Tuesday 7th Feb.Hetty & Lottie
Delighted to see Hetty and Lottie back in Brick Lane Music Hall today! They both called in to see the Panto, and called around in the interval to catch up! Lottie Johnson and Hettie Hobbs have been stalwarts of BLMH for many many shows, and pantos here. Hettie was Good Fairy in “Jack” with Lottie as Principal Boy last year.
The Lottie & Hetty Group Picture during the Interval!
Currently Lottie is filming and Hettie is in “Phantom Of The Opera” (with my mate Tim Morgan) at Her Majesties Theatre.
We had a jolly show today. The sun was shining on the approach to Silvertown, and for a while I thought I was going to have to employ my swimming skills (I have none)as the swing bridge by Docklands airport was raised to allow two large ships/boats through. I could see the spire of the Music Hall tantalisingly, but had to be patient for twenty minutes!
Packed house as usual with the boys in the band- Tom, Martin and Andy in very good form!
We had a bit of a moment on my entrance as Fairy Deadly Nightshade, with an errant pyrotechnic (swallowed a dictionary on the way in I think!) but that was swiftly resolved! Thanks Rhys!
Ellie, Ben, Sam & Me being “Bad”
I applied my make-up post haste today as the bridge had held me up, and we went up on time to a jolly tea-time audience. The show starts at 2pm and then at 3pm the audience tucks in to tea (as do we backstage) until 4pm, when we return to the second half and carry on until 5pm.
Today’s birthday is the lovely Ashleigh Butler, seen here with Pudsey on HIS birthday a few weeks ago in Northampton panto. Happy Birthday Ashleigh. See you in Crufts with Puds and Sullivan on March 12th!
A typical day in the Bavarian Forest!
Bavaria doesn’t often feature in The Sleeping Beauty story. A lot of children only know of the Disney version, or the more recent Angelina Jolie “Maleficent”. Some recall the ballet version with the villain named Carabosse- but the version we’ve all come to recall owes its origins to Charles Perrault, the Frenchman who gave us the definitive “Cinderella”.
Here’s the Perrault version in short! Enjoy!
Charles Perrault’s book, published in 1697 included the story of The Sleeping Beauty- “La Belle au bois dormant”.
In Perrault’s version the story tells of a King and Queen who long for a child, and finally are rewarded. They arrange a christening and invite all the known fairies in the Kingdom. They find seven fairies. Each fairy will bestow a gift upon the Princess Aurora.
Each fairy has a gold and jewel studded place setting, with a gold cover for the dish. The Christening commences. Unexpectedly an old crone appears- she is in fact the eighth fairy who, shutting herself away in a tower for fifty years has been forgotten.
The “Bad” fairy, called Uglyane by Perrault, is angry that she was not invited. She is however treated with courtesy by the King who arranges an extra setting at the table. Unfortunately there is no gold cover for the dish- only seven were made, and Uglyane takes offence.
Plymouth TheatreRoyal with Hinge & Brackett as Good & Bad Fairies
Seated next to her the Fairy Hippolyta hears the old crone muttering, and fears she will do harm to the child in her gift. Hippolyta leaves the table and hides behind the curtain awaiting Uglyane’s gift.
Uglyane brings no gift to the child, she brings a curse. She vows that the Princess will reach her sixteenth birthday and will prick her finger on a spindle (the sharp point of a spinning wheel) and die. She then leaves the Christening and returns to her tower.
Charles Perrault
Hippolyta tells the stricken court that, although she cannot reverse the spell of Uglyane, she can alter it. The child, with her blessing, will not die, but will merely sleep for a long period of time. She will then be awakened by the kiss of a handsome Prince who will fall in love with her.
Sixteen years pass. In Perrault’s version the Princess Aurora is wandering the palace one day, on her sixteenth birthday, and finds a room in a tower she has never been to before. Inside the tower she finds an old servant spinning. The servant is unaware that the King has prohibited spinning wheels throughout the Kingdom. The Princess is invited to watch her spin- something she has never seen before, pricks her finger on the spindle, and falls to the ground, apparently dead.
The old servant rings the alarm bell, and the court is summoned. The King dispatches a dwarf wearing seven league boots to find Fairy Hippolyta. The Fairy arrives from many thousands of leagues away, and casts her spell over the court, so that everyone within the palace will fall asleep too, ensuring her Princess will not be lonely when she wakes up.
Here’s a Summer Version of “Sleeping Beauty” wot I wrote, which will be performed in August 2017.
Tomorrow is a lunchtime show. More panto fun and frolics to follow!
nigelthedame 