Last Love's Labour's Lost - 15th November matinee

24th and final performance of Love's Labour's Lost (my 14th)

This was the final performance of Love's Labour's Lost and there was a definite feeling of last day of term on stage! We spoke to one of the theatre staff during the interval and she said exactly the same! (Hamlet and MND are moving to London but LLL isn't.)

David Tennant didn't get the hat in the tree today so instead he went and picked it up and put it on the vertical branch which received a terrific laugh!

There were a few mishaps today (I love live theatre!). For example near the beginning the Princess's purse fell onto the stage. She looked down at it but Boyet picked it up and she fastened it when she was sitting down later.

Also when the Princess through the coin to the Forester, he didn't catch it and it ended up in the front row so he got off the stage to pick it up.

Also Nathaniel's cloth hat fell off. He realised it had as he moved it with his foot slightly nearer the side of the stage. Later Costard picked it up and gave it back to him. He acted as tough he hadn't realised that he'd lost it but he had.

Another thing that happened was that as the swing came down the first time, a flower fell down off it so Ryan Gage picked it up and prsesnted it to the maid.

The other mishap was that one of the coins came off the camel's bridle and rolled across the stage so Dumaine gave that to his lady.

When Berowne came out today he spoke to both Longaville and Dumaine before lying down on the stage.

I was quite sad at the end that this was the last performance of Love's Labour's Lost as this is a great production (far better than the version I saw at The Globe last year).

And my favourite line (and delivery) is still "I that am honest"!

Next performance for me: Hamlet tonight (15th)

David Tennant bumped into me...

...or at least his bag did!

I left home at 6.30am and had breakfast (for the last time!) at my usual spot on the M40. It felt really weird to be going up to Stratford-Upon-Avon for the last time to see David Tennant...at least in these two plays. I can't really complain though as I've seen him far more than most. Plus I keep telling myself that I'm seeing him even more at the Novello in London!

I got to Stratford by 10.00am and managed to get a parking spot in my favourite place so that was handy as it meant that I didn't have to keep crossing the river! I got to the theatre by 10.10am and there was already people queuing for returns all down the courtyard and into Southern Lane. When I went inside the theatre there was also three lines of people in there too! This was after I saw some people with sleeping bags walking away from the theatre so they obviously had managed to get tickets.

I'd booked on the 10.30am theatre tour back in August and it was fascinating! First of all we went up to the upstairs foyer and our guide explained that that part of the building was the old Other Place and all the new theatre proper was the new part which only has planning permission for five years so it will be pulled down when the refurbished theatre is completed. She pointed out that the theatre lights there were still up and visible from the foyer - there's also a bicycle there too!

We then went downstairs to the backstage area. I didn't realise that the part where Hamlet drags Polonius out is actually part of the theatre and not backstage. As we were standing there (I was near the back) I noticed DT's security guard coming through so as I realised David Tennant was probably following him (it was about 10.45am at this time) I moved over to let him go by quietly. The guy behind me moved too but more into the way so that as David Tennant passed by, his bag knocked into me.

Some of the women on the tour then noticed him (he'd gone into the dressing room part by then) and one of them (in her 30s) was literally jumping up and down in her excitement! It quite depressed me seeing all that. He'd only come from the car park and had needed a bodyguard (someone told me later that he hadn't managed to get his usual spot nearest the door...some fans know his car now). He had his baseball cap well down on his head.

The backstage area is very small - maybe ten feet wide. The part that amazed (and worried!) me was that the uncracked part of the backdrop is totally transparent so that people backstage can look through and see the audience clearly!

We then moved to the front row and sat there for a while and then up to the gallery area to try out those seats too.

As we left the theatre both the guy who plays the priest in Hamlet and David Tennant came out on stage to start their pre-performance warm-ups so we watched some of that briefly.

Hamlet - Saturday 8th November (evening)

57th performance of Hamlet (my 16th)

It made a change for me to drive south to Stratford! I'd been in Scotland on business and managed to fit in an Am-Dram performance of Hamlet too. The production was okay but Hamlet was played by a girl which took some getting used to! She was easily the best actor in the cast but rather rattled through the soliquees unfortunately. Once again, they cut short my favourite speech, but all of the 5 productions I've seen have cut it so I guess I'm in a minority!

I was in my H5 seat so I had a totally uninterrupted view other than the woman sitting next to me who CONSTANTLY fidgeted through the whole performance! I can ignore a bit of movement but there can't have been a minute in the whole play where she didn't move - it was very off-putting. She even went out to the loo twice too.

Despite the distraction, I still really enjoyed this performance and thought they all acted with massive intensity tonight.

My usual musings on the performance:

After Hamlet's first real speech ("Seems madam" etc - a speech that is also cut!) David Tennant took a drink of his "wine" which I haven't seen him do before but it looked effective as the character is obviously distraught at being told by his mother that his grief only seems deep.

One thing that I've only recently noticed is that in the same scene Polonius mouths the words that Laeretes says to Claudius as though Polonius has coached him to say that speech.

The scene between Laeretes and Ophelia at the beginning of the play has evolved nicely in the run. At first it often came across slightly flat but now they show quite a bit of brother / sister friendliness. Often Laeretes will tweak her nose but tonight he gave her a sticky willy.

Once again Hamlet kissed the stage during the scene where he sees the ghost.

During the scene with Hamlet and Polonius (the fishmonger scene) Hamlet burped at one part.

Near the end of the first half, I was aware of some noise in the theatre. At first I thought it was the air conditioning being particularly loud but then I realised that it was pouring hard and it was the sound of the rain on the metal roof! During the interval I went outside and it was lashing down!

The closet scene is still my fabourite as David Tennant and Penny Downie act so well in that scene each night. I thought it was great at the first performance but it's improved tenfold. I really wonder what it's going to be like by the end of the run in London!

I've read online a few times that David Tennant smells really nice so I was determined today that when he walked past my seat, that I would inhale to check! (The time I was introduced to him in London, I had too much on my mind to think about doing that too!) Unfortunately that part of the play is when the helicopter noise is happening and they have smoke blowing which has it's own smell so I came around with the conclusion that he smells of helicopter fumes and I'm sure that's not the case!

At the end of the performance there was a massive cheer by the audience as they really loved it tonight.

Even though I'd already driven down from Scotland today, I found the drive home easy as I was still buzzing from the performance!

Next performance for me: Love's Labour's Lost on Saturday (15th)

Love's Labour's Lost - 6th November (Matinee)

21st performance of Love's Labour's Lost (my 13th)

It was lovely to just drive about 20 miles to the theatre in time for a matinee today! It was a much older crowd again - I was the youngest by about 20 years in my 8 seat row! They all really seemed to enjoy the play a lot though. The pensioner next to me sometimes sat with her head in her hands as she was laughing so much! My seat was in Row K but in direct line with my usual seat in Row H so I could see perfectly down the centre aisle. It was also slightly raised so my view was just perfect.

There were a couple of mistakes on stage today but I'm sure that most people there won't have noticed them. For example Costard missed out his "Not a word about Costard yet" line (which doesn't affect Navarre's reading of Amado's letter to him).

Also, when Berowne pulled out his poem from the band in his trousers, it wasn't torn today so instead he pointed out a bit that was the rhyming part and another that was the melancholy part.

The other thing was that Amado had some trouble finding his pocket when he was looking for the remuneration, so he said "this", then "that" and then (when he found it "this")!

The folded arms person unfolded theirs very quickly again today.

I managed to guess the "German woman" again this afternoon!

David Tennant didn't seem to put as much paper in his mouth today. (Maybe he'd already had lunch?!!!)

Even though there was a performance of Hamlet tonight, they still performed the song at the end of the interval.

There was no signing after the performance today. My car was parked the other side of the river and as I walked past the fish and chip shop that used to have the photo of the dalek in the window with a sign saying "Exterminate your hunger", I noticed that they still have the dalek but they've changed the sign to say "New nemesis required, apply within"!

I really had to struggle to drive away from Stratford and not join the queue for returns for tonight! A friend had got me tickets to a concert so I felt that I had to attend.

Next performance for me: Hamlet on Saturday (8th)

2nd row at David Tennant's Love's Labour's Lost - 5th November

20th performance of Love's Labour's Lost (my 12th)

I bought this seat when a load of front and second row ones for tonight went on sale a few months ago. I opted for second row as I'm more comfortable there than first row (and now that I've seen Love's Labour's Lost a few times its just as well as David Tennant doesn't pick the German woman from the second row!).

I worked in the morning and had an easy enough drive up (although the traffic was heavier than last week when it was half term). I checked into my motel at 4.15pm and had a late lunch. I parked in my usual spot and got to the theatre by 7.00pm.

It was lovely being able to see the whites of their eyes tonight but I did notice that more of the play is spoken facing the front compare to Hamlet. The majority of Amado's speeches for example are spoken to the end of the stage, whereas in Hamlet the actors seem to face the sides more.

Tonight the performance just seemed to fly by - I can't believe that it was 3 hours!

When David Tennant walked on stage tonight, he had a good look around before lying down. He then yawned VERY loudly! As he was level with me, it was fascinating watching his breathing pattern! He breathes from very deep (his diaphragm).

There was a slight problem bear me as two people had tickets for the same seat in the front row. An usher came over to sort it out and she didn't seem surprised that a seat had been sold twice! The solution seemed to be that the second person who arrived for the seat would be sat in the usher's seat.

As I was so close I could see how heavy David's head bangs on the stage when Navarre pulls the cushion away. I'm surprised that he doesn't end up with a headache each night! Although I did notice that he raises his head as the cushion is pulled away so he is responsible for the velocity that it hits the stage.

He didn't tree the hat but his face afterwards received a massive laugh!

I discovered tonight that the reason that Amado's side of the stage always claps more than Moth's is because he really encouraged us to clap by telling us to and clapping directly at us. Moth just walks along her side of the stage.

I did notice that when David walked off stage after saying "Adieu" to Boyet, he wanders leisurely along all the stage in character right to the end but once he's out of sight of the audience, he goes back to his usual fast speed of walking!

DT seemed to pick several people in the front row on stage left for the folded arms part (I wonder if they knew?) and they all unfolded their arms quickly. The codpiece guy was an older guy and he obviously found that part hilarious!

David Tennant chose the "German woman" in front of me (I guessed it was her that he would choose!) and a couple of seats up so as he was talking to her, it gave me a wonderful chance to have a good look at his face!

Another chance was as Berowne did the speech about why the 4 of them should break their vows as he stood near me for quite a while (quite a bit of chest hair was showing too at that point!).

I really like watching the way David Tennant holds and uses his hands on stage. He's very expressive with his hands and even when he's not suing them, he holds them very still in a nice position.

When Amado is talking centre stage to Holofnos, I noticed that from where I was sitting, I could hear Moth and Costard talking together quietly. I'd often wondered if people who were supposed to be talking together, actually did and that pair certainly did. I don't think that David Tennant and Mariah Gale did (but from when I've seen her off-stage she seems a bit stand-offish to me).

I do like the way David taps his chest as he say his "sweeter fool" line.

Tonight as DT went to throw his poem into the audience, he dropped it on the stage so he went back and picked it up before throwing it properly.

As DT said his "I who am honest!" line tonight he banged his chest in time with the words.

There was no song tonight after the interval. That may be because it seemed to running slightly late as it didn't finish until 10.18pm tonight.

When David is in his Russian outfit (he had to retie his belt at one point) I noticed tonight that he still has his white shirt underneath as the cuffs were visible at the end of his sleeves.

David Tennant was in direct line with me when he was sitting on stage watching the Worthies and it's fascinating watching his expressions - he really acts the whole time which is so impressive!

The guy who plays the forester and bear has a really strong voice I noticed tonight as I could hear him singing quite clearly!

I have noticed that, other than once, there are rarely any standing ovations for Love's Labour's Lost. At the end of Hamlet there are usually lots of people standing. I don't believe that that is the only indication of whether you've enjoyed a performance or not so I don't feel it necessary to feel that you have to stand but it's interesting that standing ovations are so rare for this production.

Afterwards I went to the stage door and it wasn't too manic as the schools are back. The security guard (the older one) was inside and jokingly started to lower the blind! David Tennant came running out and signed for about 2 minutes as usual. I couldn't hear all that he said but he did say a couple of times that he couldn't sign certain things. It then appeared that someone wanted a photo taken with him so he said that he would if it was quick and the camera was ready. He then went back to that person but had to ask which camera he was supposed to be looking at! He also said his "Are you alright down there" to one child. With a "thank you all for coming" he then ran back inside!

It was lovely to only have to return to my motel after a really great evening. The only downside was that I didn't sleep too well as I was still buzzy!

Next performance for me: Love's Labour's Lost tomorrow (6th)

Hamlet - Saturday 1st November (evening)

53rd performance of Hamlet (my 15th)

Only a few short notes tonight.

I was one along from my "usual" seat tonight - H6 instead of H5 so I knew that David Tennant would have to walk past me in one scene!

As Patrick Stewart clapped David Tennant on the arms when Hamlet decides to stay in Ellsinore, he spilt some of his drink on DT's hand so he licked it off again!

Orphelia didn't pick up all the torn letters tonight so Hamlet picked up one and put it in a back pocket of his jeans. When it came to the part where he usually pulls out Polunius's tie, instead he stuffed the envelope into his jacket.

He didn't tidy the bed tonight like he usually does.

I didn't notice anyone make any reaction after the "Am I a coward?" line.

People say that David Tennant smells really nice (I was too preoccupied to think about sniffing when I managed to have a conversation with him once!) so tonight when he walked by, I thought I'd see if I could get any aroma from him. Unfortunately as he walked by, the smoke from the "army" was very strong and that was all I could smell!

It was a wild drive home as it was very windy and foggy in places in Warwickshire and Oxfordshire but impoved the further south I drove.

Next performance for me: Love's Labour's Lost on Wednesday (5th)

David Tennant in Love's Labour's Lost - 1st November (Matinee)

19th performance of Love's Labour's Lost (my 11th)

Photo from Cast Talk last night

It was nice just driving for about 20 minutes to the theatre this morning after a good nights sleep! As I expected, I had to park the other side of the river but I got to my seat by 12.45pm. I was in H4 so I had a perfect, uninterrupted view apart from when David Tennant walked on stage as at that point, there were loads of people in the central aisle getting to their seats! I did notice though that he spoke to both Dumaine and Longaville before lying down.

DT missed the tree when he threw his hat today but his facial expression received a good laugh!

As David put Costard's rope over his shoulder (to lead him off stage), he knocked his own hat off his head!

The folded arms person unfolded theirs very quickly today!

When David got to the German clock part, he was standing in the middle of the stage so he walked to stage right and jumped off the stage! He'd spotted an empty seat and sat down on it with his feet up on the stage. The other thing that he'd spotted was that the lady sitting in the seat next door was taking notes so with a "let me see" he took her pad and pen and went back on stage with it! He then stood there saying his words and ticking what she'd written! He also put a cross against something and signed it before he threw it back to her! It was amazing that he was so relaxed and confident on stage to do that!

When we went to the first Love's Labour's Lost, one of my friends was upstairs and spotted that some of the cast do a short performance in the foyer. As they come into the theatre, I assumed that they were doing that instead but after what they said at the Cast Talk last week, I realised that they still perform out there too so I stayed out to watch. They gathered in the middle and sang a couple of songs (a couple of them were dressed as horses) before we all followed them into the theatre.

It was a great crowd tonight who seemed to clap in different places (and after different scenes) today.

There was no signing this afternoon. I didn't stay as I couldn't see any barriers out (probably due to it being half term).

I then had a late lunch at my usual spot - I like this life! A;though I'm sad that the Stratford-Upon-Avon run is nearly at an end (as the Courtyard Theatre is a wonderful intimate place to see a play), at least I can console myself wiith the fact that I'm seeing Hamlet in more in London.

Next performance for me: Hamlet tonight! (1st)