The production has achieved what we arguably set out to do; it makes you think and it’s very funny, in my case prompting a 45 minute discussion on the car-journey home amongst my family whose ages range from 14-88. Natural Selection is shit-hot, make sure you see it!
