Friday (October 26) was a manic day to say the least!
I arrived at the theatre early afternoon to drop off my stuff and then went to meet Peter Labrow and Martin, a friend of his. Peter was one of guests who would be at Saturday's mini-convention and I wanted chance to meet him and have a chat before the madness of Staurday. We all spent an enjoyable hour or so chatting away, with Peter recounting some very good stories. Sadly out time was cut short when I had a call from the hotel where some of the otehr guests were staying at. Rob Shearman, writer of 2005's "Dalek" episode had arrived and there was a bit of a mix up. Thankfully the hotel is close to the theatre so I went round there to sort it all out. On my way back I bumped into Rob, who had just popped out to the Co-op! I apologised for the mix up and we both went in to theatre and I showed round a bit and he had chance to kindly sign some CD and DVD inlays for me.
It was then time to get ready for that evening's show and this time I was determined that when the Doctor extracted my DNA we would use a combintaion of the effects from the previous two shows. As it's now happened I can talk about it all! On the first night I shuddered and swung my dome, the second night we had a head that came apart just below the dome and lifed up. Third nightwe hit it right! As the Doctor uses his Sonic Screwdriver to open me up, there is a sound effect as well. Using this as my cue I shuddered, turned my ears on and then swung my dome to the right. As the Doctor walked over I then lifted the head up so he could reach inside to remove the Dalek's DNA. When he was done, the Doctor then taps the dome, making the head go down, the dome wing back and the ears turn off. Perfection! According to Ashley Nealfuller, who built the Dalek and the special head, this worked the best so we kept it this was for Saturday's two performances as well.
After the show, I noticed Barnaby Edwards lurking in the crowd. He'd arrived at the hotel earlier and had popped along after the show to see us. I got him up on stage to meet Stuart Currie, who not only built the Supreme Dalek but was also inside operating it as well. Barnaby was very impressed with Stuart's work, which was all done in his garage in spare evenings and weekends. In fact, I think that Barnaby may ven have wanted to take it away and show how someone had managed to build a rotating middle section for real!
After we had cleared the theatre, a lot of us went to the bar for a well needed drink. I spent a very enjoyable hour or so chatting with James George (Mavic Chen) and Rob Shearman, who had also come along after the preformance. Rob is a great guy and it's so easy to get caught up in conversation with him and to listen to his fascinating insights into Doctor Who.
The best thing about this performance was that a friend's 13 year old daughter who, thanks to NuWho is now a big fan of all Doctor Who, was coming along. For the last near year that I've know about the play and been working on it, I'd kept it all secret from her. I had said that we'd go along and see it and got the tickets. On the day I called her and said I couldn't make it, but her Dad had the tickets and would take her. She was certainly surprised when at the start of the play she saw me walk onto the stage. An even bigger shock was when her Dad told her that I was in a Dalek and pojted out which one. She enjoyed the show greatly and I am officially, "The best person in the whole world... ever!" I'd also like to thank all the cast and crew who kindly signed a programme for her, which she loves.
Dalek Spy was lurking about the stage and in the bar after the show to snap these treats for you.
- People up on stage enjoy photos with the Daleks while Barry Thorpe (Scenic Operator) stands guard
- Stuart Currie (Supreme Dalek builder and operator) with Barnaby Edwards (TV's Dalek opeartor)
- In the bar afterwards - clockwise from far left is David Bickerstaff (Marc Cory), Nick Scovell (the old Doctor), Nick Briggs (Dalek voices and the new Doctor), Barnaby Edwards, Rob Shearman (TV and Big Finish author) and James George (Mavic Chen)
