Time & Again Theatre Company Uncategorized

Letters from the Home Front -Edinburgh Diary Day 8

Wednesday 8th August 2018

Another day, another review waiting for us when we opened out eyes  – this time from The List! And what’s more another amazing 4 stars! We’re getting spoilt by the morning reviews rolling in. It’ll go to our heads. No really, it will.

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Fiona was out bright and early to catch her parents (devout and loyal Greyhounds fans) for coffee before they left our adopted Scottish homeland. The rest of us were rather slower on the wake up and departed midmorning after a leisurely munch of Cheerios and Wheetabix (other brands are available.)

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We decided that today would be the day we went to the Elephant House – the birthplace of Harry Potter. J K Rowling used to write there when she first moved to Edinburgh and the toilets are now a dedicated graffiti shrine. It’s a place of pilgrimage for any Potter fan.  I can also highly recommend their Hazelnut and Nutella cake which I nibbled (lol, wolfed down) alongside a big cup of coffee. We also had a wander around some of Edinburgh’s finest vintage shops, including the National Museum of Scotland, where we made a couple of new friends…

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Due to a stroke of good fortune (and someone else not showing up) we were able to perform another round of rousing 40s close-harmony tunes on the Street Stage. The crowds gathered again – singing really does seem to be like a magnet to crowds of people – and the boys flyered to their heart’s content as the girls warbled away.

Being a kind and generous person of the highest degree, I whipped up a big bowl of pasta for everyone to devour for din dins. We ate early so we could get back to the Mile in time to catch Mission: Her, a show written to remind those with mental health issues that they are not alone. “Her is twentysomething, she has a five-year plan in place but life events put a spanner in the works. As Her begins to drown in the pressures of past and present society, her friends go on a mission to help.” It was a sharp and thought provoking performance with well integrated tech and effects to highlight the looming presence of social media.

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We finished in perfect time to hit our empty car park space for the nightly warm up and prepare ourselves for the the show (recentre ourselves so we didn’t disturb our creative energy – thanks Ruby). The performance seemed to go well again. We’re getting very quick at setting up and packing down our WW2 set: folding chairs, moving tables, sticking up posters.

After drinks and a catch up with some of Tim’s friends, we headed back to the apartment for our beauty sleep. Now proud owners of Ridercards, we can bus back and forth to our heart’s desire. Just watch us go.

Goodnight folks,
Laura (Katherine Winters)

Time & Again Theatre Company Edinburgh Diary

Letters from the Home Front – Edinburgh Diary Day 7

Tuesday 7th August 2018

Gosh, it was a real struggle to remember the date. Being at the Fringe is like living in a lovely bubble where days of the week don’t exist and time seems to be fluid as we try to cram as much as we can into each day.

The day started with our dear Laura thundering down the stairs in a flurry of excitement. We had received another 4* review, this time from Edinburgh Guide who described Greyhounds as ‘pretty much perfect’ with a cast who ‘nail it, and are as genuine as the people they play’. To get such a great reception from the critics is wonderful, especially after all the late nights we’ve spent in rehearsals going slightly mad! Our latest success was celebrated with breakfast-time bacon sandwiches for the meat eaters and lashings of tea and toast for everybody else.

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We didn’t have long to bask in the glow though, as Jacob, Laura, Tim and myself were off to the Gilded Balloon to catch musical ‘Fall of Eagles’ by Green Ginger Productions. We’ve written a review of the show which you can read here, but to summarise – we thought it was jolly good fun! We caught the cast for a quick chat afterwards which was lovely, so great to talk to a fellow northern company. It was then time for some delicious lunch at veggie restaurant/bar Paradise Palms. This place has incredible eclectic decor, adorned with bright bunting, model pigs, a type-writer and vintage paraphernalia. We wolfed down our food with glee and chatted about the show we’d just taken in.

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Meanwhile, Jac, Paul and Fiona took care of business on the home front. They gave the flat a much-needed spring clean and baked up some fresh bread. Paul, our techie, is not only a whizz with the sound and lights but also knows how to make a mean loaf! Whilst the bread was baking, admin was taken care of with Fiona taking to the blogosphere and updating you all on our comings and goings.

It was then time for Jacob, Laura, Tim and I to finally go see one of the shows right up there on our to watch list, ‘I, Sniper’ by Acting Coach Scotland. The play tells the true story of Lyudmila Pavlichenko – often called the deadliest female sniper in history. I came out itching to read more about her! We bussed it back to the apartment as director Jac was cooking up fajitas for dinner. We stuffed ourselves silly with the mexican deliciousness before rushing back out again to perform Greyhounds. We warmed up in our usual car park space and took to the stage. The audience seemed to enjoy the show again, which was great to see!

Back to the apartment again, this time for gin cocktails and board games. Fiona had bundled Articulate into the car at the very last minute on day one, and what a cracking call that turned out to be. The best moment had to Paul be trying to convey the word ‘horrifying’ to Jac, his description being ‘it’s like… a scary film but longer’. Laura, Tim and I were the eventual triumphant winners and reigning champions until the next board game night.

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Until next time,

Catherine

(Greyhounds’ Ruby Winters)

Time & Again Theatre Company Edinburgh Diary

Letters from the Home Front – Edinburgh Diary Day 4

Saturday 4th August 2018

Saturday started in fine fashion; a civilised pot of tea over excited discussion about our opening night. With the lovely reception we received under our belts, we decided we must build upon the momentum. We began to devise a plan for the day to maximise our efforts. We would split up into two packs of Greyhounds to prowl the mean streets for the first time. Director Jac and writer/producer/actor Laura would hit the Fringe’s Meet the Media event, whilst the rest of us worked on spreading some good ol’ word of mouth – flyering and telling people a little more about our show! We donned full 1940’s regalia (as is customary these days), grabbed our gas mask boxes full of our patented ‘ration book’ flyers and headed our separate ways.

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Jacob, Fiona, Paul and I headed to The Pleasance (the buzzing hub with lots of theatre spaces and cheese toasties, if you remember Thursday’s escapades). There we flyered with reckless abandon, ensuring that word got around about what was to be performed just down the hill later that evening.

Meanwhile, Jac and Laura (with Tim acting as what I’m assured was a very efficient runner – fetching tea and snacks and boosting morale as required) joined the back of what was an extremely long queue to meet the Fringe’s media. Thus commenced a jolly long wait, a four hour wait to be precise. With 3000+ shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, I’m sure you can imagine the queue which snaked around the block when an opportunity arose to tell the press about what makes one’s show unique. Jac and Laura really got in the wartime spirit and took one for the team!

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The next task for the rest of us was to distribute some more of our snazzy A3 posters to catch passersby’s eye. This was preceded by a quick pitstop at Greggs to refuel and (rather unexpectedly) catch a well-dressed man stealing sandwiches. Keen to commence our task we marched onwards, baked goods in hand, ready to get these posters up. So keen we were that Fiona managed to staple up a poster with a chicken slice in one hand and her weapon of choice in the other (stapler). What a gal.

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We received word that Jac and Laura had now made it into the building where the media event was hosted but alas, they were now waiting in line to speak to the writers and reporters. When dropping a poster into theSpace Triplex, we spotted a chap from Error 404 Theatre Company‘s Wakey Wakey waiting to go on dressed in a flowing ivory wedding gown. We were intrigued and had to snap up some last minute tickets to see the show and find out more. Wakey Wakey is a newly-written comedy set at, you may have guessed it, a wake. Four twenty-something-year-old friends come back to their hometown to celebrate the life of Jessica, their best friend’s late wife. However, things don’t go as smoothly as planned as the bunch of misfits make faux pas after faux pas. The show is well-observed and has some real tender moments amongst the comedy when the characters divulge their feelings and stories about their late friend.

After taking in the show and doing a little more flyering, we reconvened with Jac and Laura once they had spoken to the media. We headed back to our apartment and got ourselves ready for the show. We didn’t quite have time to warm up as usual back at base, so ever the professionals we headed to the Radisson Blu’s car park, filed into an empty parking space and did our thing. I’ll admit we did get some funny looks from car park patrons as en mass we exuberantly proclaimed the word BA-NA-NAAAA. However, I’m glad of our weird car park warm up because we had a full house on Saturday! Jacob took this sneaky photo of everyone filing in pre-show…

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After a smashing show (with thanks to our wonderful receptive audience!) and a cheeky gin or two it was time to take in a show. We went to see Shit-Faced Shakespeare’s Hamlet. There was a great atmosphere in the theatre as we watched Claudius get drunker and drunker and mangle the Bard’s words and story – insisting that Laertes and Ophelia swap costumes. Much hilarity ensued as the actor’s muddled through the chaos. This show is best enjoyed after a few beverages – it does make for a fun night out!

We had such a busy and exhausting day that we all flopped into bed with ease when back at the apartment.

Adieu!

Catherine

(Greyhounds’ Ruby Winters)

Time & Again Theatre Company Edinburgh Diary

Letters from the Home Front – Edinburgh Diary Day 3

Friday 3rd August

We arose at the civilised hour of nine and began, what is fast becoming, our morning routine. RuPaul was blaring from our USB speaker, Tim went running, and Jacob polished off four sets of two Weetabix, because it’s only polite to finish the sleeve.

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When you’re a hot vintage vixen, there’s quite a lot to do of a morning: pin curls to be pinned, eye brows to be plucked (covertly by torch-light while Fiona’s sleeping in the next bed) and red lips to be lipsticked. At eleven thirty we gathered in the apartment to partake of the daily warm-up. Nothing gets you feeling ready for a day of professional theatre work than shouting LIMMMEE, cherrrrries, BAN-AN-A at each other for twenty minutes (our warm-up is very fruit-based because we are mature professionals).

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After an elevenses of Iced Gems and Mini Rolls (healthy snacks are essential if you’re going to survive the Fringe – little tip for you there) we headed out into the throbbing metropolis. Well, Leith. Our first port of call was flyering near Underbelly but the girls may have got distracted en route by the window of W. Armstrong & Son; purveyors of fine vintage togs. I couldn’t resist buying a new skirt to add to my repertoire of 1940s outfits. Catherine joined me in getting a cheeky new dress but Fiona outdid us all by nabbing two full new outfits. The boys did something useful like more flyering or getting our posters printed, or something, I don’t know.

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We dropped off our beautiful posters at all the SpaceUK venues across Edinburgh, and then paraded up and down the Mile in our costumes (to raise awareness of our show, not to boost our egos, obviously) Gorilla flyering occurred when Jacob handed a flyer in through the window of a moving van (all procedures were safe and within the law)
Then time to nip into Frankie & Benny’s for a spot of lunch. We then hot-footed it over to theSpace at Surgeon’s Hall to grab our tickets for Mulberry Theatre’s ‘Cry God For Harry, England and St George’. We were excited to see another play using extracts from Henry V to tell a brand new story. Whilst we’d been doing all this, our director Jac had been at theSpace at Triplex attending the SpaceUK press launch. She got to watch an eclectic mix of snippets from the 300+ shows that theSpace is hosting at Edinburgh this year. Complimentary Champagne slipped down a treat too, as she tried to sweet talk the press, alongside our fellow performers, flashing our Ration Book leaflets and discussing all things war, Henry V, and vintage.

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By then, it was already time to get back to our apartment and change into our costumes after a quick tea and toast break. The nerves were starting to mount. Social media was buzzing (at least we were publishing quite a lot of selfies on Twitter and the Gram) and lipstick was flying. Back on the bus into town – we’re going to know that route like the back of our hand before long – and then a nervous wait outside our venue as the clock ticked round to 8pm. As we prepared to get in, it was exciting to see old friends and members of the public alike begin to drift into the box office to collect tickets for Greyhounds. Having expected no one to turn up at all, as a first time Fringe company, we were beyond excited to be half-full on our first night. There was a good buzz to the room and then… we were off!

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It was such a brilliant opening night! It was the slickest the show had ever been, leaving us plenty of time for a confident get-out. The audience laughed (lots of love for a gag involving Hamlet!) and left us some truly lovely feedback on our wartime feedback cards. In a celebratory mood we went down to the bar for a round of cocktails – Tim’s was naturally the campest. Once we’d drunk the venue dry of gin, we headed back out onto the mean streets and got a glamorous dinner of late-night McDonalds. Then it was back on our favourite bus and to the apartment for Prosecco and pyjamas.

Time & Again Theatre Company Edinburgh Reviews

Reviews from the Home Front – In Loyal Company

In Loyal Company by David William Bryan

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Despite the fact that we had been in Edinburgh for less than 24 hours, we were chomping at the bit to see what else the biggest Fringe festival in the world had to offer. Before even getting to the Fringe, we had been following the progress of In Loyal Company on Twitter, so it made perfect sense that David William Bryan’s one man show about a prisoner of war during WW2 should be our first watch of the festival. We had been looking forward to seeing it for a while, and it certainly did not disappoint.

In Loyal Company is based on the true story of Bryan’s great uncle, Arthur Robinson, who went missing during his service in the Second World War. The story starts before he signs up to fight, as we are introduced to Arthur’s family (his mother has the cleanest doorstep in the street, don’t you know) and get a glimpse of what life on the home front in Birkenhead is like. There is great warmth and humour in Bryan’s performance here, endearing you to Arthur – known as Joe – straightaway, which makes his later ordeals in the war all the more of an emotional punch to the gut. These shifts in tone are handled masterfully by Bryan, who shifts seamlessly from gentle comedy to heartbreaking pathos like the flick of a switch as he describes the horrors of what he saw and experienced. It was fascinating to see a different aspect of the war, after we focus so much on small village life on the home front in Greyhounds; our characters struggle to deal with the repercussions of war, whereas Joe is right in the thick of the action.

As Bryan takes us from Birkenhead to India, Singapore, and Thailand we meet a few other characters who, although their appearances are often fleeting, are still distinctive and well played. They feel rounded and their respective relationships with Joe feel convincing; I was particularly moved by his fellow soldier, George, and Joe’s interactions with his parents.

Bryan is an excellent story teller. The script is tight and well written, and well balanced between moving the plot forward and world-building details that help the audience to imagine what it was like to live and serve in these conditions. As a performer, Bryan works extremely hard in this hour long play; his performance is as physical as it is emotional. I was struck by how his body almost seemed to transform before our eyes as the war took its toil. His physicality was excellent.

I cannot finish the review without giving a specific mention to the technical aspects of the performance. The lighting and sound complemented the action perfectly and was extremely slick. Each part of this production was well executed, and the hour flew by. Congratulations and well done to everyone involved on a thoroughly excellent show!

 

Time & Again Theatre Company Edinburgh Diary

Letters from the Home Front – Edinburgh Diary Day 2

Thursday 2nd August 2018

Dear reader,

Today Time & Again Theatre Company’s Edinburgh escapades started to feel a little more real! For me, the day started out with a quiet few chapters of my book (I am utterly storming through Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro) before the rest of the happy few woke up. Soon enough, my fellow cast members began to blunder into the kitchen in search of caffeine and we cracked into a classic cereal variety pack courtesy of writer/producer/actor Laura’s lovely mother. Three cheers for Cheerios!

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After a brief social media interlude (got to keep you lovely lot updated on our goings on haven’t we?), we began to put together our fierce 1940’s looks for the day. Fiona who plays Nancy Wilde – Shuttlefield’s aspiring actress and ever the optimist waged battle on the curling wand yet again. Alas, she lost her fight but came away with less battle scars than usual! Here’s a snap of Fiona, Laura and I serving up some WWII realness.

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Into an Uber we hopped and we were on our way to see our first play of the Fringe. We had been looking forward to seeing In Loyal Company at The Pleasance for quite some time. The one man show, set in WWII, got a standing ovation from us having taken the audience on quite the rollercoaster of emotion. The Pleasance is such a buzzing hub of activity with lots of cute little food and drink booths alongside the performance spaces. I thoroughly enjoyed my falafel wrap and I hear the cheese toasties were marvellous.

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Next, we trotted down to the Royal Mile swinging by an artisan shortbread shop on the way. When in Scotland, you know.

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We headed to our venue theSpace on the Mile for the very first time. It’s a lovely (air conditioned) oasis of calm in the midst of all the royal mile madness; at the moment at least.  We handed over some of our much-coveted ration book flyers to the lovely box office staff to be displayed in the venue. I wonder when we’ll stop making quips about not being to eat without your ration book whilst handing them out. We started to set up for our technical rehearsal and Jacob (who plays Will Croft in Greyhounds) arrived, having zipped back from Spain the very same day. The whole gang were back together again. The excitement was palpable.

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Imogen and Claire our technical gurus were very helpful and got our show looking and sounding great in the space by the end of the session. On our way out we were handed our performer’s passes which felt very official and exciting. Before dinner, we simply couldn’t resist a spot of flyering on the Royal Mile!

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Once we had consumed a big old meal, we arrived back at our apartment. However, the day’s activities didn’t cease then. At 11pm Laura finished up painting the scenery she had been slaving over the day before. This task was fuelled by well-earned Cadbury’s Mini Rolls – other brands of chocolate miniature roll are available – and de-caff tea. Meanwhile, the rest of the cast excitedly leafed through the Fringe programme and picked out all of the excellent shows that we endeavour to see and support over the next two and a bit weeks!

Until next time,

Catherine

(Greyhounds’ would-be bohemian and hapless director Ruby Winters)

Time & Again Theatre Company Edinburgh Diary

Letters from the Home Front – Edinburgh Diary Day 1

Wednesday 1st August 2018

I woke up this morning at about half past nine and lay quite still for a moment, just letting it sink in – the day had finally arrived. D-Day. It was later than I’d hoped, but I’d been up until 2am the night before collecting gas mask boxes for flyering on the mile and receiving a ‘Red Cross’ food hamper from my lovely Mum (complete with World War II sticker on the front!)

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I breakfasted – cornflakes, because my heady days of stardom haven’t quite started yet although I’m sure I’ll be dipping little delicate pastries into hot chocolate and sipping Champagne for brekky tomorrow – and read a couple of pages of my book to try and calm the slight tingle of nerves in my tummy, but soon flung it aside and went downstairs to finish off the last of the packing. It’s amazing how many pairs of shoes you can fit into one suitcase if you really put your mind to it. Think positive. Sit on the lid.
A producer/writer/actor/stage manager’s life is never dull (who am I? 24601) and so I naturally had a quick backdrop to knock up. No biggie. Google: Battle of Agincourt, Laurence Olivier Henry V, battle scene, flags, tents. Job done, well, half done; I’ll have to finish it at the appartment once we’ve arrived, and I got a blob of red paint on the carpet but at least we now have something vaguely resembling a piece of scenary.

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The rendezous was midday. We actually set off at approximately three. That’s an impressive late start even for me, but hey – we’re on no schedule (phrase of the day).
Our designated driver was Tim (former RAF pilot Edward Holmes in the play) as he’d been bequeathed with the covetous title of most responsible adult. The car itself was a beautiful display of Tetris, shoes wedged up cracks and bags of booze and food balanced on laps (because who knows if they even have shops in Edinburgh?). And the playlist; well, let me just toot my own horn for a second, but the playlist was banging. We hit the road to the dulcent tones of the Proclaimers and from there it just built: Britney, Gaga, Rupaul, Hamilton, Chicago, Disney, The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Queen. You can’t buy taste, it’s just a natural blessing some of us are burdened with.

Our first stop was Westmoreland Farm Shop, officially the nicest service station in the world (official by me, 2018). I had a pot of tea and an iced Empire biscuit with a little cherry on the top – civillised. Fiona (Nancy Wilde in our little play) tried to buy a ukulele, which I encouraged greatly because unadalterated spending and a slide into frivolity is always an enjoyable sight to behold.
The car alarm was set off by the kids, because you can’t turn your back on those little scamps for two minutes, and Dad (Tim) had to come and fix it.
We ended up stopping for three more wee breaks (this is the glam blog of a sophisticated company, don’t you know?) including having to traipse into a little bistro with Catherine (playing my sister, Ruby Winters) in the Arse-End-Of-Nowhere (actual name) where the bell over the door rang, instantly alerting all occupants to our sneaky toilet break antics, made worse when we got lost coming out and ended up in the kitchen. But the less said of that the better.

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Finally, after many weeks on the road – or five and half hours, same thing – we pulled into Edinburgh with 500 Miles blaring out. Start as you mean to go on.
The apartment is SO nice. It’s bigger than we were expecting (when does that ever happen?) and it has such a cute homely atmosphere with fairy lights and big sash windows. The stairs coming up from the front door are lethal though so that’s going to be fun to navigate after a few cheeky Beverleys. Will any of the company make it to the end of the run? Watch this space.

Jac, our director, had a lovely casserole already warming on the stove and it was served up pretty much as soon as we sat down. Slippery slope – we’ll expect this level of service every night. As we took our seats, a bottle of bubbly was popped open to toast our first night, the show, and the fact that we’d actually made it to Edinburgh in one piece. Well, almost. Jacob (Will Croft) shall be swimming over from Spain on the morrow, so let’s not count our chickens just yet. Supper supped it was time for the pub to be pubbed. This is the hour also known as Gin o’Clock. The words ‘line run’ were written onto our rehearsal schedule but we ignored this with reckless abandon. Tomorrow would be for such mortal practicalities. This was our First Night. I fear we haven’t found our regular haunt. Our first pub was deathly quiet, with just the sound of the air vents pumping around the echoing room. The second felt altogether too murderous for my liking. But we sipped away with determination and didn’t return to the apartment until gone midnight, wild things that we are.

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All that remained was to make tea, eat biscuits, and order a big shop to be delivered by Tesco on Friday. Because actors don’t survive on air, darling. They survive on Cheerios, pasta, and the cheapest fruit and veg available to mankind.
With the sound of seagulls accompanying me, I head up the stairs to Bedfordshire with my hair pincurled in a headscarf, ready for our first leafletting assult on the Mile tomorrow. See you in the morning.

Over and out,
Laura
(Katherine Winters)
(Time & Again founder/writer/tea-drinker)