h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

My social life certainly isn’t dull at the moment. I’m hanging out with thieves, prostitutes and a serial killer, who keeps murdering me. But, on the bright side, I’m learning how to beg , and becoming a part-time policeman. And I’m doing a spot of operatic singing, too.

I’m talking about my stage roles, of course.

Yes, my roles in ‘The Threepenny Opera’ are pretty colourful, but then it’s a pretty lively story: a darkly satirical tale of sex, lies, thieving and corruption. Having once been a journalist, I feel right at home in it.

We take to the stage at the Theatre In The Mill, Bradford from June 8-10. I’m working hard on two things: learning my lines, and exercising to get in shape for the first night. I get my shirt off in the opening scene, and I have to look as good as possible for my public!

What a job description!

Brecht and Weill isn't it? Sounds !

Brecht and Weill it is. And what cracking tunes that Herr Weill wrote. I'm really enjoying the singing - I think I'd like to do another musical after this.

Yep, Weill's music is really good I was about to say that I first knew of it from the Doors' version of Alabama Song - but I am sure that my father did introduce me to it much before I heard that one...

Pirate Jenny is one I seem to like a lot from the 3penny Opera...

Good for you Ormy - this sounds like a lot of fun.

I am sure you will do a great job of the line learning too - I have been helping 'He Who etc' learn his - they opened the Arthur Miller play ' All My Sons' on Thursday - it runs for 9 nights ... Not nearly as much fun as 3penny oepra me thinks! The nights I am this end of the country I am prompting for the play - first time I have ever dont that and not bad for a dyslexic who cant read out loud!!!! I know most of the script pretty well now, and can do everyones lines to page 15 all on my own - how sad is that

I am also working with the team who are rehursing a play to take to the Felixstowe Drama Festival on 1 June - The Anastasia Files. We put that on earlier this year. I helped with the set construction that time and will d again but I am also prompt for that

I do love being around live theatre

Not bad at all, Lighthouse Girl

I must admit that I'm mostly on the receiving end of the theater - but then, I'm a very eager part of the audience

We're actually just now starting to look into the planning for the next theatre season - we usually, with some family, end up going to somewhere between 6 and 10 quite varied plays per season...

I love going to the theatre too When not involved in plays at the theatre group we always try and see the shows - the juniors have their prodution soon so we will go to that (we worked with them for their Christmas show - we wrote it and directed them - well as much as you can 22 12-15 year olds!!!!)

Soon we will go and see Tell Me on a Sunday - not smething I would have chosen but we know the person starring and I love to see things we would not normally have gone to

What are you hoping to see next?

Oooh, that's very much up in the air at the moment - 4 people having to agree

Maybe - but not extremely likely based on the feedback from Ms SG V so far - some summer-outdoor-Shakespeare. Taming of the shrew, I think it is.

'Break several legs' as we say .

, Amy! The dress rehearsal last night didn't go too well, so we'll just have to hope for the best tonight. I've decided that I'm going to enjoy it and the audience can join in if they want to!

*crosses fingers*

We came, we saw, we opera-ed.

It was all looking very shaky last Monday night, when we had a dress rehearsal full of mistakes, hesitancy and missed cues. The main problem was that we hadn’t been able to use the actual venue to rehearse in before the dress rehearsal, and the set took some getting used to – especially as we were using various projections on to screens as part of the show, which we’d just had to imagine until then. (Some of the projected images weren’t ready until the first actual show).

But we got through the first night just about OK. Mistakes were made, but nothing disastrous. I was so pumped up on adrenalin that I couldn’t sleep at all on the night after the show, and still had so much nervous energy the following morning that I had to go for a swim to burn it off. I got through the second night on caffeine , and it was terrific – a near-perfect performance to a near-capacity audience including a couple of friends of mine who I hadn’t seen for a while, and who remarked on how good the show was and how slim I’m looking these days.

The third and last night was, in truth, a slight let-down after that peak. I had a nightmare moment in the first act when a projected image to which I was supposed to react with a awed ‘What are those?’ failed to materialise. After a brief, awkward silence, the other guy in the scene muttered (in character) ‘Say your line, lad’. I did, with a grand, sweeping gesture at the whole room. Then, after we’d carried on, the missing image appeared about 30 seconds too late, getting a from the audience. Moral: never work with children, animals or overhead projectors.

Towards the end of the second half, I had to make a frantic dash from behind the curtain to the dressing rooms to retrieve an elderly actor who’d apparently failed to notice that he was due on stage with me in a matter of seconds. We made it just in time, finished the show, and everyone was very appreciative. Perhaps the greatest compliment I got was from someone who asked me afterwards whether the Cockney accent I'd adopted for the show was my natural speaking voice. Why he thought I put on a soft Northern tone for everyday conversation, I cannot imagine.

Doing a show like that is a drug experience, really – the drug being adrenalin. It’s hard not to feel a bit flat and depressed afterwards. I’m glad that I now have the perfect distraction...

Glad to hear it - even if the English team "also" had a fantastic performance followed by a let-down...