Small bloody world

After our walk the other day, Joe and I headed over to the venue for what will be next month’s open air theatre festival where he was going to be rehearsing Life on Mars by Elliott Hayes.

Hayes was an incredibly talented Canadian playwright whose career was cut senselessly short in 1994 by a drunk driver. Life on Mars was the last play he wrote. Our production is being directed by my friend Donna, whose most recent theatrical endeavour was appearing as Anne Hathaway in my play, A Divine Comedy along with Joe, who was hilarious as Thomas Brend, manager of the Globe Theatre. (“Sometimes show biz really sucks.”)

This two-day festival is very exciting news, as it will be the first live theatre seen on the island since March 2020. We just have to hope it doesn’t rain.

I don’t normally have my mobile with me as it seldom has any service and no one has the number anyway, so they’re not going to be calling me. But I do take it with me when Joe and I go for walks (a) in case I want to take a photo and (b) to see my step count. 

Halfway through the rehearsal I suddenly remembered I had the phone/camera with me and realised it would probably be a not bad idea to take a couple of photos of the rehearsal, which I did.

When I decided a few minutes later to take some more snaps, for some reason the phone was offering me something I think was called “silver tone” as the only visible option. I didn’t have my reading glasses with me to help me figure out what was going on, but it looked as if “silver tone” (or whatever it was) just meant black and white, so I snapped a couple more.

When I got home after the rehearsal I posted these and a couple of other photos with a comment that I’d been lucky enough to attend an onsite rehearsal of Life on Mars.

The next morning there was a comment from my friend Annie: “I went to theatre school with Elliott. We even shared a flat together!” 

Blimey. 

As I’ve previously written, my actress friend Annie was, more than 30 years ago, at the very first read through of the original version of A Divine Comedy at which she took on the roles of Anne Hathaway and Queen Elizabeth.

So… The woman who first read my Anne Hathaway all those years ago had previously shared a flat in Bristol with Elliott Hayes, author of the play currently being directed by the woman who eventually actually played my Anne Hathaway. 

Not sure if this is a case of six degrees of Elliott or six degrees of Annie. In any case, small bloody world.