All Over Now

Two months of rehearsal culminated in six performances in front of audiences totalling nearly twelve hundred. Yet half an hour after the final curtain tonight, all costumes are hung up, props and scenery returned to the store and the stage is ready for the next production. And all I have to show for it is a (now redundant) script, a free programme and a pair of comedy breasts that were handed to me as a souvenir as I left the stage for the last time.
But, my goodness, it’s been a lot of fun. We’ve had a wonderful time bringing these well known characters to life and every night brought subtle variations on the theme. I’ve made several new friends and hope I will have a chance to appear with them in future productions.
However, that will not be this year. I do not intend setting foot on stage again until Panto in January 2024. On my way home tonight, I worked out that I have been either rehearsing or performing something or other pretty much solidly for the past eighteen months and, frankly, I need a rest! Not that I will become a recluse - there are plenty of gigs lined up for the band and Mrs C and I have several concerts and shows lined up over the next few months. There is also the little matter of it being our Ruby Wedding Anniversary this year and I’ve decided that the one holiday we’ve got booked already isn’t really enough to celebrate the occasion. Maybe we could even venture outside the U.K. for the first time since 2018. Just so long as I’m around when auditions for Panto start in October…