I am a bit-part actor at BLT and have popped up in the last few
productions to deliver a line or two as a supporting actor in the shadow of the
stars of the show. Therefore, when they
were looking for a male actor to deliver a few lines in the first act of Calendar Girls, then die
before the interval I was the obvious choice!
It is also a major advantage to the costume department that I am
completely bald, well I like to consider my head shaven but I shan’t split
hairs. My baldness is a major advantage
as I simply have to remove my headgear to appear gaunt and dying of an
incurable disease. Hmmm, do I really
look that bad in real life?
I think that the play is full of a myriad of emotion, from laughter,
tears, guilt, anger, selfishness, jealousy, grief…..or am I just describing
five minutes sat in the ladies dressing room?
I am of course joking because I am impressed with the ladies in the
show. I think that true beauty isn’t superficial;
it’s about who these women are. Their
true beauty lies in their confidence and the fact that they are prepared to
bare their soul in front of a live audience.
In all seriousness it is full of all those emotions I mentioned and I
can’t really describe the deep vibrant pleasure that watching it will give
you. I do however encourage you to open
yourselves up to the emotions, perhaps a little like the moment just before a
child bursts into tears. He knows that
he is about to cry but he does nothing to hold it back. He has no shame; he wants to drown in it, to
be swallowed up by his emotions.
This is what I want you to do, allow yourselves to be consumed by your
emotions and enjoy the journey that this fabulous play will take you on.
John Clarke (Bleddyn – proud to be bald for my art)
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