Its
Monday...it must be Cardiff!! yes folks its got to that part of
the tour where we don't quite know what city we are in. Show 155
was performed last night to a sell out in Cardiff and they were
on their feet at the end (no...not just to catch their bus
home...in appreciation!!). We are getting so blase now...we are
so used to full houses and standing ovations that if we see a
couple of empty seats we get a bit indignant!!! We have to
remind ourselves how lucky we are as theatres struggle around
the country trying to fill their seats and there we are packing
them in. As actors we all know what it feels like to play to
half empty houses so we have to just enjoy it all and thank our
lucky stars!!
We are in Manchester next week then Norwich before we hit the
West End..... then we might even get two days off (yippee!!). We
get one day off at the moment and that is spent travelling i.e.
I got a lift from Southampton to London on Saturday night after
8 shows and there were no flights out of there until 6pm on
Sunday.... so the wonderful Patricia Hodge, gave me a lift and a
bed for the night. I then headed to Heathrow caught a flight to
Glasgow and was in my house at 2pm. I then had to leave the next
day at 12...barely enough time to get my washing done and though
it is worth it to see my girls and my husband the result is I am
simply exhausted!!....I actually got in the car saw my husband
and burst into tears saying "I can't keep doing this" Nothing
was wrong except fatigue!!
I had also travelled up to London and back to do the Paul
O'Grady show which was fantastic. I first met Paul when I was an
avid fan, and he did Annie. I took my kids backstage to see him
and he was just fab to them. And later when he was the child
catcher in Chitty, Chitty Bang Bang at the Palladium and his
star was very much on the rise, he was equally as great. Paul is
one of those rare creatures in show business…genuine… with a
great warmth and huge heart and much talent to.
Unlike other chatshow hosts he makes you feel very welcome and
relaxed because the show isn’t all about him (take note Mr Ross
and others!!!).He has such a fondness for Scotland and
especially the Glasgow Kings, which he adores, and we chatted
backstage about heroes of his like the late great Jack Milroy
and the legend that still is Mary Lee!!! He has always been a
huge fan of Nesbitt and always felt that as Lily Savage he
should have been a cousin on the run of Mary’s who ended up in
Govan!!! Its rare to find anyone in the business down here who
gives a toss about anything that isn’t happening in London so it
really put me at my ease…even though I was sitting next to the
beautiful Hollywood Goddess Charlize Theron.
She must be 7 foot tall cos I felt like a wee munchkin sitting
beside her and assumed that she would be a Hollywood type who
wouldn’t have an interest in anyone else outside her personal
oxygen tent, but she was the opposite. Beautiful…oh yes, but
also a laugh, down to earth, chatty and game for being a part of
the show but I never want to see the photos of us standing next
to each other…I came up to her waist!!!
Oh and for those who wrote asking where I got my frock that I
wore on the show... its by the designer chain that I
adore...GHOST...available across the country in their own stores
or in places like Frasers, Harvey nicks etc.
That's it for now...I'm away to lie down...
All the best,
Elaine x
Elaine C. Smith
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