A couple of weeks have passed since our showcase at Greenwich Theatre.
Plenty of time to reflect and come back down to earth, but thinking of
that night still lands me firmly on cloud 9.
It was one of those evenings when everything seemed to line up just right.
The actors gave a fantastic performance and the energy in the theatre was genuinely electric.
Once Anna and I had given our
totally-off-the-cuff-only-practised-80-times-backstage, opening speech,
and taken our seats, I'm not sure I breathed for the next 2 hours (which
made for some interesting interval-chats). The play was totally out of our hands
at that point. But luckily it was firmly in the palm of a
brilliant cast:
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| Gabriella Schmidt - Frankie/Young Gilly |
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| Emily Spetch - Maya/Liz |
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| Moir Leslie - Gilly |
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| Gilly Daniels - Elsie |
And the thing which really allowed them to deliver, was the audience. At
almost 300 strong*, and with just the right amount of booze inside them,
they were a bit of a godsend. Of course the script still has to be
tweaked and there is feedback to be taken on-board, but on the whole the
audience really seemed to be taken in by the story, which was an
incredible feeling. Plus they laughed in all the right places, which is
always a nice immediate way of being able to tell that your audience is
with you!
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| *Please note this is a rehearsal shot! |
What
feeling of accomplishment after a year of intense but massively
rewarding work. There are still parts of the script to be tweaked,
and Anna and I are aware that the next thing to do is to get a fresh
pair of eyes on the piece and work with a director who can really lift
it off the page and realise the play through action. That said it was
heartening to hear that people already felt transported by the script
and the actors' telling of the story.
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| Photographs (c) Amy Griffin |
Broken Leg Theatre is now working with producer
Beccy Smith to tour the play
next Autumn and is currently in talks with several theatres. We will be
sure to keep you up to date with any news. We have everything crossed
that we can keep the momentum we have so far going next year. And we
want to keep spreading awareness of the website itself! The living
archive, found at
www.threegenerationsofwomen.co.uk continues to be a
real inspiration.
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| Three generations of the same family at the Greenwich reading |
Until then, here is some of the audience feedback from Greenwich (and I promise I haven't just creamed off the good stuff!):
What
was your overall experience of the play Three Generations of Women?
Great
script. Engaging story, well acted, good pace. I'd definitely like to see the
full production. Very, very good.
I
loved the idea behind this play and thought the writing was brilliant - witty,
moving and thoughtful. Everything a relationship with a mother is!
Compelling.
Excellent dialogue. Fluently structured.
It
made me cry and laugh- it reflected all aspects of my relationship with my own
mother, grandmother and myself.
So
make phrases/ stories I could relate to. So many stories I've heard through
grandmothers and mothers.
Warm,
funny, deeply moving.
Deeply
moving - very powerful
Very
powerful experience. Upsetting, fun and reflective.
What
do you think of the play title Three Generations of Women?
Strong
and feminine.
It's
fine, a little bit generic perhaps. (Mother and child reunion? Like mother,
like daughter?
I
don't particularly like it. It underwhelms. Does not match the brilliance of
the play
It
not sure it accurately tells the story of what it's about, I fell it's about so
much more somehow.
Descriptive
but unimaginative
I
love it.
What so you feel worked well and what was less successful?
More
acting, less static seating
Mixing
times and eras really triggered emotions of love and loss and a curiosity
about family history.
Be
careful of the dialogue in the 70s i.e 'pharmacy' and 'freaking out' - wouldn't
have been said.
Actors
were great! Script phenomenal. Pace was v good. Didn't notice time flying
There
were so many brilliant bits - the ending was great.
The
acting was awesome and I found I cared a lot about all the characters. The
combination of very emotionally moving and brilliant wit and humour was
excellent. It all worked very successfully and I can't wait to see the full
performance.
Different
age group of actress worked well. Accents worked well. Some lines of Elsie were
lost (volume maybe.)
The
story was very well constructed and an unexpected twist towards the end.
Any other comments?
I
thought there was a good balance between dramatic tension and comedy. I liked
the monologues, well timed dramatic device. It might be a work-in-progress but
it's already quite slick.
Very
enjoyable and poignant. Thank you very much.
I particularly liked how patterns of behaviour are passed on through the generations, consciously and unconsciously.
Loved
it! Very excited to see the final piece.
Utterly absorbing, clever interweaving of real experiences and anecdotes with the storyline. Loved the use of music too. Thought the storyline worked very well - warm, personal, yet sophisticated and multi-layered. Can't wait to see the full production!
