Triumph or disaster - the thrill of the first night ; With Phedre opening at the National Theatre last night and The King and I this weekend, one actor involved gives an insider's view of 'staring into the abyss' [Edition 2]

Summary

---

FOR anyone addicted to adrenaline rushes but without either a motorbike or a line of Routemaster buses to leap over at high speed, experiencing a theatrical first night is probably the next best thing to junkie heaven. And with recent West End openings including A Doll's House at the Donmar Warehouse, Jude Law's much-anticipated Hamlet, and in an event likely to send the most experienced thesp reaching for the Sanatogen, two successive openings on the same day as part of Sam Mendes's acclaimed Bridge Project at the Old Vic, the current crop of first nights would satisfy the most demanding thrill- seeker.

The first night of a live show remains a uniquely theatrical confection. However glitzy a film premiere might be, by the time your performance is unfurled to an adoring public it'll have been many months since you actually committed it to celluloid. That's if it hasn't already ended up on the cutting room floor.

See the full content of this document

Extract

---

Triumph or disaster - the thrill of the first night ; With Phedre opening at the National Theatre last night and The King and I this weekend, one actor involved gives an insider's view of 'staring into the abyss' [Edition 2]

In theatre, by contrast, it's either s*** or bust. However much you may talk in rehearsal about "exploring the nuances of the text" throughout the long weeks of performances that lie ahead, everyone knows that if the...

See the full content of this document

---