There’s a steep hill in Muswell Hill (where I live) that is bordered on both sides by trees (no idea what make: I love trees but I can barely tell an oak from a bonsai) that suddenly bursts into a duvet of pink blossom in mid-April. You can see for miles from the top of the road, and it looks like it’s the pathway to Heaven (it’s not, it’s actually the pathway to Crouch End).
The reason for all this ‘pink duvet’ rambling is that, to me, it always signifies the beginning of ‘real’ spring and the onset of plans and capers and amazing hopes and possibilities. The fact that I will only actually get round to doing about 10% of said capers is, obviously, irrelevant; it’s the over-excited teenage planning that counts!
So, to the plans:
In March I staged a performed reading of my new play, Gay Pride And No Prejudice at the gorgeous Jermyn Street Theatre. Happy to say that it went down a storm. I was very lucky as I had the wonderful Matt Ryan directing and a superb cast that pulled off a terrific performance in only two rehearsals.
I shall also be staging a performed reading of my other new(ish) play, The Best Days Of My Life in the Dome at Her Majesty’s Theatre in May. It’s the room where RADA began, and I’m chuffed to be able to perform where so much history was created. The Best Days Of My Life is a rewritten version of 20:40, which did a two-week try-out at the Omnibus Theatre just prior to Covid. It’s a play about depression (but also a celebration of life) and I’m hoping that it I can find a producer or theatre to pick it up so that, after a run to establish it, it can be used to help people to understand their suffering. Michael, the protagonist in the play, attempts to ‘describe’ depression in order to be able to come to terms with it. I was humbled by the amount of people (especially men) who came up to me in the bar after the performance and said that the play had made them understand what they had been through and also that they didn’t feel alone anymore. We often all ended up in tears and I realised the power of words and of the connection between human beings, united in a fight against this invisible disease.
My adaptation of Bad Dad, my seventh David Walliam’s adaptation, has just started rehearsals prior to two national tours. Thoroughly looking forward to seeing it come to life with the always wonderfully creative Heartbreak Productions.
And I’m still in the land of surreality as far as my first TV acting job is concerned. I expected it to be a one-liner in a something utterly obscure, not a lovely part in an episode of The Crown. I’m currently playing Judge Angel in Series 5, divorcing Charles and Diana (no matter how often I write that, it still seems like it must have happened to someone else). It was a wonderful experience, and I loved the two days filming. Everyone from Left Bank Pictures was delightful and friendly (as well as being gobsmackingly professional) and made me feel totally at home.
And so to the other plans:
- Become a better tennis player (shouldn’t be difficult; I’m currently awful)
- Become a better pianist (ditto tennis)
- Stop working 14-hour days and remember the word ‘leisure’
- Write a TV series or a screenplay
- Contact all the friends I haven’t seen because I’ve been working 14-hour days
- Go on a picnic
- Start singing again (even in the shower)
- Finally eat that butterscotch Angel Delight that a friend bought me because it used to be my favourite thing as a child (and having checked there are no e-numbers, obvs)
- Meditate regularly
- Go to the theatre
- Let some grey hair grow through because I’m not actually 28 anymore (I’m 29)
- Finally get a six-pack (of Babycham)
Have a wonderful spring, everyone, and remember that dreams aren’t always fulfilled, but they’re still worth dreaming about.
David