Cast assembled. Check. Read through complete. Check. Rehearsal space booked. Check. Show venues booked. Check.
All good, then.
But there’s no relaxing with putting on a play. Just as you think you’ve covered every eventuality, the unknown challenges start to hurtle at you: predictable and unexpected in equal measure.
It’s not uncommon to have cast member/s drop out at gut-wrenching moments in the build up to showtime in community and amateur theatre.
In fact, it’s not uncommon in professional shows either. In Michael Palin’s third volume of diaries: Travelling to Work: 1988-98, he details the painful wrangling to finalise the cast of his 1991 film American Friends and his 1994 play The Weekend.
Thing is, people withdraw from your work (dump your baby) for very good reasons which means you can’t even seethe with righteous resentment. All you can do is grit your teeth and take up the cause of your abandoned character.
On stage: To Get to the Other Side with the mighty Royal Border Bridge as backdrop (and The Husband strutting his stuff to a packed house (L)). We did finally get a full (and wonderful!) cast together and the show was a sell-out for its three-night run at The Maltings Theatre studio.
After the ups and downs of casting younger male roles in my 2023 play To Get to the Other Side (a tale of the final few months of the construction of the Royal Border Bridge here in Berwick-Upon-Tweed), I vowed to write a play with a cast of predominantly oldies - mainly women.
Enter Previously Loved. Set in a charity shop, it’s the story of an eccentric group of volunteers whose gentle existence - and reputation - is threatened by a fraudster.
We’re at a stepping off point with the play - the checklist in the first paragraph is complete. Rehearsals start in September. It’s a time of fluttery anticipation and cautious breath-holding.
That latter justifiable as it turns out. My flash of genius - writing a play featuring seven women and one man - has not proved the simple casting cruise I’d hoped for.
After our full cast read-through back in the first quarter of the year, we’ve lost a couple of talented cast members. One vacant role has been filled by an actor who’ll be the perfect fit; the other gap remains a thorn in our little production team’s side.
As I’ve said, I know it’s not a me or a my play problem (honest!). However, it is a problem…
A wise Elizabethan gent may have said: The course of true cast(ing) never did run smooth.
So on, on we go.
But, just to give a little taste of what’s in store, here’s a sneak preview of an early draft of a poster for the show. It will develop. Watch this space.
With thanks to the brilliant Raymond and Elizabeth of Lighthouse Films for our pre-show photos. And also to HospiceCare North Northumberland for giving access to their super charity shop here in Berwick for the shoot.
Till next time
This is going to be excellent, I worked as a volunteer in a charity shop for 7 years and there was never a dull moment 😅 x