What a great new site we have here. Thank you, Jessy, as ever, for your vision and diligence. I hope all who enter here enjoy! And what a lot of news. T.I.M. is out on Netflix as of last Friday. And Operation Epsilon has been announced with its full cast. And what a great cast it is.
I really look forward to this rehearsal process and short run at Southwark Playhouse. The director Andy Sandberg has a fabulous energy that has already made an impact on the cast and crew. The writer Alan Brody is here too at the beginning of rehearsals and is the second octogenarian to have blown me away in the last couple of years, Ridley Scott being the other. He's great. He has a fascinating ability to bridge the world of real, proper MIT science and theatre. No wonder this play was a success when it first came out in Boston. And Andy is as kind as he is sharp. When I did the short film with Patsy Ferran recently, she told me how much she preferred rehearsals to performing, (& yet she won the Olivier for Streetcar after only 3 days of rehearsal!). I don't feel quite the same, I LOVE performing, but the rehearsal room is buzzing at the moment, and it has certainly put a spring in my step. Which isn't easy at the moment actually because of the recent knee replacement. I am going for maximum sympathy by using my crutch for the first week. Still amazed at how good my surgeon is. It was 3 weeks ago today he cut open my knee, sawed off some of the bone, got rid of some irritating bits, screwed in some titanium and neatly sowed me back up again. And I can already walk without a limp. Extraordinary.
The summer of sport, mostly against the Aussies, continues with the Rugby World Cup just around the corner. (I sacrificed going to the opening matches to do this play, can you believe it!) I feel I have worn Mel's Australian cap enough, so COME ON ENGLAND! Pleeeease. Almost forgot about the Cricket World Cup too. Blimey! Amazing athletics too, and the Lionesses, OMG. Weren't they fantastic. The pressure on them must have felt enormous, but what I really loved about that whole tournament was the way it was played. No screaming at the ref like in the men's game, which as a rugby fan has always put me off soccer. In this tournament, the ref was always respected and also was there to help play, not disrupt it. Not to say I don't think they always made the right decision, but it made for a much better game, and the way winning teams treated the vanquished, with humility and praise. It gave them the right to celebrate. I loved it. And as an actual sport, I really enjoy the skills and speed and tension. I honestly think I am more of a fan of the women's game now than the men's, altho' our new manager at Spurs is great! What a summer, sport AND theatre, all we missed in England was an actual summer!
Off to rehearsals now, have fun one and all, and I will update on our progress soon.
Byeeee. x