I'm happy that I have brought laughter because I have been shown by many the value of it in so many lives, in so many ways. {Lucille Ball}
I think it's been pretty obvious over the course of the run how much fun has been had by cast, crew and audience alike. As I've mentioned before, the main aim is always to entertain the audience whilst telling the story, but if you can put together a group of people who genuinely enjoy what they are doing and make the most of the pantomime season together, this can only be a positive - and this is exactly what it's been like at the Arnaud this Christmas. We're even blessed with a great group of Juves and Chaperones!!
The posts of my "Brummie Buttons Blog" have been litered with jokes, ad libs, tumbles and fumbles from start to finish, combined with the drama of hecklers and flooding to spice things up a little and make this year one not to be forgotten! As it draws to a close we have a final post featuring some of the mishaps of the final few shows.
I was over joyed to get the Nunn joke in one evening. We'd got a rather lively X-Mas party on the first few rows, all very jolly and wearing sparkly hats. "oh look, we've got three nunns in this evening Ladies and gents! Aint got Nunn, don't want Nunn and never gonna get Nunn!" This is an old favourite of mine so was chuffed to get it in, even if it was only once.
In the final week and a half, Cinders hat in the kitchen/dress up scene has become a star in it's pwn right... upstaging us more than the plopping ponies. Quite by accident initially the bow flopped over Alice's face so she had to flick her head back to get it out of her face. This allowed me to mimmick her through out the song, which always went down well, even on occasion having to get down onto my knees to attempt to look under the hat to see her face. Sometimes I'd ask her if she "had torrets".
On performnace PG had a little mishap with his make up, coming onto stage with slightly... what's the word..?!... SCARY eyebrows!! They were so high above his eyes that he a constant look of shock and surprise on his face. I started laughing in the wings, before I went on but couldn't hold it in. "Are you alright? Have you had an accident with your eyebrows?" PG being PG played up to this for the rest of the Act, pulling faces and staring at me whenever he got the chance. That evening he came on again... this time having painted on very thick, diagonal brows, which made him look furious!!! Obviously there were references to this throughout.
PG was the cause of much on stage giggling a show or two later when he broke the chair whilst trying on the slipper. He sat down preparing to do his slipper switch, but was completely thrown by a very loud cracking sound... I will never forget the look on his face, laughing as I write this, as he turned his head towards me with a mixture of hillarity, fear and the unknown. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on which way you view it) the chair didn't give way.
He obviously has to blame someone for the dodgy chair, that being me. Earlier in the same show, during the kitchen scene Alice had accidently knocked the chair over when she stood up describing what the Uglies had done to her ticket.
"TEMPER TEMPER!!! It's alright Cinders... calm down.... Don't have a strop!!!" I told her, resulting in a corpse from Alice. Moments later when Cinders had 'turned me down' I walked over and knocked the same chair over, looking at Cinders and saying "hmm!" - a strop of my own. In PG's mind, it was this that weakened the chair. We think not... the trial continues!
Another thing I always smaile inwardly upon hearing on stage, is a really loud and over the top laugh from an audience member. Maybe you've got a guy who laughs like Frank Bruno or a child that laughs in all the wrong (or right) places. Or perhaps maybe you have a lady, quite excitable, who has a rather high pitched trigger laugh. Well one evening thats exactly what we got. "Blimey, I called out in the kitchen scene as I exited "who let the hyena in? Are you alright love?!"
It set up beautifully for when I came back on in my tiger onesie... after the initial laughter caled down and I'd done my 'roar' I turnbed to the woman and said "careful luv, I eat hyenas!!!" another great response! I kept this theme a couple of shows later, when I heard Kit mention the lady he was picking on with the ball ticket, was wearing animal print. "I don't know what animal it's meant to resemble, but it's an animal all the same!' I heard. So I went on and when Cinders referenced the audience member for 'ripping' her ticket I followed it up with "Oh... Julie(?) how could you?! And dressed like a Zebra as well!" This got a nice laugh and pbviously set it up for "Careful luv, I eat Zebra!"
The final gaffaw I can tell you about spawned from the disaster the theatre had gone through over the Christmas weel. So it's quite nice that something good came from the trauma. I've already mentioned how we were referencing the floods thoughout certain shows, but this takes the prize! I'd been thinking all run... the way Tom (Princey) flies backwards when pulling the slipper off Kit (false leg skit) we're going to lose it in the pit one night. Sure enough this did happen... and it happened when the pit was still under two foot of water. We al watched in the apparent slow motion that always happens in moments like these, as the show fly up into the air and down, smack bang into the middle of the flooded pit, resting on the now floating decking. 30 actors and 600 audience heads fllowed it as it plopped into its watery grave!
Obviously there were plenty of ad libs flying around. "Oh dear Cinders you're going to have soggy feet now!" "have you got any wellies Cinders?" etc etc. But obviously we were stuck... we didn't have a shoe to try on. immediately I thought... we must get Cinders out the cupboard! I cut the script and called out from down centre... "it's alright boys and girls... Cinders told me she still has the other show, but I haven't seen her, have you?!" Cries "in the cupboard" came flooding down as hoped.. we were back on track. that was however until a crew member, unaware I'd got a plan and trying to be helpful, grabbed the second shoe off Cinders and passed it down stage left to Tom.
"Ah!" I said... "ok someone else had another plan, so what we're going to do ladies and gentlemen is pretend that the past 30 seconds haven't happened." It was great for the audience!! When we got to the scripted section for getting her out of the cupboard I played on the "Deje vu" and "right as I was saying a few moments ago...!"
But obviously the fun wasn't over there. Cinders didn't have "the other shoe" anymore so we had to try and get around that, and poor old Cinders was hoping around on one heel, causing great amusement for the audience.
The door knocked! "Who could that be?" the baron asked. Me: "probably the RNLI coming torescue the show!" and when I was doing my round up before the songsheet I told everyone how "cinders was running around the palace in circles!" acting it out as I told them.
I couldn't let the moment pass of course and so my rhyming couplet became
"So the Baron's paid my wages, the cheque it has come through,
so I'm popping into Guildford to get Cinders a new shoe!" cheers from cast and audience in appreciation for what had unfolded!
What a funny and eventful run!
JB - BB
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