Arrival of a Southerner

Having spent the last few rehearsals wrestling with the (to most of us) unfamiliar Northern accent, it was quite a change in dynamic to work on the section of the play that involves the 'la-di-dah' interloper from the South. The young upstart of a new organist at Chapel, Gerald, is the character who blows the whole problem wide open. With his 'bright young thing' confidence and refusal to be undermined by the 'old school', he turns the world of the three couples upside-down.

There was a contrast evident in the speed and pace: Yorkshire/Southern, age/youth. Even at this early stage, it's a great thing to see happening, with a combination of direction and actors' instinct.

My own personal challenge will be to maintain pace of performance without losing the 'steady, respectable' nature of my character - and at the same time, keeping that 'respectability' without compromising Maria's undeniable strength of character and humour. Watching Lawrence & Becca, as Gerald & Nancy, I rather envied the energy and freedom they were able to bring to the stage!

It will also be interesting to see, as the play progresses (we've only reached the end of Act 1 so far) how those dynamics change between the older characters as their situation is removed from its haven of safe respectability, and the old rules no longer apply...