One little gig on Friday, a veto on Bollox the same night and I’ve still landed myself with a cold. What a wuss!
The gig in question, Mother’s Ruin Yuletide Ding-A-Ling with Marcus Reeves and Lorraine Bowen was a blast. The Contact Theatre’s atrium and bar was packed out to watch the lithesome Timberlina down a shot of something alcoholic in a yoga pose; Marcus Reeves bring his maniacal Singing Christmas Tree to life and Lorraine Bowen perform her marvellous 10 minute operetta Love In The Laundrette.
It was a busy gig for me. In the first part of the evening, I had Marcus and Tim assist me in my recreation of the flying scene from The Snowman. Like the gigs in Bradford and Leeds, it got a great reception. One punter remarked, ‘(The Snowman) is something that’s burned into the consciousness of anyone under the age of 45,’ and it’s a moment of pure silliness and relative innocence, which helps give it a broad appeal, I think.
Marcus and Tim take flight
Chris Fitzsimmons and I normally host our Well Arty Revue (or W.A.R. for short) – a Manchester-centric cabaret within a cabaret – together. However, this particular evening my partner in crime and entertainment was having a tooth extracted in Huddersfield (he’s OK now) so I flew solo for the first time.
This W.A.R was host to three great performers: Puppetual Motion, Garth Williams and Jackie Hagan, all of whom have done turns at previous Bucket Cabarets and put in great routines. I also performed a re-jigged version of my ‘No Surprises’ parody about gift-giving customs. It went OK although I was reminded of the importance of being spontaneous where possible, as once again, the unscripted, unplanned elements seemed to get the best reactions. Or maybe people were stunned by the cynicism…
My final stint of the evening was my cameo in Lorraine’s Love In The Laundrette. It was a privilege and a pleasure to perform alongside her and Alasdaire (sp?) – two very accomplished and fun-loving performers. It was also a chance to indulge in some attempted Gilbert & Sullivan-style vibrato, which I don’t do nearly enough. They were both kind and patient enough to pose for this badly-lit photograph (one for the Christmas list: a new digital camera).
I got some good advice from both Timberlina and Lorraine after the show, which is more for my own contemplation than publication – but I feel that 2012 should hold some interesting and rewarding challenges.
The next Mother’s Ruin is Mother’s Ruin’s Theatrical Spectacular on 10th February 2012 – get tickets!
