Saturday January 28th was the last day of Neverwhere at Progress Theatre. We saw the final performance, which was followed by a party. Louise and I were given mugs and cards from the cast, as a thank you for working on the costumes. The gorgeous rats were knitted by Kate – one for every member of the cast and crew!
The theatre bar stayed open until 2am, and a mere eight hours later most of the cast and crew were back (in varying states of sobriety!) for the Great Dismantling. Anything that was too covered in fake blood to be retrievable was simply chucked in the bin. Most of the costumes were re-homed in the theatre’s wardrobe, and the dressing rooms ended up even cleaner than before we’d started!
The set though… watching it being torn apart was heartbreaking. Some of the elements have been kept – the metal stairs, the handrail, and all the ladders have been stored until they can be used again. But every single roof tile, every brick, every platform… it all had to go so that the next production (Art, by Yasmin Reza) can get into the theatre and start building their own set and rehearsing in the space.
I have something in the region of three hundred photos to edit, so I can show you what I’ve been so busy with these past few months! Since before Christmas I’ve been saying “never again”… but seeing it all come together was so amazing that I might have volunteered to at least consider helping out with the summer Shakespeare production, Henry IV Part 1. You can keep the “I Told You So”s to yourselves, thank you!
