All change

It was all a little hectic tonight as word reached us that John-Paul McCrohon who was playing Steven Taylor will not be able to be involved anymore due to personal reasons. Stepping into the breach at the last minute is James Adamson, so he was given a whirlwind introduction and we then ploughed into the end of Act Two followed by the entrance of the Daleks in Act One and finished with the very beginning of the play. Talk about jumping around!

We also welcomed other new people who will be used in the crowd scene at the start and will be swelling the numbers of the delegates later on.

With just over two weeks until we open, it's all starting to come together very nicely. My nerves still haven't set in... yet.



Due to technical difficulties with the interview, I've removed the links and it will be online again next week.

You can now find the interview on the October 16 post "We must act now... part 1".

Even more lines to learn!

Now this may sound like a complaint, but I can promise you that it isn't (doesn't even sound convincing)!

Thanks to some changes during Act One, not only do I now have to jig about a lot more but I've got even more lines to learn! All this with less than three weeks to go - panic has yet to arrive but I'm sure it will very soon.

Due to the fact that Alfred need some repair work during the week, both my gun and sucker were missing for rehearsals. This was a boon to the extent that I got more air inside the casing and it wasn't as hot. It also allowed me to take some photos thorugh my holes... as so to speak.



Vitally secret snappings this time round, including one taken while I was fully encased:

• Laura Ford (Sara Kingdom) taken through the sucker port
  
• Very English - a table full of tea making equipment...
  
• ...and lots of sweet things to keep me hyper
  

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More tickets available

The good news is that there's now more tickets available for each performance. Owing to a switch round of where the theatre has their sound desk, extra seats have been made available.

So if you haven't got a ticket yet, now's your chance... inlcuding for the last night.

LINKing the play... part 1

When I'm not busy being a Dalek, I work as the Website & e-Communications Officer for Portsmouth City Council. A while back I published an article on our Intranet which caused a run on tickets (see Tickets selling out... from June 7).

The lastest issue of our staff magazine, LINK, has just been published and the back page is devoted to an interview with me about being a Dalek in the play. We've also run this issue's competition to tie in with the play by offering a pair of free tickets to the winner.

Our graphic designer used the Daleks from the play's poster and has added them to the outside of the New Theatre Royal.

You can see the Dalek article from LINK by clicking on the image for a larger version in a new window.

You can find out about the drawing of the winner at LINKing the play... part 2.

A new month... at last

Yesterday was the start of not only a new month, but also the start of the countdown towards opening night on the 24th.

After completing the end of Block 6 we had a run through of Act One. Actually, it was done several times as it was split into sections and each section was run twice. As I've already mentioned this was harder as we couldn't rely on our scripts. I was just glad that my Dalek can have a small fan fitted inside to keep me cool and that there's room for a bottle of water. The last few weeks I've been in the base only but I was fully encased this week and will continue to be so from now on.

The highlight of the evening, for me at least, was getting exterminated by a Dalek. I'd like to tell you more but you know how much I've got to keep secret!

I'll make you all a firm promise that once the play has had its run then I will post more photos and videos from rehearsals that I'm not at liberty to do so at the moment.



Just the one image this time round, Nick Scovell (the Doctor) survives after Phil Cottrill (Governor Trantis) has been exterminated.

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