The Scarlet Pimpernel, for the first time in Tasmania. If you get the chance to see it performed in your locale, I would urge you to go and see it, because it's very good.
Our venue was the Theatre Royal (billed as "The oldest working theatre in Tasmania"). It's a real nice building and filled with helpful and patient staff members.
My job (crap photo, mind):
That's thirty thousand dollars worth of radio mic right there (we hired them, of course). Some had clips, so they could be attached to trousers or bra straps, but others did not. If you were a guy, it was duct taped to you and if you were a girl, it went into your briefs. There was a lot of delving about in people's clothing with these things.
Anyway, on with it! The star of our show himself - Percy Blakney! Seen here making his documentary; Behind the Scarlet Pimpernel, or The Pimpernel Exposed or simply Adam's Video.
And here, dressed in his ruby velvet; because it do shimmer so. This costume mean't I had to have tape on hand because it's the hottest he wears throughout the whole performance. It's also the costume for one of the best songs in the entire production (She Was There; sung beautifully, I might add).
Now, some photos of the best part of the production: Creation of Man. For those of you who do not know the story of The Scarlet Pimpernel, I will try to explain. It is the story of a man fighting against the injustice he sees in the French Revolution and their endless executions. With his friends, he starts a private war against it, sailing over and back to rescue people about to get the chop. In order to keep undercover, Percy decides to appear to all of England that he and his men are useless fops; this song is the one where he teaches his Bounders how.
For someone has to strike a pose and bear the weight of well tailored clothes, and that is why the lord created men.
They never failed to get a laugh on their entrance. I'd have liked to have gotten a picture of their dance break, where they're pitter-patting across the stage, however that happens during the moving off of set pieces and it would have been impossible to get a picture during during that.
The following is just after the song finishes, when they go to see the Prince of Wales. What you can't see here is that Citizen Chauvelin has turned up in his black cape. He's the perfect foil to Percy in his strange orange jacket and over the top performance. It's perfect.
They all made very good fops.
Chauvelin himself, getting his cravat together. Not pictured is his completely awesome cape, which he uses to great effect in the show. I can say that as a villain, he was totally brilliant; the actor behind him took the role and made it his. Chauvelin is the best character (in terms of character depth, he outdoes both the other lead roles; he is deep and multifaceted and still a convincing villain) and has the best songs: Where's the Girl, in which he tries to convince the female lead to leave Percy and come back to him; Madame Guillotine, about, oddly, the executions happening in revolutionary France and Falcon in the Dive, which is my favourite song in the show:
I wasn't born to walk on water
I wasn't born to sack and slaughter
But on my soul, I wasn't born
To stoop to scorn and knuckle under
A man can learn to steal some thunder
A man can learn to work some wonder
And when the gauntlet's down, it's time
To rise and climb the sky
It gives a real insight into what Citizen Chauvelin actually is.
One of Percy's 'Bounders', his mates who he convinces to come with him to France in a 'private' war. This is Ben, shown in his Creation of Man vest. It's actually quite furry (all of them are) so it became a joke that they went hunting for Care Bears to get the pelts. The lady in the background is the hardest working woman I've ever met; she was in charge of costuming and work ceaselessly over the week of the show, often into the wee hours of the morning - to say nothing of the months leading up to the show.
Another of the Bounders, this time Farleigh, though shown dressed in his soldiers outfit for an ensemble part in Madame Guillotine. He was probably the best of the Bounders for acting ability; his accent was easily the best.
Ah! Crap photo! This is the Marquis de St. Cyr, after being captured and readied for execution by Chauvelin (ironically, the guy playing St. Cyr also plays one of Chauvelin's aides - Mercier). St. Cyr has a solo part in Madame Guillotine, and he gives it damn well.
This is from the Rescue Ballet; it's a sword fight, though you wouldn't be able to tell thanks to a combination of movement on my part and theirs. However, I think it looks pretty cool. The Rescue Ballet has no singing, but it is filled with the Pimpernel and his men fucking with the French. It has two sword fights, as well a couple of other little vignettes: my girlfriend gets a sack put over her head and carried offstage, while one of the Bounders (Hal) disguised as a priest knocks out another guard. It's very well choreographed and I'll be pleased when I can get the show on DVD and see it properly.
I have more photos that I'll get together eventually. The young lady in charge of art production also took a bunch of phots, which she sells. If the chance comes along quickly enough you can see superior pictures from a better angle (her not being stuck in the wings and all).
