In pictures...

As Mr Ormerod has already reported, the first night went off pleasingly. Speaking personally, it feels very strange to be performing this show already – although it’s been several months in the making, the rehearsal period has flown by. Partly because I’ve been so busy – I may not have mentioned it to the others, but I’ve actually been rehearsing three different shows. And suddenly I find I’m already doing one of them.

Still, even though it flew by, the work that went into preparing for this show shouldn’t be underestimated, and for the benefit of people who are interested (but more for those in the team that get a kick out of seeing their photos on the internet) here’s a pictorial glance at the build up to last night’s spectacular squirrel extravaganza.

The creative team…

James Aylett tells the cast to stop messing about. For the third time.

“Hello darlings…” Andrew Ormerod makes an entrance.

Meanwhile, Musical Director Andrew Pontzen still hasn’t quite worked out where the actual notes on the piano are…

…and James Lark knuckles down to write a script. Not for this show, though – it’s improvised. Did I mention that I’ve been rehearsing two others?

Equipment…

Several props have been constructed for this show. Here is a branch made out of newspaper, still drying at James Aylett’s house, while Andrew Pontzen hides behind a gravestone.

This is Dr Rhythm, on which Andrew Pontzen is cleverly putting in all sorts of percussion sounds – though we think they’re rather limited. Dr Rhythm doesn’t have a bell tree, for instance, which posed a problem because that’s traditionally the sound that fairies make. Fortunately Andrew found a musical solution in the whole tone scale. What a good job he did that GCSE in music, eh.

Oh. This is Andrew Pontzen’s bogie. He made it for the first run of Impromime back in 2002, when the rest of us actually made some useful props. I’ve always said we should have destroyed it then and there, but we didn’t, and now Andrew is insisting on involving it and we have to humour him or he’ll play wrong notes.

Getting in...

Our techie, Pete. He has big hands.

James Aylett talks the cast through the important process of standing on a stage looking important.

Meanwhile, Andrew Pontzen and James Lark eat apples whilst wearing hats.

While Pete gets all technical and James Aylett erects the set, the cast entertain themselves by playing Grandmother’s Footsteps. Again.

Andrew Pontzen and James Lark get bored and go for a coffee in Café Nero’s. Here we are pretending to be the man in the picture behind us. You can decide who’s doing the better impression.

Onstage at last, Andrew Ormerod and James Aylett get to grips with being fairies and rehearse their wand technique…

…while Anna and Amelia wait in the wings to be magically conjured into an entirely improvised scene.

It’s every boy’s dream to play the panto dame. Even Ian McKellen’s, apparently. Here’s me living my dream.

After the show…

…the cast relax with drinks. Amelia gets it into her head that she needs to know how the Financial Times makes its paper pink, and James Aylett spends the rest of the evening researching it.