...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.
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.
