Phew! Another busy month which has seen soooo much energy and dedication directed to our March production, ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’. But, by crikey, it’s paying off.
A show of this nature is no small undertaking for anyone involved: a quick fire, farcical marriage of traditional British comedy and the slapstick physicality of Commedia del Arte, its demands are many. Timing is essential, both physically and verbally, and the frenetic pacing is a challenge all of its own. But that is the purpose of rehearsals, to get these things right, so that it will be an enjoyable, fun and (hopefully) uproarious night for our audiences.
This is a play with a rightful reputation for being one of the funniest in recent stage history and so carries with it quite a responsibility. Humour, of course, can be very subjective (in the same way that fear is I suppose, hmmm, future post forthcoming there) but its critical acclaim and its recent sizeable success means that there are going to be a lot of expectations about what the show is going to offer. We are, of course, not the West End, but we are aiming to offer something to audiences in March that will wow them the same way that ‘The Railway Children’ did at the end of last year. It is a challenge though; we don’t want to simply offer a low rent reworking of the well known Corden production, but equally we need to ensure that audiences are not going to feel cheated with something that doesn’t match up to their high expectations. It is a fine line to walk and adds another layer to the exacting rehearsal process and we’ve not even begun to factor in the adjudication yet!
We are getting there though.
There is still much to do, it’s all hands on deck as another Mike Downing inspired set begins to occupy the stage and we are delighted to welcome a number of new faces who are helping us realise such ambitions. There is a touch of ‘Glee’ to come as the traditionally jazz hands free cast wrestle with a grand finale opening number that, when it works, should have folk rocking in the aisles. And the pitch perfect pace and timing is still to click fully into place but it will, it will.
Tickets are now available and details are provided on the website: http://www.matchboxtheatre.org.uk/node/295.
I genuinely think this will be a true case of booking early to avoid disappointment, and I hope to provide a bit more evidence of that in the very near future. But, for now, the weekend looms. I hope it is a good one for you all. Take care until the next time.
M x
The Matchblog 