After Midnight -- Before Dawn... but only after Hamlet!

So, what was next...

After Danse Macabre, it was November and I was wrecked tired. Fortunately, I got a nice little trip to New York that month and I got to see Hamlet performed by Jude Law at the Broadhurst Theatre, directed by Michael Grandage. I will admit, I was a bit prejudiced going in. I didn't think he was going to be any good. I thought it was going to be one of those occasions where they parachute in a barely literate 'celebrity' to put bums on seats. How very wrong I was. He was bloody fantastic and anytime he opened his mouth on stage I was utterly mesmerized. I've seen many performances of Hamlet, some abyssmal, some excellent but it's a testament to how much I love the play that I'll sit through anything just to see these words performed. Jude Law made it seem like I was watching it for the first time. I take my hat off to you sir, you're a fine performer.

(Here I am outside the theatre with my ticket. I really love Hamlet, I wanted evidence I was there and we going as a friend's birthday treat so it was extra nice!)

So, once I was home from New York and I'd had a rest over Christmas, 2010 rolled along and brought the snow with it on New Year's Eve. It was wasn' the best start to the year, but pretty soon there was work on the horizon. Keith Ward, one of the gang from Whiplash, had decided he wanted to have a go at directing, so he put together some actors he'd worked with before and produced a slightly adapted version of David Campton's After Midnigt -- Before Dawn in Smock Alley Studio under the banner of Silent Blade Productions. He directed us through a little Meisner technique and even added in a little snippet of Inuit throat singing at the opening of the show for a very atmospheric beginning. He was helped by Donncha O'Dea doing costumes, choreograhy and any else he could lend his deft hand to. It was one of the most interesting and enjoyable experiences I've had doing a show and I was delighted to come away with a lot of praise for my performance.

The photo above is of myself (seated) playing The Calm Woman in one of our dress rehearsals and Shannon Ryan playing The Neat Woman. The full cast included myself, Neil Fleming, Rob McDermott, Aoife Moore, Paul Nolan and Shannon Ryan.

Here's a link to a review of the piece and another one about half way down the page here which gives the following very complinmentary review of my performance. How nice to be called mesmerizing!

"The 6 actors onstage gave energetic if sometimes chaotic performances and with the level of activity onstage you really needed to be special to stand out. Nicole Elizabeth, as the devil worshipper who tempts the other characters, was mesmerizing, partly because she was the only stationary person onstage! She was very compelling and it was hard to pull your focus back to the other characters who were mostly running wildly around the stage muttering incoherently."

I've been bugging Keith to do this show again because we had a really minimalist set that could be brought anywhere, but he doesn't want to because he wants to be in it himself, rather than direct. Who could blame him, it was great fun to do!

Enjoy xxx
Nicole E

Danse Macabre...

Hello again! Back so soon, I hear you say? Well, I did promise I was going to update more often, so I am. The next project I have to fill you in on is Danse Macabre.

After we'd finished doing Spartacus: Highway to Hell in the Dublin Fringe, it was on to doing Danse Macabre in The Boy's School space in Smock Alley Theatre. Paul Burke gathered together some of his Whiplash crew and we rocked the house, onstage for a week long run during the week of Halloween, and this was only just over a month after finishing Spartacus!

I'd been working on this for months on the production end, filling out forms and doing up budgets so it was wonderful to finally get to do it. We were all a bit wrecked from just having done Spartacus, but we pulled it together nonetheless!

The Boy's School has such an amazing old brick wall running right up the middle of with gothic arches and different levels. It was perfect for a bit gothic horror performance for Halloween.

Here's one of the promotional shots we took of the cast. This one ended up being the poster. Featured here is yours truly as Lucy with Stephen Lynch playing Harker. I'm trying to affect a bored pout... I think I got it. As a side note, I got to design the poster (no, I didn't choose the image!), flyers and programmes, which was very enjoyable. I do love doing the graphics. It's not the first show I've done the artwork for.

Believe it or not, this image isn't photoshopped, nor is it a mistake where one image was superimposed over another on film. Even weirder, I'M actually the one who isn't there. This is a lovely little trick called Pepper's Ghost which we used in the show. Here I'm back from the dead as Lucy trying to tempt my fiancée the Doctor, played by Jonathan East... the only thing he has in mind for me though, is a stake throught the heart!

Here's the cast lined up at the end of the show for our curtain call. The shot was taken by one of our lovely audience members, Danielle Hayes. Left to right we have  Stephen Lynch as Harker, Shannon Ryan as Mina, Nicole Elizabeth as Lucy, Dave Farell as Renfield, Paul Burke as Goldaming, Anthony Morris as The Professor, Jonathan East as Doctor and Keith Ward as The Count.

And just for your entertainment here's the promotional video that Jonathan East made of the show. You get to see a little bit of the awesome tricks, stunts and sword fights that went on during show. Watch out for me doing Pepper's Ghost and levitating under the magical influence of the Count... with no strings or lifts, I swear!

Ah, reminiscing about this show brings back some lovely memories! I wish we could do it all again. I'll always remember it for some of the quickest full costume changes I've ever had to do, still pulling clothes, shoes, gloves and jewellry on as I run the length of a theatre, climb two flights of stairs and scramble up a backstage platform. Lucy Westenra leads an interesting life!

Enjoy xxx
Nicole E

Spartacus: Highway to Hell... after all this time, a few photos!

Jaysus, I'm dreadful. You know what it's like when you have a job to do, but the longer you leave it the more the work piles up, so you keep putting it off? Procrastination is opportunity's natural assassin. Whatever it is, just do it today, you'll feel better. Anyway, time to start catching up on the last 18 months of work I've been doing, like I promised I would back in September last year, and lied through my teeth and didn't... because I'm so busy and important (not!). I'm very naughty for not updating, and very silly too because if I don't write it all down, how will I remember what I've been up to?

Anyway, WAY in back in the day, I did a little show called Spartacus: Highway to Hell and it was fantastic! Written by Gavin Kostick, music and lyrics by Paul Burke and also directed by him, it was epic. Spartacus: The Musical! It was hard work putting it together but the packed out crowd of hundreds that came to see us for our one night only show made it so worth while.



So, there's me on the left of that front group in the shiny silver leggings and we're singing our little hearts out. The photo was taken by the lovely Steve Wilson who's often on hand to take shots of Whiplash shows. what I love about this one is that you can see some of the people in the audience. There's a few smiley faces there and you get a sense of the size of the crowd that continues all the way around to the left and right.



Here's me as lonely little Flavia, having a pensive moment while Spartacus, the love of my life sings about how maybe one day we'll get to settle down, have babies and get away from all the fighting and violence... Except that never happens because we die. Sad :(



I have to say, I love this shot. It was taken by a friend of mine just after the show. You can see the aftermath of Flavia's horrible death at the hands of Crassus. Very 'Disco Zombie' as a friend of mine of commented. I can't deny I'd had a lot of fun doing the show!

Well, that's the low down on Spartacus. Better late than never! It was a large but fantastic cast crew and we have to say thanks to Mary Weir in Dublin City Council for helping us along as she always does and for the space in the Civic Office Amphitheatre.

That's all for now. I WILL be updating over the next wee while to catch up, this time I promise! And I think I might do a small re-design. I've already added the 'Link Within' at the bottom of each post to give you ideas on other things I've been up to and I've added a feed from my twitter account on the right! I should, if I'm sensible, go off now and make a proper list, IN ORDER, of all the things I want to post because it'll help me organise my thoughts better... we shall see if I prove to be sensible!

Anyway, 2011 bring you an infinitly better year than 2010 did! With a new government in place today, I already feel hopeful!

Enjoy!
Nicole E xxx