Maeterlinck: The Blind and The Intruder - Transfer

... a sunny and reasonably tranquil afternoon in May. I say 'reasonably tranquil' as the first hint of sunshine here in deepest Surrey, tends to bring out a desire in certain people to play with a seemingly endless variety of power tools - the gentle twitter of bird song doesn't stand a chance!

I'm taking a sneaky break from cold learning a shed load of lines for The Blind & The Intruder, mentioned previously on this web site, but in the context of other people taking part. If you've read the reviews I posted, you'll know that the overall production generated a very positive response from critics - The Guardian's Michael Billington was even moved to send out an enthusiastic 'tweet' about it. All this being the case, the two plays have been invited to extend their run by transferring to The Tabard Theatre in West London ( link: Tabard Theatre ).

One of the original cast members is unavailable for the transfer and I have accepted the challenge of taking over from him for the rest of the run.


Now, I like a challenge as much as the next enthusiastic actor and it's good to get out of one's comfort zone from time to time. When I first started acting in London Fringe Theatre at the beginning of my career several decades ago, I acquired a bit of a reputation for being able to pick up the reins of a show pretty quickly and learn the lines super fast. This brought me lots of work and some invaluable experience; however, it's been a while since I've had to assimilate so much in such a relatively short time and I think it fair to say that I've well and truly left anything that might be described as my 'comfort zone'!

Tarquin Productions in association with the Tabard Theatre presents:

THE BLIND & THE INTRUDER
by Maurice Maeterlinck

Two plays. Two views of the world.
One terrifying subject: the blindness of humankind to the
mysteries of our existence.

Following a sell out and critically acclaimed run at the Old Red Lion Theatre in Islington, The Blind & The Intruder transfers to the Tabard Theatre for a limited two week run prior to a national tour.

“A fascinating collector's item... you can detect the influence on
the work of Beckett.”
Michael Billington - The Guardian

THE BLIND places us amongst a group of blind people in a wasteland, abandoned by their guide, searching for any clues to their whereabouts. Lost, lonely and scared, they are prepared to put their faith in anyone - or anything - that may help them, even if they cannot see the consequences of their actions.

THE INTRUDER follows a household in crisis. As the Mother lies ill after childbirth and the family sit waiting for any news, the blind Grandfather hears a presence amongst them that none of the family can see. As the presence becomes more noticeable, are there greater forces at work than merely an old man's imagination?
 

Maurice Maeterlinck's 1911 Nobel laureateship cited THE BLIND and THE INTRUDER as two of his seminal works. A proponent of the Symbolist movement, with an unprecedented awareness of the human condition enveloped in a black sense of humour, Maeterlinck's simple but effective style of writing is rarely performed in the UK.

Directed by Benji Sperring & Rachel Illingworth

@Tarquin_UK

As well as that, I've also got a couple of Dr Who stories to work on for Big Finish later this month and some other things which will take up the few seconds of time I might have left over. I keep telling myself that it's good to be busy, goodness knows, I moan about being not busy, however, I 'm just hoping that I haven't bitten off more than I can chew...