THE SCOTTISH PLAY!!!

Getting ready to play Lady M in Macbeth…the dreaded Scottish play, notorious for all sorts of bad luck…you’re not allowed to even whisper the name in the theatre…so friends wish me luck!!!   I am somewhat terrified…we have a huge cauldron..(note to self….do not fall into it…it holds up to three people), we have witches, blood, very gory ghosts and we open on 31st October…Halloween to you and me!  I have been rehearsing for the last two weeks…we have a lovely Macbeth… Richard Stride…he owns and runs the theatre…the Groundlings theatre in Portsmouth…2nd oldest theatre in England, so probably has a few ghosts of its own.   The last time I worked with him, I ended up murdering him, pushed him into the Thames river! The set will be exciting with three huge revolving mirrors, video and FX…now as Noel Coward said “say the lines and dont bump into the furniture”and all will be fine.  I will keep you posted with pictures etc!  And we have a really terrific Director Marcia Carr, who has the happy knack of bringing the play, the action and the characters into  life, as we understand it today, without changing a word of the dialogue.   Shakespeare’s real genius lies in writing about human nature and Marcia knows how to get that out and make it relevant for todays audience.   Rehearsals have been fun and interesting…Lady M is going to be a first class bi*ch.

Portsmouth is an historic seafaring city, with all sorts of wonderful ships, like Henry VIII’s “Mary Rose” and Nelson’s “Victory” on show to the public…this is real,  friends…not Disneyland.   I am staying in the Royal Maritime Club, which started life as a haven for sailors, who had nowhere else to stay while in port!

Here’s the weekly menu..7lbs ships biscuits (complete with weevils), 7 gallons of beer (often sour), 4lbs salt beef, etc, includes 6 oz butter (rancid) 12 oz cheese (bone hard)

Will let you all know how it goes, once we’re up and running.   I do love my job!!