大象传媒

This week, when 'An Inspector Calls'听 takes to the stage in Milton Keynes, the professional touring cast will be joined by a group of local 'extras'. For my sins, I will be one of them!

You can see how we all get on on the Website and, from Wednesday, on Lorna Milton鈥檚 Afternoon Programme on 大象传媒 Three Counties Radio.

Tuesday 28 April 2009

Don鈥檛 talk to me about cobbles 鈥� but suffice to say I will be getting some Party Feet soon! (other jelly pads听 that you put in your shoes are available!)

This morning I had no idea what I would be doing as an 鈥渆xtra鈥� in Stephen Daldry鈥檚 鈥楢n Inspector Calls鈥�. Now I do 鈥� and even though it has all been great fun 鈥� my feet are killing me!

Katy in costume!

But more of that in a minute! The first thing I learnt today was that we are not actually called 鈥榚xtras鈥� at all, but supernumeraries dahling! Or 鈥淪upers鈥� which I like very much and may adopt in other areas of my life! I met the rest of the 鈥淪upers鈥� at the costume fitting, who are all a really great crowd from many different walks of life, but all of whom, like me, wanted a challenge and a new experience 鈥� the fools!

The second thing that I learnt is that I would be wearing 1940s costume 鈥� and, after reporting for duty at 1.00pm, and under the careful supervision of Wardrobe Mistress Bet Burrows, I dived into a box of clothes.

I picked out the first thing that I could find which vaguely looked like it fitted me 鈥� a pinky tea dress - and thankfully it did. Then a coat, hat and scarf was added and voila 鈥� I looked like an old picture of my gran! Which surprised me because the look that we were aiming for was poor and dowdy and I never remember her being that! But the things is, 1940s dowdy is infinitely more stylish and well-made that anything we get nowadays. They always managed to look well-dressed on a budget without resorting to leggings and a baggy sweatshirt!

Suited and booted, we then moved on to a rehearsal with the professionals on the stage, with full effects 鈥� which worried me slightly! But it was all conducted safely and efficiently by Resident Director Adam Lenson who explained what we had to do.
The role basically involves standing very still on the stage for about 10 minutes. Easy peasy you might think 鈥� but you鈥檇 be wrong. For when you鈥檙e told you have to stand still, it鈥檚 surprisingly difficult to do it! Especially if like me, you are not only a fidget, but you are standing still on cobbles and are trying to, ever so slowly, move your feet, inch by inch, into a position where something isn鈥檛 digging into them!

But why do they have 鈥楽upers鈥� standing still on the stage? I was confused because this isn鈥檛 in the original play. Why do you see a group of people from 1945, the year that the play was written, when in fact the play is SET in 1912, before the First World War? Well, the concept is brilliant!

Stephen Daldry apparently found, on an old manuscript, a reference to Inspector Goole saying 鈥淲e must go鈥� and not 鈥淚 must go鈥�, so he brings on this group to watch the final judgement of the family, who are meant to be disenfranchised Labour voters after the Second World War, those who would have normally voted Labour but for the selfishness that they now saw in the country. The whole play is about time, and so this concept, the parallel of the present and the past, displays how the past has got them to this point in time. How the actions of a family in 1912 led to this. I love it!

As such, the expression that we had to achieve was 鈥渓ooking on in judgement鈥�. Therefore, the shocked / confused looks that I had perfected yesterday were to be rendered useless. Luckily, 鈥渏udgement鈥� tends to be my default expression, so not too much effort was needed there!

The thing that I was most concerned about however, was a big bang. Yes, there was going to be an explosion on stage, and not just while I was on there, but practically next to me! And for someone whose heart beats at twice the normally rate at the mere suggestion that there鈥檚 going to be a loud noise in a play, this was a worry. I managed to manoeuvre myself to a position as far away from it as possible - which wasn鈥檛 very far - and hope for the best, mentally deciding to pop out for some ear plugs afterwards! But we ran through the scene with full effects 鈥� which are quite spectacular as it happens 鈥� and it really wasn鈥檛 too bad at all. They say you have to face your fears 鈥� and I certainly did that today!

More 'Supers' in costume!

The performance itself went extremely well, although I did feel my legs shaking but managed to control the quivering with a few wiggles of the toes. I had been told by Louis, who plays the Inspector, that people had been known to faint, and as this is another concern of mine, I did find myself thinking who would carry me off if it happened, or would I just be left there, as an inspired, if unexpected, metaphor for a collapsing society.

I soon forgot about it though, by concentrating on what was happening on the stage and marvelled at the talent being displayed right in front of me. More exciting still, was the fact that I was on stage with David Roper from the Cuckoo Waltz 鈥� i.e. the one that wasn鈥檛 Diane Keen or Lewis Collins!

At the end of the show we went on for a curtain call to loud applause and cheers 鈥� yes, actual cheering 鈥� I鈥檓 not making that up! We were told we could now smile, but weren鈥檛 allowed a bow, so sadly my flamboyant curtsey, with head bowed and my right hand on my heart, went the same way as my defunct expressions!

By now, I have to say that I was completely exhausted and walked into my house demanding tea 鈥� or else. I wonder if Helen Mirren ever tries that 鈥� and gets the same steely expression that I was met with! He still made it though!

And now we鈥檝e got to do it all again tomorrow 鈥� twice!!