The Railway Children Diaries

SHHHHH!!

2010-09-30T12:32:00.001+01:00

By Ollie Lee

Late last night while I was sitting at stage door there was a sudden cacophony of noise that is probably best described as a loud ‘shhhhhh’.

Earlier in the day our site manager Jason Nunn had told us that due to the large amount of rain there may be a leak in our office, so this was my first thought when I heard the noise, “Oh my goodness the roof has caved in!” Thankfully that wasn’t the case, with the office still intact I walked out into the concourse, walking a bit like I was in some cheesy spy movie fearful of what I was about to find, but the concourse was clear, the noise however was much louder.

On a mission now, I walked up the secret staircase that leads to the main station, and there, on platform 19 sat the source of the noise, a massive steam train!

Excitement overwhelmed me, I ran back down the stairs to grab my phone so I could take a photograph of the engine, when I got back to the platform, I joined the mass of public, including a health number of train spotters, all taking photographs and all completely exhilarated.

While fascinated by train-spotters I have never considered myself one of them, I am more of a train-spotter-spotter, but there is something about a real steam train that is just magical. It’s the sound they make, the mass of steam they produce, and because they are from another time, I think, that makes them so magnificent. I can’t imagine the Hogwarts train would have quite the same affect if it was electric, or Brief Encounters to be quite as romantic had it happened on a modern day platform.

It is something I love about our show, the excitement that was produced last night on platform 19 happens eight times a week in our theatre, even a friend of mine who saw the show recently noted, “Everyone claps the train when it comes on, they get so excited, it’s amazing!” While you might not consider yourself a train-spotter now I defy anyone to attend our show and not get a little swept away by the romanticism of a real steam train.

Daddy! My Daddy!!

2010-09-23T13:54:00.000+01:00

By Ollie Lee

Watching Jenny Agutter run across the platform shouting “daddy my daddy” every Christmas is somewhat of a tradition in our family. I think it is mostly down to coincidence, it’s the one time of the year we are all together, and The Railway Children will always happens to be on television the same time we are gathered in the sitting room.

“Daddy my daddy” is undoubtedly the most iconic moment of The Railway Children story, and if you think it is emotional in the film, you ain’t seen nuthin’ to you have seen our show. Having worked as an usher I have now seen the play seven times, and every time our own Sarah Quintrell (who plays Bobby) rushes across the stage to the arms of her father, I get always get a little choked up. I think there is something about live theatre, about the lighting, the music, about Sarah Quintrell, that makes it all the more emotional.

But onto my main reason for writing –

A couple of days ago I was working in an ushering position called ‘foyer float’ which involves me being plugged into a radio and making sure the audience are where they should be. When the show finished, and I was saying goodnight to everyone as they were leaving, a girl about 6 came up to me, tears streaming down her face. “I’ve lost my mummy” she stuttered through sobs.

I reassured her, and sent a message out on the radio to say there was a missing child. While we were waiting I suggested to the girl that when her mother appeared again, she should do just as Bobby did at the end of the play and run and give her mum a big hug, I didn’t imagine she could execute it quite as well as she did. When her mum appeared (from the toilets) the little girl caught sight of her, took a deep breath, and ran across the foyer, shouting “mummy my mummy!” finally leaping into the arms of her mother, maybe not quite as iconic, but still rather dramatic and just like the mother says in the play, “Things do happen in real life that are rather like books, sometimes.”

Fashion is a lifestyle, It's a choice...

2010-08-11T17:54:00.000+01:00

By Ollie Lee

When my friends at school were reading The Beano and The Dandy I was reading Vogue, I was obsessed with the clothes and the models, the fabrics, the beauty of the styling... I could go on. However, having very basic artist ability, I was never going to be a designer and gave up hope of ever working in the industry when I was very young, but it seems fashion will always follow me everywhere.

Since I moved to London four years ago most of my closest friends have been stylists, fashion buyers or student artists, and just last week I moved to a new house in Fulham with three of the housemates working for companies within the industry, but I never thought it would follow me to The Railway Children.

One of The Railway Children’s most inspired qualities is that it takes place on a real train platform, and if anyone has seen the show, or spent any time on the old Eurostar platform you will not be surprised that one of the platforms is going to be used as a runway during fashion week. It’s a horribly beautiful industrial space, a mess of concrete, steel and glass, and if you catch the platform at the right time of day, and when the sun is out, eerie shadows are cast across the lonesome tracks and the dusty space is like something from Studio Ghibli.

So for the last few weeks I have been showing people round the platform, like a proud father, only too happy to show off the amazing space we are using for our production, as various people scribble down notes and sketches.

There really is little more to say on the matter for now, apart from I cannot wait for fashion week, and they are going to have an amazing show!

This blog is definitely to be continued...!!

P.S. Word to the wise for anyone attending the fashion show in September... pack some flats!

Unsung Heroes: Shane and Siobhan

2010-08-11T13:04:00.003+01:00

By Ollie Lee

On one of the first weeks of The Railway Children going up, I remember standing in the foyer during the first act, when Siobhan came running past me and up the ramp leading to platform one, from where I and a few others stood, we could make out a woman screaming, not in pain, but in red rage. To go into explicates of what this woman, and her child were saying, I feel, should be avoided, this blog is for a family show after all, but needless to say, the words coming out her mouth were not nice ones. Minutes into the argument Shane had also gone to the platform to assist, but the presence of any human figure only seemed to be fuel to her fire.

The problem was small and also needless of detail, but the point is, there are difficult customers and there are difficult customers, and while the worst of them are few and far between, I don’t believe I would have had the emotional strength to deal with them, Siobhan and Shane however certainly do.

As self confessed “negative people” nothing but positivity was displayed when we discussed their roles here, “I enjoy seeing something evolve, that’s why I took this job” says Siobhan, “I really like the energy of it all, and solving various problems.”

“We just find the difficult customers funny,” continues Shane. “I like the sense of organisation about the job...people being rude to us is just a necessary evil.”

Our front of house stars had previously been working at The Royal Court, so it’s not surprising that it takes a lot to throw them. “I always knew what I was getting into,” says Siobhan. “I was excited about seeing something grow from nothing and dealing with the challenges ahead.”

From the outside it can look like quite a glam job, Siobhan and Shane (or Shavane) are often seen impeccably dress strutting through the corridors with radio headsets on, but it only takes a screaming woman, or hearing that someone has used a bin as a toilet, to realise it is not all sunshine and roses.

With a legion of new ushers to train and whip into shape, the name of a certain German dictator has been thrown around a few time in relation to the two, though I couldn’t possibly mention by who, I can say however, that while extremely efficient, they are pretty nice people to work with.. and even slightly inspiring. (I don’t want to go to over the top.)

Press Night!

2010-07-16T21:10:00.005+01:00

By Ollie Lee

For the last two months, there have been two words hanging over our heads, quite literally as they are written in giant letters across the year planner on our wall, those two words; Press Night.

I arrived at the office at noon on Monday the 12^th July, to find the stage door desk a mass of envelopes, letters, cards, tickets and VIP flyers all being paired and allocated by our female assistants. After the brief hellos I sat down and joined the panel, half expecting the conversation to turn to jam and Jerusalem. Just seconds later, one of our producers - Jenny King - entered, pen poised, ready to do battle with the mountain of thank you cards that lay waiting on the desk. I only really mention this so I can say how beautiful Jenny’s handwriting is. If you are anything like me, the mere flick of the pen by Jenny King is enough to make any handwriting enthusiast weak at the knees. Maybe it was that, or more likely, maybe it was just the chaos of the day, but all I know is the next few hours were just a blur in which I seemed to lap the old Eurostar terminal at least 50 times.

At 4:30, Chantelle and I donned our blue ushering t-shirts and after a brief briefing from our beautiful front of house managers Shane and Siobhan, took our places at the entrance to greet everyone as they arrived.

Moments of interest from this vigil are as follows;

- The arrival Nina Wadia (EastEnders) and her family - I’m a big fan!

- The arrival of a stray member of the public asking if we had any ‘extras jobs’ we could offer him.

- The same member of the public sneaking down into the concourse and talking to Nina Wadia, undoubtedly about any ‘extras jobs’ on EastEnders.

- The removal of that particular member of the public...

- Other star struck moments came with the arrival of Sally Thomsett, an original Railway child, and the fabulous Honour Blackman.

- Finally the removal of a second crazy fan...

From a job, which to be honest we weren’t that excited about, we ended up with one of the best seats in the house for seeing the pre-preshow moments.

At 6:55pm we made a quick dash from our ushering positions, and with a lightning fast change of clothes, we were transformed back to production assistants, and at 7:00 were able to take our places in the auditorium and enjoy the show.

Ten minutes into the show and my eyes caught something shining back at me from the other side of the platform. As my eyes adjusted to the bright light against the darkness of the auditorium, I realised what I was being dazzled by were in fact Jason Gardener’s teeth! Even if a little distracting, I was pleased to see he was smiling and enjoying the show.

Unfortunately, Mr Gardener’s teeth were not the only distraction during the evening. Part way through the first act, an alarm started bleeping, followed by a message blaring out for the Eurostar staff, who of course no longer reside here. Not ideal for press night of course, but thankfully, as anyone who reads the papers will know, the reviews of The Railway Children Live at Waterloo have been brilliant!!

We thank everyone who has seen the show so far, and encourage everyone who hasn’t to hurry up and book their tickets!!!

10th July - Groupies

2010-07-12T10:38:00.002+01:00

By Chantelle Francois

As everyone who has spent more than 24 hours with me can tell you, I am a massive Boyband fan. I get a tad obsessive about the likes of Westlife, McFLY, Backstreet Boys and Take That to name but a few. I have missed many occasions like end of year dinners and birthdays because of my need to go to as many of their concerts I can every year. So much so, my nickname at uni became Groupie.

Meeting your heroes is something I think everyone would love to do. I for one would give anything to meet the Westlife boys and have a chat and this is no different in the world of The Railway Children Waterloo.

With the show starting last weekend to big crowds, we have only just began to see what different types of people find our project interesting, but boy the audiences so far have not disappointed.

From the second show, us production assistants (who have no previous experience of the world of fans from this side) were quickly brought up to speed when two men turned up trying to meet Marshall Lancaster. They came over an hour before the show had finished asking to see him. My fellow assistants and I found this all rather exciting. I don’t know whether that was because we have been cooped up in Waterloo with no windows and little outside interaction for too long or not but hey, it was fun.

We politely told them Marshall would be leaving though one door so they might be able to catch him on his way out. But did they listen....of course not. They tried to get back into our offices thinking it was a backstage area. (I suppose the Stage Door signs are a little misleading.) It became a bit of a spectator sport watching them attempt to get “backstage”.

But this show doesn’t just attract fans of actors, but also train enthusiasts. A couple of days ago, when my colleague Nick and I were looking after the model train which is on display, we were approached by a lovely old man who clearly had a passion for trains.

He was telling us all about the model trains real journey and how it is the wrong colour. All of which went straight over our head’s as we have limited train knowledge. This man continued to chat to us for some time before offering to buy the train. He was extremely persistent and no matter how many times we said it was not for sale, he kept on trying.

He was very sweet and in the end gave up, but then said ... he will be back, (I imagine he said it in the style of Arnold Schwarzenegger, but of course that is my sun deprived mind playing tricks on me again!)

So I think we should leave this as a To Be Continued......

Sunshine and Rainbows at Waterloo

2010-07-08T20:01:00.001+01:00

By Ollie Lee

When I was little, the answer to the question “what do you want to be when you grow up?” was always the same, “A bird!” Yes, perhaps I was a little confused by the more limited life choices ahead, but I knew one thing, I never wanted to work in an office. Well here I am, in an office, and I love it?

While we do complain about the size of the windowless rooms the old EuroStar offers, we don’t have it too bad. Working on a new production, in a new venue, in my opinion, is one of the most exciting things a person could ever do, there is a huge team working here, and most of the time* they are all smiling as if on some crazy antidepressant.

With first show nerves out the way, and wonderful feedback from audiences after every performance there is certainly a spring in trcwaterloo’s step. My only words of advice for the crew are borrowed from a hero of mine, the one and only Miss Doris Day, “Let’s keep smilin’, let’s keep laughin’, let’s be happy, ho ho ho ha”
Just a few shows down and The Railway Children Waterloo is definitely picking up steam, (ba dum bum) bring on Press Night!

*Everyone has put the hearts into their work here, so are forgiven when they are looking a little stressed.

Final Dress 03/07/10

2010-07-08T12:11:00.001+01:00

By Ollie Lee

Having arrived home from a long day of work I jumped in the shower, (this anecdote has a point I promise) half way through washing my face I became aware of an overly fruity smell, only to realise that it was coming from the shampoo I was using. After realising I just washed my face with shampoo, I grabbed the face wash and promptly starting washing my hair with it. This gives you some idea of how tired and distracted everyone is right now from getting this show up and running.

Opening a brand new show in a space never used before, a space until very recently was a disused railway station, is no small ask. In the last couple of hours we have seen two bars appear out of nowhere, a shop suddenly filled with merchandise, as well as the arrival of a popcorn stand, sweet stand, VIP area, platform benches and a whole load of potted agriculture.

Most excitingly, today we see the arrival of our first real audience!

We have skimmed over it lots already but I really feel it needs to be reiterated just what a massive job this is. We are not working in a theatre, we are providing a theatre. We are working in a train station which means we have to comply with reams of rules and guidelines on how we use the space, and you haven’t seen health and safety till you have worked in a station like Waterloo. As well as the staging and real steam train to contend with, we have a whole experience laid up before you even get to your seats, and everything is brand new. This has never been done before!

But all that is left to say at this stage I suppose - is break a leg!

The Dreaded Stage Door - Part 2

2010-06-25T14:26:00.003+01:00

By Ollie Lee

In Harry Potter there is the room of requirement, the magical room has a door that can only be found by those who know how to find it. Well here at The Railway Children we have the Stage Door.

Previously the stage door had been down a little hidden road round at the back of Waterloo Station. That is where I headed to on the first day of work after a brief soirée in the Channel Islands, only to find an abandoned loaf of bread and a crumpled Metro rolling past but no entrance.

Confusion instantly set in, followed by panic, as I was dangerously close to being late for work (something I hate). So I resigned myself to wander up and down the road searching for a way in. Eventually I found it with thirty seconds to go. I staggered into the office, sweaty and exasperated, but thankfully greeted by lots of smiley faces welcoming me back.

“The stage door has moved,” I managed through my obviously unfit breathing.

“Oh yeah,” was the response. “How was your holiday?”

So that was that, we had a new entrance, ha! What a fool to think it could be that simple.

Construction has moved forward enough now that we are able to use the old Eurostar entrance to get into the building, the entrance that the audience will soon be using, but we can only use it between certain hours.

“Great” I thought “tomorrow is going to be so much easier to get into work.”

But oh no, that would be way too simple for the mysterious stage door. This morning I took my time in the station, having very little distance to walk. I picked up a new book and waited in the long line for coffee.

With five minutes to spare I arrived at the new stage door - five minutes to spare I arrived at a bolted gate! So once again I ended up rushing round the back streets of Waterloo Station for a way in, and once again I ended up at the office hot and sweaty. I never even liked the film Groundhog Day so I really don’t want to be living it.

Tuesday 15th June - Progress

2010-06-17T13:34:00.001+01:00

by Chantelle Francois

Today I saw where the actors and crew will spend the next six months of their lives. The theatre has almost been completed, well not exactly, but the seats are in and it actually looks like an auditorium now.

I started work here four weeks ago and I was honestly scared about the amount of work that needed to be done. As I said before, the space was empty and it looked like something from the disaster movie I Am Legend. Simply put, it was an abandoned ghost town. There were still signs of the stations Eurostar history, with the remains of stalls and bars still visible. But now there has been a definite shift.

Don’t get me wrong, there is still so much to do and it all seems a long way off right now. But today I got all excited again as I saw the progress of the stage. A couple of us assistants took the long walk from the office to the stage (wearing rather fetching high vis jackets might I add) to see the progress on the platform. And the sight which greeted us was incredible.

The last time I was up there was two weeks ago, on the day Bernard Cribbins and Marshall Lancaster did their thing in front of the cameras. That was also the day the train arrived. Back then (it really does feel like a lifetime ago) the platform was just like any other you see across the country.

But today, what I saw was nothing like a train station. There are now 1000 seats, 500 on both platform 1 and 2. Around the seats, a roof has been erected with black curtains all around bringing darkness to the arena. It looks incredibly cosy and intimate for such a big space.

Having seen what it was before, it really is a sight to behold. It is a million miles away from where it began. I can now imagine a theatre production taking place here. It immediately gives you a sense of excitement and anticipation as you step in from the harsh light of the station to the darkened auditorium.

Lighting rigs are going up as I speak to bring to life what is sure to be a beautiful arena to watch an adaptation of one of the greatest tales of all time.

The Waterloo Tunnels

2010-06-17T13:30:00.002+01:00

by Chantelle Francois

Waterloo Station. One of Britain’s busiest stations. As producer Jenny King excitably told me, 14 million people pass through Waterloo Station every month. Idly going about their business, trying to get to their final destination with minimal fuss and praying their train won’t be the one delayed.

All of these people are blissfully unaware of what is directly beneath their feet. There is another world down here. It’s like Narnia only without the White Witch and Aslan. You open the door at Platform 19 and descend into this new world. I was one of those people who never knew this existed until I started working here. Of course I knew there was something down here, but not to this extent.

On our first day, when we had the grand tour, we were told where we were and where we were definitely not allowed to go. And there were two very good reasons for that speech. One – for safety and two – so that we didn’t get lost.

We were told in no uncertain terms that you will get lost and possibly locked in somewhere if you go wondering down the many corridors. And with phone signal lacking in certain areas, the chances are you will be trapped there for some time!

Matthew Gale then proceeded to tell us of the time he and a colleague did exactly that. They went wondering through some doors which quickly locked behind them leaving them stranded and with no phone reception. I’m not sure how long they were there but they simply had to wait until a passerby saw them.

This story put ‘the fear’ in all of us assistants because if it could happen to the boss, it could happen to any of us. In the early days, there were very few people wondering around the vast corridors so who knows how long it would take for you to be found. So there was to be no exploring done by me!

Having worked here for three weeks, I thought I had seen all that Waterloo had to offer. But I couldn’t have been more wrong. Yesterday a couple of us were shown where the dressing rooms will be. It was down some more stairs I didn’t know existed and as we went down, we were introduced to another new world.

The area was big and full of potential. There were many rooms and a couple of toilets. The room which used to be the contemplation/prayer room for the workers, was now to be wardrobe space. After a splash of paint and a clean up this space will be dressing rooms for the actors, the children and some crew.

And come opening night, it will no longer be neglected underground space, but a place buzzing with nerves and excitement.

The Railway Diva

2010-06-17T13:05:00.003+01:00

by Ollie Lee

Mariah Carey expects that her hotel suite be fitted with gold faucets. She will only bathe herself AND her dog in French mineral water, and there will be tears before bed time if her own bed sheets aren’t delivered and fitted pre her arrival.

Jennifer Lopez’s hotel suite must be painted and furnished completely in white; it must then be decorated with white lilies and white roses. She also requests white candles be placed, preferably with Paris perfume, ‘Diptyque.’ And finally the room temperature set at exactly 25.5 degrees Celsius, it seems you have to give ‘em hell to get your heaven.

In comparison the Railway Children’s shining star, Stirling Single, is reasonably low key. it simply requires its own railway track to reside on and a purpose build theatre. Oh and the Gentleman’s Saloon Carriage used in the original film.

Having been taken to the railway museum in York at about age 8, I vaguely remember a feeling of boredom and hunger while I was dragged around to see all the different train engines. So it came as a surprise to me just how excited I got when I first saw the Stirling Single resting quietly at the abandoned EuroStar platform. The 66 tonne Queen of the stage (or should that be platform) is just like any other diva, backstage the stress in tangible in the lead up to her show, but you know that none of that is going to matter, and there will only be whistles of excitement once she appears to her public.

Stats

Name: Sterling Single

Also known as; Great Northern Railway G Class Stirling 4-2-2

Born: 1870

Creator: Patrick Stiring

Past Work: Express Passenger Train – London to York

Inspired the character of Emily in Thomas and Friends

Star of The Railway Children

Thursday 3rd June - The train arrives, Bernard Cribbins and Press! Press! Press!

2010-06-17T12:55:00.002+01:00

by Chantelle Francois

Today was the day I met a legend of the acting world. Bernard Cribbins – Star of the original 1970 film adaptation of The Railway Children. I might get slated for saying this but I am going to say it anyway... what got me excited was seeing the incredible actor from Doctor Who.

And he didn’t disappoint. He wondered around in a world of his own, cracking joke after joke and when the cameras were on him, he was exactly the same. He was simply class.

Bernard was on site for a particularly important day in the making of The Railway Children Waterloo. Today was special because the Gentleman's Saloon Carriage used in the original film arrived on set in the early hours of the morning. It certainly was a momentous day.

To mark the occasion, we put on a press photo call and London Tonight were filming for a segment of their show. In front of the cameras were Bernard and Marshall Lancaster, who is playing Perks in our production. It was a symbolic gesture, the original Perks passing his cap to the new Perks. And it certainly made for an exciting event.

I did a lot of running around that day. I can tell you, the distance between the office and the platform is just LONG!!! It was a major work out. I needed a serious sit down after that morning. But boy it was fun. Seeing the crazy media world in full action was brilliant.

There were a lot of photographers, all wanting to get the best shot. So there was the inevitable scrum and raised voices as they all looked to get what they wanted as soon as possible. I even got in on the action with my camera phone to catch a few snaps of the occasion.

Walking into the carriage from the original film for the first time was a surreal moment. We have all seen it in the film and there I was, standing in it. There is only one word for this moment - Weird!

But what made it even weirder was walking in to hear the interviewer say to Bernard: “I have just one more question.” To which he quickly interjected: “YES! I will marry you!”

Now that is something I will never forget!

The Dreaded Stage Door

2010-06-17T12:43:00.002+01:00

by Chantelle Francois

Now, there are many jobs us production assistants have been asked to do in the past few weeks. Everything from hoovering the office to photocopying 61 scripts. We do them all with minimal fuss as we are aware that in order to make this huge project a success, we all need to help in every part of the operation. However, the one job that we all dread is working on the stage door.

For those of you not in the know, this is where all the producers, actors, contractors and visitors come in and out during the day. Here they must sign in as part of our strict health and safety/security measures. It’s pretty simple really.

We welcome everybody with a smile and an enthusiastic: “Hi, how are you? Just sign your name there” and “Have a nice day!” Not too exciting, but it has to be done.

We work the door in shifts of six hours. There is the early shift and the late one. I still haven’t quite figured out which one I prefer.

Being there for six hours at a time makes finding ways to pass the time very difficult. There’s music, books, magazines and newspapers. We have tried them all. However it doesn’t matter how hard you try to make the time pass like the speed of light, whenever you look at your watch it seems like only five more minutes have past.

The best part of the job by far are the colourful wristbands. We have to put them on every person who enters the building for security reasons. As I write this it sounds so lame, but seeing what colour bands are being used on a given day is the highlight. You might laugh and tell me to get a life. Yet I think this perfectly shows just how mundane the job is. After all, we are getting animated about coloured wristbands. We have well and truly regressed to our baby years when we were attracted to bright and colourful things. It’s funny really.

We are never alone on the door as we have lovely security guards with us at all times, but still the time passes slowly. Now I have this blog to write I think I can occupy myself for hours. However my fellow production assistants are not as fortunate. But they will be glad to know I have just been informed via email that we won’t have to do this much longer.

Wahoo...Celebrate good times...come on!!

Wednesday 2nd June - The Flood

2010-06-17T12:34:00.000+01:00

by Chantelle Francois

Yesterday was full of excitement. It was the day when we felt like this project was real for the first time. But today blew all of that out of the water...quite literally.

Entering the building at 10am, it was just like a normal day. But that was soon to change as I walked into the offices. The view which greeted me was like a scene from Titanic. Water was gushing through the ceiling and I stepped in a pool of water which was quickly building into a stream. As I opened the door of my office, I was once again shocked by the site. There was water everywhere, yet no one seemed to be doing anything about it. Maybe the boss knows what’s going on.....I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Walking into Matthew and Jenny’s office, I am welcomed by Matthew asking: “What the bloody hell is that noise?”

My response: “There’s a flood out here!”

He quickly made a frantic call to Jim, the man who knows all about the site, as I sat in the one office which had not been affected by the biblical flood. (Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit there, but it really was bad.) It was actually quite funny. After all, it is not every day you walk into the set of the Titanic movie. What added to the drama of the day’s events was being underground where there are no windows. It gave the situation a larger feeling of impending doom.

Never before have I heard so many water jokes while at work. Everything from, ‘let’s jump ship’ to ‘where’s your canoe?’ The funniest thing I heard all day though came from a fellow production assistant, Tabitha, when she frantically said: “I can’t go up there. I’m wearing suede shoes!” Another sentence I never thought I would hear at the office.

The reason for all the drama was a contractor setting off a sprinkler by hitting it with some heavy machinery, sending gallons of water crashing down. Even after the sprinklers were switched off, the water continued to pour for almost two hours. It only got worse as the rehearsal room was next to see the rain.

All I could think was...this is going to smell tomorrow! What a crazy day. But never mind. It’s all in a day’s work at Waterloo Station!

Tuesday 1st June - Site opens and the actors arrive

2010-06-17T12:27:00.000+01:00

by Chantelle Francois

Today is when it all starts. The beginning of the biggest project most of us have ever been part of. Making a train station into a stunning theatre experience in just over a month! That’s crazy I hear you cry...my thoughts exactly! But when the curtain goes up on opening night, it is all going to be worth it.

The project has been ongoing behind the scenes for months, but it is only now that we see it starting to take shape as construction begins and the actors arrive on site for the first time.

Before today the site was an eerie ghost town with only a handful of producers and assistants in this huge space. I’m not going to lie, at first it was pretty scary walking around alone. And with the toilets so far away from the offices, I for one didn’t like going alone. But that is all history. The place is now buzzing with activity.

Producer Matthew Gale conducts the site tour for what is probably the 1000^th time. And, although I have been on it before, I am still amazed at the sheer size of the place and the enormity of the task we have all taken on.

There is only one thought going through my head at this point - This is going to be amazing!

After all the introductions were done and the actors given their welcome packs, up steps executive producer Jenny King to give a rousing speech. Then the company got down to work. The Read Through. It was the first time we all got to see the actors play their roles and the script was heard in full. This was really exciting for me. I have never been involved in something like this before, so it is all new. But like the pros that they are, the actors got down to business as though they had been doing this particular play all of their lives.

After an hour and a half, we reach that infamous ending. A ripple of applause started and there is a real sense of excitement in the air. That was the first of many times we will hear the play in its entirety. And I for one can’t wait to hear it again!

The Project

2010-06-17T12:14:00.000+01:00

by Chantelle Francois

Task – Build a theatre and put on an exciting production of one of the most loved tales of all time.

Location – The abandoned Eurostar terminal at Waterloo Train Station.

Outcome – With any luck, it will be one of the best theatre experiences of recent times.

The Waterloo Experience

Putting on a theatre production in an unused Eurostar terminal and creating one of the biggest and most unique theatre experiences ever. What could possibly go wrong right?! Famous last words. We have certainly had some interesting issues to overcome. After all, it is a train station we are making it into a theatre! Now something you don’t hear every day! I say - let the fun begin!