And so 2016 comes to an end. Whatever folk have to say about the year at large, and there’s a lot to reflect on, it’s been a pretty good one theatrically. More of that in the forthcoming but, from the quiet of Savill Towers in Gravesend, hope you have/had a fantastic end of year and look forward to seeing you on these pages in the year to come- 2017 is going to get another great one!
Best
Mx
A Merry Christmas to one and all from the Matchblog. And remember…
Have a great festive season y’all.
M x
The reverie of the weekend has passed and the warm glow of post play pleasure slowly fades into the background as the hurly burly of everyday life and the Christmas countdown begins to assert itself. Nonetheless, there are still many fine memories from the show and, thankfully, lots of them were committed to memory (card) courtesy of the keen eye of Karen Warner. Here, then, are just a few of the hundreds taken from our brush with crime and ‘Witness for the Prosecution’.
We have said our goodbye to it but it is quite clear that this is the ‘Christie du jour’ with the BBC capitalising on last year’s success of ‘And Then There Were None’ , offering it as their festive murder mystery for 2016 – a tradition in the making methinks. With Sex And The City actress Kim Cattrall, Toby Jones and Andrea Riseborough at the forefront, it promises a compelling reworking of the source material and allegedly a new take on the story, possibly in the same vein as Vicky’s reworking of the ending though we will wait to see. I am certainly looking at it with a reinvigorated interest following the last few weeks and I certainly know a number of members of our audience will be drawing some interesting comparisons as well. More details can be found online:
(Kim Cattrall, clearly in need of a cat brush here!)
Of course, Aiden Turner, who made such an impact with his smouldering performance last year, will not be returning but I would like to think we offered our own tribute amongst the sizzling, testosterone charged menfolk in the Matchbox as you can no doubt see from the pics above.
But there is even more. I have recently read that Hollywood legend Ben Affleck is scheduled to give the play a 21st century spin in in the very near future.
Ben Affleck to direct Agatha Christie’s The Witness For The Prosecution (no, not the BBC version)
Clearly interest in this play is not going away any time soon but it is worth saying, the Matchbox got there first, and I know for a fact that Vicky had chosen to do it before any of the above were announced. And thus the theatrical year ends with trails firmly blazed.
It isn’t over yet though, and news of our 2017 season will find its way on these pages very soon. For now, though, take care, keep well and once again feast your eyes on the Poldark lookalike competition at the top of the page. 🙂
Until next time.
M x
And so, the trial of Leonard Vole is over. Three successful nights, three packed houses and many satisfied audience members later, the curtain has come down on our December 2016 production. I have written before about that feeling of bereftness that comes to many the day after a show and I am certainly experiencing that now; I imagine many of my fellow cast members will be going through just the same. So, what better tonic than a little reflective bloggage to soothe the melancholy. It is nice to get time back after such a commitment, don’t get me wrong- I have managed to do some washing after all, but the feeling of togetherness that comes from certain plays can be special. ‘Witness for the Prosecution’ under Vicky’s direction was one such special play.
Photos will follow in the very near future but I will leave with an image rarely seen, after the set has been taken down, the chairs put away, the hall cleaned and swept- the post show celebration. Ok, it might not have started until gone 12:30 and the days of carousing until 6 a.m are long gone but it was a fitting way to end an exceptional run.
So another toast to a splendid play and the final word to follow very soon.
M x
Well, that was an explosive opening night…in more ways than one. No sooner had Janet McKenzie, Miss French’s housekeeper, taken the stand than there was a bang and the stage plunged into darkness. It might have been the power of K Isom’s withering glare or just a rather old light that had reached the end of its life and decided to go out in style but thankfully everyone was safe, despite the incendiary moment (more than one audience member thought it was a staged gun shot, in keeping with the expectations of an Agatha Christie story) and after a brief recess called by the Judge, it was on with the show, as it must!
Thanks then to an appreciative and patient first night crowd and to a first rate technical team, in particular Melanie Roffey, who took everything in their stride to ensure that the atmosphere was maintained throughout the rest of the performance- we could have carried on under house lights but it just wouldn’t have been the same beneath the harsh neon glare of the hall’s strip lighting.
And so, night one down. We hope that the next two nights will be just as successful and keep audience members guessing until the very end, but maybe without the unexpected pyrotechnics next time!
Hope to see many of you tonight and tomorrow. Until next time,
M x
And so, the opening night of ‘Witness for the Prosecution’ has arrived. It looks set to be a marvellous blend of intrigue and mystery, with just a soupcon of humour, which should leave the audience asking whodunit until the very end.
Did Leonard Vole really kill Miss Emily French? The answer to that will be revealed tonight, tomorrow and Saturday starting at 8:00 in St Francis Church Hall, West Wickham. Look forward to seeing many of you there and if not, tickets are still available on the door for Saturday night.
And with that I’m off to the defendant’s box, I’ll leave you with a taste of the action to come. Anon.
M x
The Matchblog 