Ding Dong

Tags

A Christmas Carol, Carry On Films, Charles Dickens, Ding Dong!, Douglas County Historical Society, Ebenezer Scrooge, Harry Potter, Leslie Phillips, Omaha, St Celia's Cathedral School, The Sorting Hat, WEstside High School

Tuesday marked my final day in Omaha, with two more performances of A Christmas Carol, this time in schools. On waking up I saw the news that the English actor Leslie Phillips had died, at the age of 98, and this was a sad moment for me. Many people who follow this blog may never have heard of him (although he was the voice of the sorting hat in the Harry Potter films), but Phillips does have a role in my performance of A Christmas Carol, He found great popularity in the 1960’s as a smooth-talking philanderer, who would sidle up to a lady, purring ‘Hellloooo’, or ‘Ding Dong!’ Obviously, such behaviour is rightly seen as unacceptable today, but when I was creating my performance, it seemed natural to use Phillips’ demeanor as a basis for the flirtatious Topper. So, on Tuesday I decided to honour Leslie Phillips by allowing Topper to say ‘Ding Dong’ as well!

Having had breakfast, I changed into costume and went to the lobby where Frank was waiting for me having loaded up all of the signed books which the hotel had stored for us. The first venue was the St Cecilia Cathedral School, a Catholic Elementary school, and as Frank and I arrived we met Kathy who reunited me with my cane! It had been quite an adventure to get it back to Omaha, but Cameo from Immanuel had assisted. I was so very pleased to have it back.

The morning show was to be for children in grades 5-8, and would be held in the school gymnasium, which filled me with a slight sense of dread following a rather disastrous school gymnasium performance in Omaha a few years ago. As we walked in, I saw that the hall had a stage, which was a relief, and everyone was so keen to help. From the stage I looked out into the hall and discovered that I would have the back of a Perspex basketball backboard in my eyeline – it looked like a giant version of those little Perspex teleprompters that politicians use to make their speeches. Fortunately, the hoop/backboard combination could be raised, giving me a clear view of the hall, and in no time a member of staff arrived with the correct key to send the sports equipment up to the ceiling.

As I made sure that the furniture was in the right place on the stage Julia Pick, the principal, introduced herself and thanked me profusely for coming to the school; there was a real sense of excitement and anticipation from all of the staff. I was also introduced to Mattia who would be assisting with the sound effects (he didn’t know that he would be assisting with sound effects but took to the challenge with great professionalism).

The show was to start at 9, and at 8.30 a physical education lesson was held in the hall, so we closed the main stage curtains and carried on our preparations unseen by the prospective audience.

As the start time came closer Mattia opened the curtains and there were the children, sat cross-legged on the floor, and as this seemed to be a very democratic sort of school none of the adults had chairs either! Mattia returned to his laptop in the wings and following an introduction he started the opening sound effect and I walked on to the stage to begin.

It was a fascinating production, for the audience didn’t audibly react at all, but as time went on it became more and more apparent that they were listening and concentrating and engaging. I edited the script a little, taking out some passages that I didn’t think were necessary for such an age group, although I did keep Topper in, and let him say ‘Ding Dong’, which may not be the type of behaviour that St Celia’s might encourage. At the end of the show there was lots of applause, and when Kathy asked if any of the students had questions lots of hands went straight up. One boy asked if I had thought of changing sets and costumes in my show, others asked me what my favourite part was, and another wanted to know if it had been a mistake that my top hat had fallen on the floor when I had thrown it up into the air – all good questions. With the Q&A over the staff suggested that we all gathered around the stage for a photograph, and as we took our positions one girl, who maybe had been too shy to ask in front of the rest of the school, quietly asked, ‘where the words you used all from the original book?’, which was superb question and observation The picture was taken, and it is a wonderful souvenir of a very special morning

It was only 10.30 when we left the hall, and elsewhere the students were being presented with their copies of A Christmas Carol, apparently, so Kathy told me later, their delight in discovering that I had autographed them all was beautiful to see. As it was early, I had plenty time to return to the hotel before my afternoon show. I changed back into regular clothes and went to the grocery store in the same block to buy some soup and crackers for lunch, which I heated up on the little kitchen hob in my room (I could have microwaved it, but it felt more like ‘real’ cooking to heat it in a pan).

Frank was due to collect me at 12.30, so I ate early and then got back into costume. Our afternoon show was at Westside High School, and we were greeted in the large auditorium by Jeremy Stoll, whose theatre class would be the core of my audience. Apparently the entire school had been invited, and the auditorium was certainly large enough to hold plenty of them, but I secretly hoped that it would just be the drama kids – I have found in the past the High School students who have been told to attend a show are generally bored, restless and some tend to show off to their peers, whereas theatre students get fascinated with the show, appreciating the characterisations and transitions.

At 1.30 Jeremy stood up to introduce me and sure enough it was just the theatre class. I gave the show everything, really concentrating on the mechanics, making sure that it was as technically good as I could make it. As the show continued so the students began to get interested and the response became more vocal and engaged, I am delighted to report that there was a loud hoot of laughter when Topper delivered his tribute ‘Ding Dong’ line.

The final third of the show was very rewarding, as the majority of the audience were completely hooked (a couple of students still lay sprawled across their chairs, probably asleep), and when I got to the final line and left the stage the response was as enthusiastic and vocal as you might expect from a lively bunch of theatrical teenagers. I came back to the stage and as we had plenty of time before the end of day bell sounded, we settled into a long question and answer session, which naturally concentrated on the technique of my show, the characterisations, the subject of theatre, how I cope with nerves, and other subjects relating to being an actor. Jeremy, the teacher, occasionally chimed in with a question also, and it was a very enjoyable session which became more of a class than anything else. I don’t know if my words helped or inspired, but it was great fun to talk to the class. Eventually the siren announcing the end of the day sounded and whilst some of the students left, there were quite a few who stayed to continue the conversation for a little while longer.

As we chatted, Kathy and Frank were packing up the furniture and props and soon it was time to leave. I said goodbye to my new friends, and we made our way to the car park where I said farewell to Kathy for another year – it had been a fun visit to Omaha, and all of the shows had been successful and enjoyable. Frank and I walked over to his truck, commenting on the quality of cars that students seem to drive these days (a very high-end Tesla purred by, with two of the theatre class waving to us from the driver’s and passenger’s seats). The drive back to the hotel was not a long one, and soon I was shaking hands with Frank, thanking him for all of his time and good company, and then I collected all of my belongings and went up to my room.

As I changed out of my costume, I discovered that far from leaving anything at the venues today, I had actually come away with something, for I still had the microphone clipped to my waistcoat! I will have to leave it at the hotel’s front desk and let Kathy know, so that it can be returned to Westside.

It was still early in the afternoon, so I relaxed in my room, watching some TV and catching up with some correspondence. I also booked a table for a celebratory ‘end-of-Omaha- dinner’ at a nearby restaurant, which, when the time came, was absolutely delicious.

So now it is time to move on once more, to the East coast very briefly before finishing up this first leg of the tour in Minneapolis. It has been a successful opening week, the scratchy voice from those early shows in Kansas City have gone, and the performance itself seems to be in a good place.

Wednesday will be a day off, although filled with travel, so I can rest my voice and prepare for the days ahead.

To Omaha

Tags

A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, Douglas County Historical Society, Ebenezer Scrooge, Omaha, Queen Victoria

After three days of fun and success in the Kansas City area, Sunday morning marked the time to move on. I woke early, completed my daily blog duties, and went to the lobby for my final Hilton Garden Inn breakfast. Although it was only 6am, lobby cafe was surprisingly busy. I stopped by the desk to0 say hello to my old friend Squire, one of the night managers at the hotel and we chatted for a while. On my recommendation he had read Great Expectations since my last visit and was now keen on starting another Dickens novel. We chatted for a while, and then I grabbed myself a bowl of porridge and sat as I sat a table to eat another gentleman joined me. ‘I am sorry,’ he said, ‘but I couldn’t help overhearing that you are from England. I worked in Wales for two years, and I just had to tell you what an amazing country you live in, so much history.’ It was a really nice moment, he had no idea who I was or why I was in town, he just recognised an English accent and wanted to share his passion for my home country and its history.

As I continued my breakfast, the couple at the table next to me struck up a conversation with one of the hotel employees about a forthcoming football match (football as in the American football), and it suddenly struck me that I had no understanding of a single word they were saying – they could have been having a conversation in Urdu for all the sense it made to me! I suppose if they travelled to England and overheard me talking to a friend about the latest cricket match, they would feel the same: ‘Did you see the googly he bowled? The batsman went back and was trapped, but he had given him the flipper the ball before, so it’s understandable, I suppose, and placing the fielder at silly mid-off was a masterstroke!’ You get my point.

I had the car loaded by 8.30 and was soon on the road, surrounded by the beginnings of a beautiful sunny day. The traffic was not too heavy, being a Sunday and in no time I was passing the Kansas City airport and on to the North towards Omaha, Nebraska.

The road was gruesomely littered with roadkill, various deer corpses in various states of mutilation lay at the roadside. At one point I noticed a movement to my left, something out of the ordinary, and saw to my horror a teenage girl clambering over the central reservation of the freeway, having already crossed one half of the road. I sped by, but watched transfixed in my mirror as she started to walk into the northbound carriageway. The road at this point began to descend a slight slope, and the last I saw of her was as she suddenly broke into a run, presumably to get across the road before another vehicle, unseen by me, arrived. I have no idea what happened in my wake, but there had been a horrible sense of inevitability about the whole scene, and it took a long time to shake the horror of what might have happened behind me from my mind.

The journey from Kansas City to Omaha is not an interesting one, it must be said. The journey lasts three hours and involves one long and very flat road, with little scenery of interest to break the monotony. For company I was listening to Bill Bryson’s book ‘Notes From a Big Country’, which offered plenty of laughs to keep me going, and the huge sky provided a beautiful canvas for swirling cloud formations that streaked the blue.

I could feel that I was getting tired, so decided to stop briefly to stretch my legs and to buy a cup of coffee and some sugary confectionary to keep me going. As I switched the engine off in my lovely Toyota, so the driver’s seat automatically slid back a few inches to give me extra space to leave the vehicle comfortably, and of course when I got back in and started the engine, so the seat whirred back into its previous position – all very James Bond and maybe not necessary but great fun, nonetheless.

The second half of the journey passed in much the same way as the first. I crossed the state line into Iowa and was greeted by a large sign telling me that the Iowa Welcome Center was CLOSED, which didn’t seem to be very welcoming at all. Fortunately, my time in that state would be measured in minutes, as I was headed to Nebraska which I knew would be much more welcoming.

Eventually the skyline of Omaha appeared and in no time I was pulling into parking garage at the Elements hotel in the city – a very familiar hotel to me, as I have been coming to Omaha for eleven years now. It was only 11am but the team at the Douglas County Historical Society, led by Kathy Aultz, had actually booked the room from the previous night so that it would be ready when I arrived. I pulled into the hotel’s parking garage and lugged my cases into the hotel lobby where I was greeted by the young clerk at the desk. As we exchanged pleasantries, I felt a hand on my shoulder and a voice saying ‘Gerald! have you only just arrived? Wow, I thought I was picking you up at 11!’ I turned to see the familiar figure of Kathy’s husband Frank, and having exchanged brief greetings, we tried to work out what the situation was. I checked my recent emails from Kathy and saw what had happened: in my final message I had said ‘Great, I will see Frank at 1!’ and she had mistakenly read the exclamation mark as another 1 and dispatched Frank to collect me at 11am. I did have a little down time, after all.

I checked in and went up to my room, sorted out costumes for the afternoon, and then watched some TV for the two hours until I was due to meet Frank once more. We were to go to the Omaha Field Club, a very nice golf club, where the main performance of my Omaha stay is always staged. Frank dropped me off at the front door and I walked up the short flight of white steps, lavishly decorated with pumpkins and corn cobs into the club, where the team from the Douglas County Historical Society were hard at work setting up event, with guest registration and merchandise tables prominently placed in the club’s lobby.

As I greeted and chatted to old friends, the main door opened and in came Susie Phillips – my dearest friend in Omaha, and the reason that I came to the city in the first place. Susie, and her husband Lee, saw me perform in Williamsburg many years ago, and convinced Kathy to bring me to Omaha. We have become very good friends over the years, and they have even stayed in our home when they took a trip to England a few years ago. The past year has not been a kind one for Susie, for she is undergoing a rigorous course of chemotherapy, but her smile, her indomitable spirit, her sense of humour is still just as strong as ever, and it was lovely to catch up.

Getting back to work, I took my costumes and bags into the locker room and laid them on the bench where I always change by Lee’s locker, he being a member at the club. Next, I made my way into the large ballroom, already laid out with tables for the lavish tea service which precedes my performances at The Field Club, and laid out my various props on the stage, which was already set with a chair, stool, table and fireplace. My sound cues were being operated by Elise and we spent a little time going through each one, and discussing the timings etc, until we were both quite satisfied.

Preparations complete I returned to the lobby where guests were beginning to arrive, so I took myself to the dining room and ordered a simple avocado and chicken salad, which I ate with Lee, as we caught up with each other’s news.

In the dining room the tea service was due to start at 2, so the guests were all in their seats, but I had another hour to wait until showtime, so I paced around the lobby, read some books, and chatted to anyone who happened to pass by. Eventually showtime approached, and I put my top hat and scarf on and slipped into the back of the dining room as Kathy gathered the guests to order and introduced me. Elise started the opening sound cue, and I slowly walked through the audience and onto the stage.

The performances at The Field Club are fun, because the stage is low enough, and the guests near enough, to include them in the story. The traditional fourth wall of a theatre can be broken in such a setting, and I can involve members of the audience in the storytelling, which is always great fun. I was relieved to discover that my voice that had been scratchy and tired in Kansas City, seemed to have recovered, and I could give each character their own personality without it being tainted by my own vocal shortcomings.

The show was lovely, with lots of laughter and passion. At the end, as Scrooge makes his way through the streets wishing ‘A Merry Christmas!’ to all and sundry, I made a big fuss of Suzy, sitting a one of the front tables, by kissing her hand and saying ‘Enchante, Mademoiselle’ before moving on,

The response to the show was wonderful, with a long and loud standing ovation. It is traditional in Omaha that I do a short Q&A session after the performances, so I spent 5 or 10 minutes answering questions from the floor, including one from Suzy – ‘what is your favourite venue to perform in?’ Whatever else may be going on, she hasn’t lost her wicked sense of humour, for how can I answer anything other than Omaha?

When the questions were answered (most diplomatically, I may say), I went back to the locker room to change into my dry costume, and then returned to the lobby to sign and chat and pose for photographs. One gentleman presents a very early edition of A Christmas Carol with the original hand-coloured engravings, and it is a real pleasure to hold and see – he wouldn’t notice if I create a diversion and slip it into my pocket, would he?

Soon the signing was over, Frank and Lee had packed all of my things into the car, so I went back to the hotel in costume, where I had just over an hour to relax before it was time to leave for my evening show, which was my annual appearance at the General Crook House at Fort Omaha, also the HQ of the Douglas County Historical Society. The house is a wonderful Victorian property and at this time of day is lavishly decorated for Christmas. The dining room is cleared of its furniture and turned into a small theatre, with a capacity of 40, whilst the Parlour is turned into a dining room, serving a sumptuous, elegant and delicious buffet.

Frank and I arrived at about 6.30, and the guests were also tucking in and enjoying the fine fare. There were many familiar faces there, including Suzy and Lee, and we chatted until the time for my presentation arrived.

Kathy stood on the small stage and introduced me and then it was time for me to begin. I had decided to give the reading that I performed in Rochester in June, based on the meeting between Queen Victoria and Charles Dickens in 1870. I wasn’t at all sure how well it would be received, as it is not a performance I have given since I premiered it during the late Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations but actually it was really well received. The story of their relationship is a fascinating one and may form the basis for a future book.

When I had finished, we had some more questions, before moving into the parlour and gathering around the table to have a champagne toast, which was written and proposed by Suzy, who presented it with her customary aplomb.

The day, that had started in Kansas City and had involved a three-hour drive and two performances, was coming to an end and I was grateful to get back to the Element and my room. Chef Mario had plated up the best bits from his buffet and I sat in my room watching tv and enjoying the delicious food. It had been a long and busy day, but a very satisfying and successful one, but soon sleep overwhelmed me and it was time to switch the television off retire for the night.

Go! Go! Go!

Tags

A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, Huskers, Immanuel Community, Lincoln, Nebraska, Omaha

The official first day of the tour was due to begin at an early hour, but it might have been so much earlier. My two performances were for to be at separate communities belonging to The Immanuel group, one in Omaha and one in Lincoln. Although my performances in Omaha are under the management of The Douglas County Historical Society, for the last few years an increasingly traditional feature of my visit has been a day given to Immanuel and I have visited a good many of their communities over the years.

This year’s shows were originally due to begin in Lincoln, Nebraska at 10.30 in the morning and a second back in Omaha at 2.30, tis would have meant an early start and a rush-hour drive to get to Lincoln in time to perform which, after my long day of travelling the day before and my late night, would not have been wholly enjoyable. I had suggested that the two shows be reversed meaning that I didn’t have to begin my 2021 trip in such a sleepless whirlwind.

I, of course, woke rather early on my first morning, but the fact that I didn’t have to be up and ready in the lobby of the hotel at silly-o’clock meant that I could have quite a relaxing morning, laying in bed drinking coffee and muttering a few lines to myself. At 7 o’clock I went down to breakfast, once again masked up and was astounded to discover that no one else was wearing masks – not the guests or any of the staff at Element. It became obvious that attitudes to mask wearing in the US are different to that in the UK (although increasingly few people are wearing there too). I selected a table at a good distance from others and enjoyed a good hearty meal which involved granola and fresh fruit, as well as some bacon and scrambled eggs. A meal to set me up for the day.

I was due to be collected at 8.30 so I made sure that I had all of my costume requirements for 2 shows (I wouldn’t be returning to the hotel until the day was done) and took myself back to the lobby where Frank Aultz was waiting to chauffer me around the state. In past years I have always been driven by my very good friend Lee Phillips but over the past year Lee and his wife Susie have undergone a few medical adventures meaning that Lee would not be available. Frank is the husband of The Douglas County Historical Society director Kathy Aultz and we have worked together at many events over the years, so I was in familiar and safe hands. In the lobby Frank waited for me, fully masked, and soon we were in his big SUV growling towards the Pacific Springs Retirement Community in the west of the Omaha. As with any Midwestern car journey it was quite a long one and Frank and I had had plenty of time to catch up before pulling up under the large portico in front of the main building. Kathy was already waiting, as was Heather from the centre and also Cameo who works for Immanuel and arranges all of the programming for the residents across the whole group, and who has worked with Kathy over recent years to make these events happen.

We all made our greetings and shared brief anecdotes about life under lockdown, before I was shown to a small office had been designated as my dressing room. And so a routine that will last until 23 December began as I changed into costume, making sure that all of the details were in place: shoes double-knotted, Victorian penny in waistcoat pocket, fob watch set and wound, cravat correctly tied etc etc. Back in the room where I was to perform a small stage had been erected and I re-arranged the furniture a little, and draped the red shawl, that has become part of the show in recent years, over the chair. Another important moment was to place the two little toy mice on the set: The mice were bought with my two daughters three years ago and are always somewhere on the stage so that they can be close to me, watching, even if we are half a world apart.

Mice hidden and I was ready to go!

At 10.20, or so, the audience began to appear from around the centre, some in wheelchairs, some with strollers, one on a Ferrari red motor scooter, and as he wore a red jacket, red baseball cap and red mask (everyone was masked), he looked as if he was a star driver with the Scuderia! The room was soon full and it was time to start. Firstly Cameo welcomed the residents and introduced Kathy who in turn welcomed me, and in the words of legendary Formula One television commentator Murray Walker, the 2021 tour was ‘Go! Go! Go!’

Any sense of tiredness I felt was swept away by the adrenaline rush of performing and soon I was well into the show – everything was working well. Of course I had performed A Christmas Carol a few weeks before at the Alderwood School in England, so the movements and lines were not completely alien to me, but it was a relief that everything fell naturally into place and I could really concentrate on making the show as effective as possible, rather than simply delivering a competent performance.

At the end of the show as many residents as were able stood to applaud me and many came up to me to thank me and congratulate me, which was wonderful – this had been a very good way to get things going. After I had changed back into my regular clothes Cameo told Kathy, Frank and I that the centre would be giving us lunch and we could retreat to the conference room where we would be alone and could catch up. Of course we had two years of news to share, so the conversation was constant. Our lunch came and was delicious, but time was ticking on and we had to be in Lincoln for the second show so we made sure we had all of our belongings and got on the road.

Lincoln is Nebraska’s capital city and lies around 60 miles to the South West of Omaha, and we were due at the Grand Lodge community for a 2.30 performance. As we departed Omaha it was clear to see how the city is spreading outwards – as property prices get ever higher downtown, so new developments are being built on the fringes of the city, and in a Midwestern town the limits are, well, limitless. The problem is that each new neighbourhood needs new stores and libraries and schools and businesses to support it, meaning that the heart of the city is left empty like the husks of corn which give the state its nickname.

The drive was beautiful under a bright blue sky streaked with some extraordinary cloud formations created by the strong winds that whipped across the prairie land. The quality of the sunlight showed off the golden fall colours to their best advantage whilst the wind meant that the huge American flags, so beloved by the auto trade in particular, billowed from their staffs in all of their glory.

Unfortunately as we got closer to Lincoln the traffic became slower and slower and our progress was halted meaning that by the time we pulled up at Grand Lodge the clock was ticking inexorably on towards 2.30 – showtime. Indeed, as I entered the main door, the seats in the auditorium space were already filling up – there would be no time to relax and collect my thoughts in preparation. However in the potential rush there was a slight oasis of calm: a cup of tea. the pot nestling under For my many years working in Omaha the signature performance has been at a lavish elegant tea and for many years the service was under the instruction of Mona, a volunteer with the Historical Society, who has a passion for English tea. She would create special blends and insisted that everyone drank from antique china tea cups with matching saucers. For me there would be a single teapot filled with a perfectly brewed Earl Grey, and a cup waiting in my dressing room. Mona’s husband died a few years ago and she moved from Omaha to be near to her daughter, and now she is living in the Grand Lodge community – this was a complete coincidence but as soon as she knew that I would be visiting she made sure that she would be waiting for me and that in my dressing room would be a pot of my favourite Earl Grey, nestling beneath a British tea cosy embellished with lace work.

With all of the rush to get ready for the show the opportunity to step back and savour the tea was very very welcome, and it was delicious.

By the time I emerged from my dressing room, Cameo was already making welcomes to the residents and as I put the microphone pack on, and adjusted my costume, Kathy was called up to make her opening remarks. I just had time to carelessly throw the red shawl over the chair, before I was on. The start of the show was rather like I was standing in a roller coaster car, not fully strapped in, when the ride started – I felt a bit out of control, but following a clearly defined route. It was as if I was a passenger to the show rather than actually controlling it, and it took me quite a while to get myself back to a place of comfort. However it all went well and once again the residents of the centre thoroughly enjoyed it and came to to tell me so afterwards, many with tears in their eyes.

It had been a rather frantic afternoon, but I had completed my second show and now I could rest. This first day was always going to be a challenge, but I met it well and gave two strong performances, which was a great relief to me. I posed for some photographs with Mona and Cameo (who has grand plans for my return nest year) and once again changed back into my regular clothes. Frank had gathered up all of my props and soon we were headed back to Omaha among the flying golden leaves.

With no performance in the evening I could relax and after dining in the Leadbelly Pub near to the hotel, I was able to get an early night and regroup ready for another day’s performing for the Douglas County Historical Society.

The Man in the the Mask

Tags

Boeing, Heathrow Airport, Home Alone, Mask wearing, Omaha

On Thursday 4th November, or November 4 for my American readers, I began a tour of America for the first time in two years. I must be honest and admit I am feeling slightly trepidatious about the undertaking, in that I am not sure of the wisdom of gathering lots of people in enclosed spaces and I am very aware that if I were to contract Covid during one of my performances the consequences would be most detrimental not only to me, but to other venues on my tour and back in the UK as well. So I will certainly be taking all of the precautions that I can take during my travels.

The process of flying actually began two days before I was due to get on board an aeroplane, as I had to take an official PCR test which, if negative, would earn me the necessary ‘Fit to Fly’ certificate. I duly attended a testing centre (actually a small suite in an Oxford hotel taken over by the testing company) and having answered lots of questions and given my passport details, I was invited to self-administered the test, which seemed a bit cheeky having paid £125 for the privilege! Within 24 hours the negative results came through and I knew that I was good to go.

As a household we all woke early on Thursday morning as I had booked a taxi for 7.30 to take me to Heathrow. In our living room my bags, which I had packed the night before, stood as if in anticipation of adventures ahead, along with a mask which would be my close companion over the next 22 hours, or so.

The cab arrived a little early so we all said our goodbyes. The driver introduced himself as Alex and I introduced myself as Gerald, and with those formalities completed he selected 1st gear and headed for Omaha (well, Heathrow Airport to be pedantic. Traffic was light at that hour and we made excellent time, so that I was in a relatively quiet Terminal 5 with plenty of time to spare. My check-in and passage through security was equally speedy, so I had plenty of time to kill before making my way to the gate. I had a coffee, bought some disposable masks which looked as if they wouldn’t be as hot as my fabric ones on a long flight, and generally mooched around until gate B37 was flashed up as being where British Airways flight 295 was waiting for me.

Since the beginning of the pandemic almost two years ago the USA has had a ban in place for passengers from the UK (you may have read my previous blog post about the special dispensation I needed to be allowed to fly). A few weeks ago the US government announced that they would be bringing that ban to an end, but the date they settled on was 8 November, meaning that my flight was very empty – mostly made up of passengers travelling on American passports. I had carefully selected a window seat, A41, but bizarrely it seems that on a Boeing 787 row 41 is the only row that does NOT have a window! It is not an exit row, and there doesn’t seem to be anything particularly special about row 41, it looks just like all the other rows but maybe someone in the design office at Boeing wanted an early lunch one day and forgot to sketch a window onto the blueprints before heading off to the cafeteria. Fortunately there was plenty of space on board and I could move forward a row from where I could enjoy the view of the beautifully swept up wing of the 787 Dreamliner.

After a slight delay as cargo was loaded we pushed back from the gate and we were soon soaring over Windsor Great Park and into the clouds before bursting out into the clear bright blue above. I watched movies, read magazines, played games on my phone and the hours gradually whiled away. Current regulations mean that masks have to be worn for the entire duration of the flight, except when eating or drinking, so the relief provided by beverage and food services was huge. Every time a cup of water was offered I grabbed at it, and lingered over it as if it were a fine Claret, relishing the freedom it gave me.

Eventually (after a couple of Robert Downey Junior Sherlock Holmes movies, an episode of Top Gear, a documentary about the Duke of Edinburg and an episode of The Durrells), we began our descent and breaking through the clouds got a wonderful view of the Chicago skyline. We were soon on the ground and taxiing to the gate bringing the first leg of my journey to a close. Of course there was no relief from the mask wearing, for it is also mandatory to wear one in all airport spaces, so on it stayed.

I joined the serpentine queue to clear immigration and for once didn’t mind that time was ticking inexorably onward, for my connecting flight to Omaha was not due to depart for another 5 hours or so – anything to pass the time was welcome, even if that meant standing in line wondering if I would actually be admitted to the country. Any fears I had were swiftly swept away as the agent stamped my passport and waved me on my way. After retrieving my large suitcase and then immediately entrusting it to the safety of American Airlines once more, I took the transit train to terminal 3 and made my way into the concourse (I’m fairly sure it was the one featured in Home Alone) and found a quite seat at an unused gate which would become my home for a few more masked hours.

By this time it was around 4.30, with my boarding due to commence at 8pm, I decided to remain in my seat until 6, when I would go and search out something to eat – that would neatly split the time in half, and give me another excuse to breathe some fresh air again. I read, I went through some lines, I played backgammon on my phone and I wrote the first part of this blog post until the relief of 1800 hours arrived. I found an Italian grill and ordered a Caesar Salad and a Lasagne, which I ate slowly, spending about an hour at the table. When I finally decided that I could remain there no longer I replaced my mask and went to the gate to await the call to board.

The domestic flight onto Omaha was busy and I slept through most of it, waking just in time to witness our final approach and landing at the Eppley Field airport (which always sounds more like a baseball ground to me.) As soon as my case appeared on the carrousel I ordered an Uber cab and by the time I had walked to the garage designated for such transportation, my car, driven by Peter, had arrived. And so my day ended as it had begun in a taxi. I had been travelling for about 22 hours and never have I been happier to get into my hotel room at The Element Hotel, which is so familiar to me after many years of staying there, and taking off that bloody mask!

I unpacked my costumes so that hopefully some of the creases could hang out overnight, for I was to be straight to work on Friday morning, with my lift due to arrive at 8.30. No rest for the wicked, as the saying goes, and the 2021 tour starts here.

It’s Been a Quiet 18 Months…..

Tags

A Christmas Carol, Byers'Choice, Califormia, Downton Abbey, Garrison Keeler, George Bush, George Washington, Highclere Catle, INS, King George III, Lake Wobegon, Lit&Phil, Llandrindod Wells Victorian Festival, Lockdown, Mid Continent Public Library, Nebraska, Omaha, Prairie Home Companion, Revelation Ashford, Rogers Gardens, The Word, Tony Blair, Vaillancourt Folk Art, Visa

‘Its been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon, Minnesota, my home town, out there on the edge of the prairie.’ So began Garrison Keillor’s ever brilliant weekly monologue, performed as part of his A Prairie Home Companion programme show which was broadcast weekly for nearly fifty years. Somehow I feel much the same way (albeit with a difference in timescale), about life over the last year and a half: ‘It’s been a quiet 18 months in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, my home town, out there on the edge of the Cotswolds…..’

My life as a performer has been cut from beneath me by the global pandemic and such performances as there have been have been spasmodic to say the least. Don’t get me wrong, for I have the loved time at home with Liz and the children, I have enjoyed becoming a runner, I have enjoyed being able to write and research, I have enjoyed our neighbourhood and a less frenetic way of life, but the natural rhythm of my professional life was interrupted, disturbed, fractured, meaning that my sense of self has been confused and disturbed, possibly changed forever.

But as Spring turned to Summer, and the heat became unbearable for the British nation, so the possibility of a conventional Christmas tour began to form, both in the UK and the USA. There are many hoops to jump through before it all becomes a reality but the venues are committed and the dates are in the diary, so this is a brief description of my year as it unfolds and hopefully you will be able to attend one of the events and welcome back Christmas!

Firstly the dates:

UK

27-28 August: The Llandrindod Wells Victorian Festival, Wales. Great Expectations. Dickens & Staplehurst.

23 October: The Victoria Hall, Sutton Scotney, Hampshire UK. Mr Dickens is Coming & Doctor Marigold

31 October: The Word, Jarrow, South Shields UK: Dickens & Staplehurst. The Signalman.

USA Tour

5-6 November: The Douglas County Historical Society. Omaha, Nebraska. A Christmas Carol

8-10 November: Rogers Gardens, Corona del Mar, California. A Christmas Carol

12-15 November: Mid Continent Public Library. Kansas City, Missouri. A Christmas Carol

UK

23 November: The Literary and Philosophical Society, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. A Christmas Carol

24 November: Revelation Arts Centre, Ashford, Kent. A Christmas Carol

USA Tour

27-28 November: Vaillancourt Folk Art, Sutton, Mass. A Christmas Carol

30 November: Historic Christmas Barn, Connecticut. A Christmas Carol

1-2 December: Fortin Gage, Nashua, New Hampshire. A Christmas Carol

3 December: St Anselm College, Manchester, New Hampshire. A Christmas Carol

4-5 December. Ventfort House, Lenox, Mass. A Christmas Carol

7 December. Country Cupboard, Lewisburg, PA. A Christmas Carol

8-9 December. Winterthur Museum, Winterthur DE. A Christmas Carol

10 December. Lewis Public Library, Lewis DE. A Christmas Carol

11-12 December. Byers’ Choice, Chalfont PA. A Christmas Carol

UK

15 December. Henley upon Thames. A Christmas Carol

17-18 December. St George’s Hall, Liverpool. A Christmas Carol

19 December. The Word, Jarrow, South Tyneside. A Christmas Carol

20-21 December. Highclere Castle, Highclere, Berkshire. A Chritsmas Carol

23 December. Leicester Guildhall, Leicester. A Christmas Carol

So, lets have a little amble through that lot: I have included the Victorian Festival in Llandrindod Wells not because it is part of my Christmas tour but because of what it represents. The Victorian Festival has been running since 1982 and each summer has brought the community in the elegant spa town in mid Wales together. Featuring a huge variety of events, such as parades, craft fairs, Victorian pageants, costume workshops, afternoon teas and various performances, the festival has reminded an increasingly modern and hectic world of a slower pace of life, a more genteel way.

I am not sure how many years I have been attending the festival, six or seven maybe but it feels an intrinsic part of my summer and last year was the poorer for not being able to attend. Fortunately out of the Covid ashes the committee have managed to resurrect the festival for 2021, albeit with numerous restrictions in place, and I am returning to perform Great Expectations. However the sad news is that due to dwindling financial assistance from the local council and a lack of enthusiasm from the younger generations it is all too probably that this year will mark the end of the festival. Crinolines and top hats will be packed away for the last time and the elegant green park and bandstand will echo to the town crier announcing each event no more. I hope it is not so, but the prognosis is not good. It therefore was very important to me to include Llandrindod into my diary and to give the best performance I possibly can to make my days there a huge celebration of all that has been achieved over 4 decades.

The Victoria Hall, in the village of Sutton Scotney is a venue that I stumbled on by accident, albeit thanks to Charles Dickens himself. My brother and I had attended a celebration of the birth of Dickens in Portsmouth one February. As we drove home we discovered that the A34 road was blocked with traffic (not an unusual occurrence), so we looked at a map (remember them?) and found a route across country that wound through some of the Hampshire and Berkshire villages, one of which was Sutton Scotney. At one end of the village stood an impressive hall and I thought that it may be worth contacting them with a view to doing a show there. I have often made such approaches and usually they come to nothing but on this occasion I scored a bullseye because my email found Eryl Holt an actress with a long and varied career (including a role in one of my favourite TV comedy sketch shows). Eryl immediately took to the idea of a one man performance and arranged for me to perform a double bill of The Signalman and Doctor Marigold. The audience wasn’t huge for that first foray, but I impressed enough for the word to go around the village meaning that when I returned the following year it was to a full house. I have returned to Sutton Scotney on a few occasions now and always enjoy my time in the Victoria Hall, so when I was beginning to build my tour it was a natural venue to include.

The Word in Jarrow is a wonderful library complex opened only a few years ago. The building is a magnificent white, circular, spiralling structure with multiple rooms and spaces all designed to promote a love of written and the spoken word and sits in the heart of the town where it is open and accessible to the entire community. I was due to perform at The Word in May 2020 and it was the first booking that I lost when the initial period of lockdown was introduced. I was delighted when South Tyneside Council made contact asking for not one but two dates during the autumn season. One to talk about my new book describing the circumstances of the Staplehurst rail crash, accompanied by a performance of The Signalman, and the other to perform A Christmas Carol in November. It is a long drive, Jarrow being in the far North East of the country, but it is a worthwhile one!

The first part of my American tour has a familiar feel to it with visits to Omaha and Kansas City where I will be the guest of my old friends at the Douglas County Historical Society and the Mid Continent Public Library Service once more. Those who follow my blog will know that the folks in both venues are old and close friends and it seems perfect that my USA tour should begin there. The two venues are separated by a quick jaunt to the west coast where I will perform beneath the blazing Californian sun in the open-air amphitheatre at Rogers Gardens once more

But, and it is a big ‘but’ the chances of being able to travel still hang in the balance, with the scales tipped rather unevenly at the moment. All of the dates are booked and all of the venues are ready to go, but confusion still reigns over international travel. As countries deal with their own domestic policies regarding the containment of Covid and the vaccinating of their population, each has their own policy as to travel to and from other nations. The need to keep the approach of the disease and its variants at bay balanced against the need to open up the economy again has led to governments coming up with their own policies.

For many years Britain and America has shared ‘a special relationship’, (although it has become more or less special depending on the respective administrations – George III/George Washington marking the nadir and maybe Blair/Bush the zenith), and it is one that I like to think that I have contributed a tiny amount to. Earlier this year it was proposed that the relationship would be preserved with the creation of a travel corridor between the two nations, a sort of vortex through which no virus could travel. Now, though, as reality hits it has become apparent that everyone has to protect their citizens and travel restrictions have been imposed.

In a usual year The Byers’ Choice company would create the tour and secure contracts from every venue, then a huge document has to be submitted to the Immigration and Nationalization Service (with the approval of the Actor’s Equity union who quite naturally wish to protect the rights of American performers.). The INS then approve the visa application at which point I have to apply to the US Embassy in London for an in person interview where an agent can pose a few more questions, should they feel the need, and then grant the visa proper. But this year the Embassy is closed for interviews, meaning it is impossible to get a visa approved, the only exceptions being emergency visits for urgent situations and humanitarian travel. Additionally, in order to enter the United States directly from the United Kingdom, I will need to be granted a National Interest Exception (NIE). So before I can commence my 2021 US tour I have to fulfil one of those criteria. The scary part is that I can not apply yet as anything over 60 days before travel is not seen as an emergency (I must say it makes me smile to think of my show in that way: ‘Quick! We need A Christmas Carol and we need it NOW – this is an urgent plea!, thank Heavens that AChristmasCarolMan is on call!’), and we are only permitted one application so we have to time and use it wisely.

As always Byers’ Choice have engaged an immigration attorney and they are monitoring the situation carefully, for it is more than likely that the situation will change over the summer months and if it does we need to be ready to jump at the earliest opportunity.

So, back to my dates, and if I get to America and if I am allowed back in to the UK again without needing to isolate for 2 weeks, I will then travel to the far North East again to the beautiful city of Newcastle where I will return to the elegant surroundings of the Lit&Phil (Literary and Philosophical Soicety) before making my way back down the country to the Revelation Arts Centre in Ashford where I was able to return to the stage in June. I am one of the centre’s ambassadors and am proud to be so, it is always a wonderful space to perform and with a great audience.

Back in the USA (as The Beatles never sung), the second and longer part of the tour takes me to very familiar terriorty, starting in Massachusetts with the Vaillancourts, and moving around New England and Pennsylvania, with a brief foray into Delaware, until I finish up with the Byers’ family in Chalfont PA.

Back to the UK and I return to the beautiful setting of St George’s Hall in Liverpool where Dickens himself performed and for a second year I get to perform again in the great hall of Highclere Castle, the star of Downton Abbey, before bringing my season to an end in the ancient Guildhall in the city of Leicester.

I will keep you posted with progress as the weeks pass, but in the short term it is time to dust off Great Expectations once again and to prepare for Llandrindod Wells later this month.

That’s the news from Abingdon where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking and all the children are above average.

Memories from a Samsung: Omaha, Nebraska

Tags

A Christmas Carol, Bill Sikes, Doctor Marigold, Ebenezer Scrooge, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Historic home, Nebraska, Omaha, The Signalman, Trans Siberian Orchestra

Yesterday’s alert on my phone reminded me that two years ago I was being driven through very heavy snow towards Lincoln, Nebraska from the city of Omaha where I was performing at various venues on behalf of The Douglas County Historical Society, as I had done for many years before that.

My chauffeur on that day, as on so many in Omaha, was Lee Phillips and it was he and his wife Suzy who were responsible for taking me to the most central spot in the USA where sea and shining sea are as far away as it is possible for them to be.

Susie and Lee had seen me perform in Williamsburg, Virginia (no doubt the subject of a future post if my Samsung decides to remind me of times there), and as she was on the board at the Historical Society thought that a fundraiser featuring my shows would be a good idea. As soon as she could she marched into the office of the Society’s Executive Director, Kathy Aultz, and told her that ‘we MUST have Gerald Dickens perform’. Now, if Kathy had known Susie well, known her single-minded attitude, known how once she had an idea nothing would stand in her way, she may have simply said ‘alright let me know what we need to do’, but at that moment Kathy was new to the role and was trying to pick her way through all sorts of budgets, procedures, lists of employees, board members, volunteers. Her desk was covered and her mind was whirling, when suddenly in came this woman demanding that they all go on a road trip to the Kansas City area to watch a distant relative of a dead British guy performing A Christmas Carol. Kathy gave in and agreed to this hair-brained scheme. It is a story that both Kathy and Susie tell now with a great deal of humour and affection.

So, having seen me perform and understanding the possibilities, the Douglas County Historical Society put things in place to bring me to Omaha.

Over the years I have performed in many venues around the city but the two constants have been the General Crook House, a wonderfully atmospheric old property which is open for the public to tour, as well as being the HQ of the Society, and the Field Club – a stylish golf course where Lee just happens to be a member. The latter location hosts the largest audiences of my Omaha visits as we take over a spacious function room for an afternoon tea performance. The room is packed with tables as a large audience of locals and bus tour passengers crowd in to begin their Christmas celebrations.

The Field Club

While the audience is having their tea I have plenty of time to sit and relax, maybe chat to some of the volunteers or watch golf on tv in the wonderfully named ‘cry room’, a small bar where disconsolate golfers drown their sorrows after a frustrating round.

When the tea is finished and cleared Kathy welcomes the guests and introduces me.

Now, up to a few years ago I would walk up onto the stage, take the applause, say a few words of introduction and then start the show, but in recent years I have created a more theatrical opening to the performance: after the introductions, music fills the hall (the melancholic, atmospheric opening bars to the Trans Siberian Orchestra’s Christmas Eve/Sarajevo classic which is based on ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’, the only carol mentioned by name in A Christmas Carol’). When the music dies away it is replaced by a church bell tolling as the hunched figure of Ebenezer Scrooge slowly walks to an imaginary graveside.

The idea works well so long as there is the equipment to play the sound effect as in most venues there is and you would expect a large function room to have the facility to play music, wouldn’t you? Ah, how dull my tours would be if everything was so simple!

At the Field Club the music for the entire facility used to be generated from an audio system tucked away in a tiny little cupboard near the admin offices, but nowhere near the stage area. To play the music cue it was necessary to plug my phone into the system and at the appropriate moment press ‘play’.

Simple.

However…. Kathy was giving the cue on stage and I was at the back of the room ready to enter through the audience, so we had to engage someone to operate the phone (complete with my access code in case it locked), but as they were stuck in the little cupboard there had to be yet another person in the long corridor waiting to relay the signal. This is how it worked: Kathy said ‘and so please welcome Gerald Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol’, I waved to whoever was in the corridor, they waved to whoever was in the cupboard, they hit play and hopefully the sound effect filled the room. To allow for the inevitable delay, I would start the process a little early so that the music started at the perfect moment, however there were a few occasions when Kathy would be on the point of finishing but just as I was giving the signal she would remember something else she needed to say, and there would be a flurry of hand signals to stop the process!

Last year the Field Club had invested in a new system which allowed the music to be played from within the room itself and although it made for a much simpler and more relaxing start to the show, I did rather miss our adventurous Heath Robinson style set up of years past!

The other venue, the Crook House, is a perfect setting for Victorian story telling. The dining room is cleared and a small stage set up in a large bay window, more of an alcove really. Due to the lack of space I am not able to do my larger theatrical-style shows there, so I usually turn to my smaller repertoire: Doctor Marigold, The Signalman, Sikes and Nancy and A Tale of Two Cities among others. The audience numbers around 40 and such is the intimacy of the setting we have all become good friends over the years.

Actually I have a permanent presence at The Crook House, for a few years ago Kathy arranged to have a life sized carboard cut out of me made to help promote my visits: my alter ego stands quietly in an office and has been christened ‘Flat Gerald’

Of course every venue has its own eccentricities, and The Crook House is no exception to that. One year, I think when I getting all dramatic in the middle of Sikes and Nancy, there was suddenly the sound of a buzzer sounding sporadically. Eventually both I and Kathy realised that the sound coincided with one audience member stretching his legs. I was continuing the show almost on auto pilot, transfixed by this gent’s ability to buzz at will, whilst Kathy quickly realised what was actually happening. The room, having been the house’s formal dining room, had a little bell push under the carpet near to the spot where the hostess would have been seated, so that she could surreptitiously call for the servants to attend and clear the table. Our poor audience member was completely unaware that his foot was activating the hidden switch every time he stretched his leg out.

There have been plenty of other venues in and around Omaha – book shops, high schools (including one performance in the cavernous surroundings of a basketball court!), and more recently senior living communities, but every event is organised by the small and dedicated staff at The Douglas County Historical Society and at every performance Kathy and Susie are there overseeing every detail. As with so many people that I have worked with they have become close friends and valued colleagues.

The Historical Society were one of the prime movers in requesting that I make a video of my show to distribute to their regular audience members and so began the process that will come to fruition on November 26 when my film will be released.