Bangkok Diary

16th September

The Embassy Reception was a great occasion last night and the first time that many of us had been invited inside the hallowed grounds of a British Embassy overseas. The Ambassador’s house was magnificent and we were all made to feel most welcome. The garden was a miniature fairyland but sadly the rain returned so the visit to the grounds was somewhat curtailed.

After the reception the company went their various ways but a large group went to watch Thai Boxing which I am told they found most entertaining.

Today is opening night with a busy schedule. We started with Class in a smallish semi-circular studio whilst the Technicians finalised preparations on stage. The lighting was about finished and the priority for the rest of the morning was the scene change rehearsal to ensure that everything ran smoothly for the Technical Rehearsal which could only last 3 hours and was the first time that we had worked with the orchestra.

I am pleased to report that it was one of the smoothest rehearsals we have ever had for Peter Pan and all credit goes to our Stage, Lighting, Wardrobe and Stage Management Teams. John Duncan, our Company Manager was cueing the show for the first time, necessitated by the departure of our previous DSM who left in the summer. The rehearsal was completed in record time and the dancers had a break whilst the technicians made final adjustments to set and lighting. The Moving Lights “performed” well and I am glad we had taken the decision to bring them.

The day continued with an excellent performance and I am extremely proud of what was achieved by everyone. The audience reaction was great and yes, everybody in the audience did believe in Fairies so Tink survived!! It had been an extremely difficult environment for our technicians to work in and everybody gave 100%. The whole company were a credit to our country which we were honoured to be representing overseas. Tonight’s cast was Patrick Howell as Peter, Pippa Moore as Wendy, Jonathan Ollivier as Mr Darling/Captain Hook and Natalie Leftwich as Mrs Darling.

Following the performance, several of us attended a reception by the British Council, who I am pleased to say judged the performance to be a great success. I spoke to various journalists and TV Presenters who were saying that it would be difficult to watch traditional classical ballet again after watching our performance.

Mark Skipper
Northern Ballet Theatre Chief Executive