So we’re up and running and have now done 16 performances.  That sounds a lot in just over a week but when you consider we’ve got 96 scheduled in before the 22^nd January I’m sure you appreciate there are a lot more laughs to come!

Opening day was, as is often the case, ‘interesting’.  No matter how much you rehearse something before you put a live audience in front of it you never know how it is going to be received.  Bits that we found hysterical in rehearsals are met with a stony silence and bits we thought were a little weak get huge guffaws.  Swings and roundabouts!  The show adapts very quickly and soon we get into a rhythm that is good for both us and the punters.  However, in panto this changes very frequently!  No sooner was opening weekend done that we then started schools performances.  Having 500 four year olds in the auditorium is, unsurprisingly, drastically different to an evening show with 200 adults and 300 kids.  Suddenly all the ‘older’ gags are lost but there are hysterical whoops when I get hit over the head by my mum.  Accordingly we have to alter what we do and how heavily we weight each gag.  It’s almost like we have 2 versions of exactly the same show!  This is one of the many reasons that I love panto, as a performer it is fantastic to be able to honestly say that no two shows are the same.

Press night was last Friday and it was a nice night.  We had a good house with a good mix of ages (the best sort of house from our point of view) and technically speaking the show went well.  I’ve only seen one review so far but it is very positive (and rightly so as I think it’s a great show).  Over half our shows have been sold out and we’ve got a busy week coming up.  All this points towards a fabulous season!

I must write one quick bit about our most dreaded day – a 3 show day.  Everyone involved in the show goes a little stir crazy on a 3 show day but from my point of view it is a nightmare.  Not only do I spend a hell of a lot of time on stage but I also expend a serious amount of energy.  My diet for a 3 show day is usually just water, caffeine, Lucozade, Berocca and sweets.  When you consider that we only have about 25 minutes between each performance you can appreciate that there is no time to go anywhere or really do anything other than sit still briefly.  Also, I have to squeeze a shower in and obviously put a fresh costume on and re-apply make-up.  But it’s not only an actor’s body that suffers, it is incredibly taxing on the brain, too.  I’m not alone in suffering what I call an ‘Out of Actor Experience’.  This is when you say a line and suddenly think ‘Hang on, have I already said that?’.  Chances are you have already said it.  Twice.  In the previous two shows.  But then whilst you’re pondering this you realise that you have said your next line automatically without having thought about it.  You then have a mini panic that you’ve missed a bit out somewhere.  This all happens over the course of just a second or two but it’s like you’re standing behind yourself watching your own performance and suddenly not being in control of it.  It’s very disconcerting but, fortunately, not something the audience ever become aware of!  The best thing about a 3 show day, however, is that your first pint in the bar afterwards is always well deserved!

So, week one of rehearsals have gone very well indeed, culminating in possibly the best Producers Run I have ever been involved in over lunch on Saturday.  A Producers Run is where you perform the show in the rehearsal room to the producers (unsurprisingly), designers and technical staff so they can get a decent idea about how the show is directed and can then plot lights or alter costumes accordingly.  For us as actors it’s a chance to put what we’ve got in front of a small but friendly audience and try to get from A to B without using our scripts as much as possible!  Everyone involved is really upbeat about it and I certainly think that it’s going to be a brilliant show.

We’ve made steady progress all week after first all meeting each other on Monday morning.  There are 7 principle cast members and all seem to be very well suited to playing their roles.  This isn’t always the case in pantomime and it’s one of the reasons that I like working for Chris Jordan Productions as they never let ‘celebrity’ get in the way of a good, traditional story.  Panto is, for most children, their first ever experience of theatre so we have a huge responsibility to make sure they enjoy themselves and leave the auditorium enthused.  I have been in commercial pantomimes where the producers have pandered to ‘celebrities’ and the shows are always the worse for it.

Anyhow, back to our production of Beauty and the Beast.  I’m a little torn about how much I’d like to tell you as I don’t want to ruin any surprises for those of you coming along.  There is a lot of music in this year’s show, hence why we’ve got some fabulous singers in the cast.  Bernie Nolan as Malevolent, Leanne Jones as Fairy Formidable and Rachel Jerram as Beauty are all West End leading ladies and Simon Pontin as the Beast is an opera singer of some repute.  Graham Jones as Jean Jacques (Beauty’s father) has a couple of numbers (one of which will get the BIGGEST cheer of the show!) and Paul Laidlaw and I as mother and son get to… well… that would be telling!  It is wonderful to be working with Paul again.  We hold the same belief that the audience need to laugh regardless of who delivers the gag.  Neither of us are precious and so we both want the show to be the best it can be.  For me (as the comic), the dame is the one member of the cast that I really need to be able to bounce off.  If the dame and the comic clash in any way then it is immediately detrimental to the production.  Indeed, a few years ago I was in a panto where the dame was the main writer.  I only had 7 gags in the whole show!  Ridiculous when my character is called, as I mentioned, the comic.  So yes, it’s brilliant to be back treading the boards with Mr Laidlaw who, incidentally, is celebrating the 25^th anniversary of his first panto here in Stevenage.  Longevity.

As mentioned in my earlier blog I turned on the Christmas Lights in town on Thursday night and I’ve got a few other events in the calendar, too.  None this week, though, as we go into tech week.  In fact, tonight I’m off out for a curry with some of the other company members as it’ll be our last proper meal before a week on Monday.  Who says an actor’s life is glamorous, eh?

‘Tis the season to turn lights on…..

As part of being in the Stevenage panto I’m fortunate enough to be asked to be part of the Christmas Lights event in the town.  Instead of presenting it all (my usual role) I’m there as a special guest and someone interviews me for a change!  This evening I went along with 2 other cast members, Bernie Nolan and Leanne Jones.  Leanne is playing Fairy formidable in the show and she sang ‘Good Morning Baltimore’ which was her opening number when she played the lead in the West End production of Hairspray.  Despite the fact that her backing track skipped around like no-one’s business she coped admirably and left the crowd with smiles on their faces.  Bernie and I then went on for a quick interview.  Quite how the girls were able to get away with not wearing costume (unlike muggins here) I’ll never know!

I went back on later during the show to do a short spot of my own and then also be there with their headline act, Kitty from X Factor, to press the plunger and turn the lights on.  All in all it was a lovely event and I was really pleased with how warmly the crowd received us.  Plus it was great to work with the Jack FM guys and to be on the receiving end of their questions!

Chris (dressed in costume as Potty Pierre) with local luminaries and Kitty from X Factor

Brilliant evening!  Tonight I picked up from where I left off last year and presented the Cheshire Oaks Tree Lighting 2011.  It was a fab evening (even if it was a bit damp) and we had some wonderful acts entertaining us on stage.  I got to work with new boy band Eli Prime, X Factor’s The Risk and Sophie Habibis and also with two of the cast of Dirty Dancing.  Our headliners were 2009 X Factor winner Joe McElderry and 2008 winner Alexandra Burke.  Rossi from Radio City came back again bringing with him his cohorts, Claire and Jay.  The singing throughout the course of the evening was first rate and it was great to be able to chat to members of the crowd (which was about 20,000 strong) during the night.  I particularly enjoyed having a bit of banter over Twitter!

Anyhow, we started the festive season with one hell of a bang at 7:30 with the lighting of Britain’s tallest Christmas tree which was decorated with over 80,000 baubles and 100,000 lights.  The fireworks were simply INCREDIBLE!!

Chris with Claire, Rossi & Jay from Radio City

Well, what a lovely week at Celtic Manor!  I’ve been fortunate enough to be the compere of the Tesco Christmas Conference and I’ve had an absolute blast.  With over 1,200 delegates and most of the Tesco hierarchy there along with a host of celebrities and some of Tesco’s major suppliers it is safe to say that I was under quite a bit of pressure!  Rehearsals started on Sunday evening which were basically an opportunity for everyone to run over their bits and a chance for me to chat to the different Category Directors about how they wanted to be introduced and interviewed.  Fortunately, everyone on this job was lovely.  That in itself is quite an unusual feat but on a job of this scale it’s pretty much unprecedented!  I was working for a company called Fanfare 3000 (part of TMB Events) and my bosses were all fab.  I was the only person there who didn’t know anyone else (it’s lonely being the only person in your ‘department’!) but I was included wholeheartedly by all the Event girls and TechPro team.

So the Conference itself was split into 2 independent groups, the south and the north, both of which lasted 2 days.  On day one we had James Cordon and The Hairy Bikers come along in the afternoon session and then Jason Manford came to do his set in the evening.  The Hairy Bikers were very chatty but had such thick accents some of the delegates (who were all from the south) had trouble understanding them!  James was simply brilliant.  I’ll be honest, I thought that he’d be a bit egotistical and hard to work with but he was an absolute joy.  He had the whole room hanging on his every word, superb!  In the evening Jason had the room in hysterics.  He used some material that was tailored towards Tesco and so went down a storm.  On the Wednesday we had 2 singers, Paije Richardson from last year’s X Factor and Dionne Bromfield.  Both were excellent and had great voices but for me Paije was the better act.  That man can work a room!  The final day had a return visit from Jason Manford who once again held the delegates in the palm of his hand, and a visit from author Anthony Horowitz who read a humorous short story that he’d written specially for the Conference where the main characters were the Tesco bosses!  All of the celebs were fantastic and very easy to work with!

I need to say a few special thank-you’s to Dave Thomas (Top Tesco Dog), Tony Haines (Tesco Conference boss), Freya (my main boss), Nigel (the man who ‘found’ me), the Event girls, the tech teams from TechPro and IML and to Jonathan and Leon from Celtic Manor.  I had a lovely week.  If only I had had enough time for a round of golf…..

Chris on stage at Celtic Manor

I had a rather exciting time yesterday at the Manchester Arndale when I was lucky enough to present Lipsy’s launch of their new Pixie Lott Autumn/Winter Collection with Pixie Lott herself!  We had over 1,000 people crammed in to see Pixie perform live acoustically on stage before officially opening her new range.  I spent nearly 2 hours on stage before she arrived running competitions and keeping the crowds entertained.  I had 2 fabulous helpers from Lipsy, Jess and Rachel, who were on hand to give out prizes for me and also to talk a bit about what people could expect from Pixie’s new clothes.  When Pixie arrived with me after spending a while meeting VIP guests and talking to the press I whisked her straight on stage with her guitarist, Louis, to sing 3 songs.  I then had a nice Q&A session with her before disappearing again to let her perform her single It’s All About Tonight that was number one a couple of weeks ago.

Pixie was a thoroughly delightful and pleasant girl to work with and an absolute joy to interview.  She wasn’t remotely difficult, starry or arrogant.  That’s the way it should be!

Pixie’s new line is now available in all Lipsy stores and online.

Photos by www.peteoakley.co.uk/

Yesterday I spent the day filming an infomercial for Philips in Antwerp, Belgium.  It was my second time in Antwerp in just over a year but my first time working for Philips. 


The gig was all about how to install recessed spots into your ceiling at home.  I had to do the whole lot for the film, measuring up, sorting the electrics, drilling the (huge) holes, connecting up the series of lights etc. so I was in my element!  The only downside was that I spent the vast majority of the morning up a step ladder.  It's not that I suffer from vertigo or anything like that, it was physically really hard to keep repeating the same moves over and over again (all of which invariably had me holding drills or fittings or screwdrivers above my head) for the camera whilst in a very warm studio surrounded by hot lights.  Still, I got to play at DIY so I don't really mind too much! 

If people ever think that my job is glamorous then think again.  Although saying that I got to fly to Brussels to work might sound swanky I may as well have been working around the corner from my house.  I got picked up at the airport and driven to my hotel arriving at 9:30pm.  I was then picked up at 8am from the hotel, driven to the set, filmed until 6:15pm (with only a 30 minute lunch break!) before being driven straight back to the airport.  What I saw of Belgium out of the car window looked nice but I can't really say I've been there and done that!

Anyhow, I'm pleased with how the shoot went and I'm looking forward to seeing the end result in a few weeks time.  Unfortunately, though, the film is only going out in Belgium - not the UK!

On set holding one of the Philips recessed spots.

It’s all over.  I’ve cracked my last slapstick and uttered my last battute.  What a fabulous 12 weeks I’ve had working for The Rude Mechanicals in Gentle Harry’s Farm.  I’ve lost a load of weight, got a tan and made some fabulous new friends.  Having said that, though, it’s wonderful to finally be back home!

Since my last blog post we’ve been across to Somerset, Devon and Dorset plus had our only 2 night gig in Lewes.  Far too much has gone on to possibly blog about it all and, to be fair, what goes on tour stays on tour so it’s tough anyway!

Our last performance was a corker.  We had over 300 people sat in glorious sunshine at the beautiful Michelham Priory on Sunday night – what a way to finish the tour.  After the get-out was complete I said my goodbyes and jumped straight in my car to drive the 273 miles back to Manchester (and my own bed).

A big thank you to Pete Talbot, Rosie Armstrong, Georgina Field, Pall Pallson, Elliot Quinn, Steve Simmonds, Claire Petzal, Jack Roberts and all our helpers for a fabulous tour!

My personal tour statistics:

5 different characters

23 costume changes per show

43 performances

989 costume changes for the tour

My cheat sheet for the show. Act 1 on the left, Act 2 on the right & the scene numbers are listed (6 changes in the final scene alone!).  Characters are colour coded & speed of changes are noted!

We are 5 weeks and 28 performances into our tour now so I thought it was time to write another blog post.  We’ve played at some really beautiful venues and had some absolutely wonderful audiences.  The hospitality shown by the locals has been delightful and I’ve gotten to stay overnight in some absolutely idyllic rural homes. 

The show has been very well received everywhere we’ve been.  We get a number of gushing comments after each performance and very little criticism which is extremely fulfilling.  As with all shows it has grown and developed when put in front of an audience making it slicker and honing the gags and pruning the bits that don’t work.  All in all it’s a bloody good show (if I say so myself!).  With only 15 performances remaining I know I’m going to miss it all when it’s over although I will be more than happy to have a decent break.  It’s a very physical show, what with it being Commedia dell’arte, plus we have to do the get-ins and get-outs (that’s putting the set/tents/costumes/lights/fence/etc. up in the afternoon and taking it all down in the dark after the show finishes) so it really does take its toll.  That’s not a whinge as I really enjoy doing it all, I’ll just be glad of a rest! 

I’m not going to say something about all of the venues as this blog would take forever but there are certain places that need a special mention.  West Chiltington’s venue was a cricket pitch with spectacular views.  It’s was such a beautiful evening that at one point when I have to stare wistfully out over the audience I actually lost myself briefly and ended up staring wistfully at the lovely English countryside!  Fortunately I found myself again before my next line but it was a little ‘out-of-actor’ experience that I’ve never had before!

In Halnaker near Chichester we were part of a festival (not the Goodwood Festival of Speed that we could hear about half a mile away!) and we performed at a private house.  There was a jazz band, swimming pool and barbecue there at our disposal so needless to say we all took advantage!  Perfect weather for it all.

In Ropley my host was a chap by the name of Nigel Richardson who is a travel journalist of some repute having spent 13 years as the deputy travel editor of The Daily Telegraph.  We sat up until late in his converted barn drinking whiskey and discussing all sorts of topics.  He’s also a published writer and he gave me a signed copy of one of his books The Rope Ladder which I will be reading as soon as I finish my current book.

After the New Ash Green gig in north Kent we knew we had a long 2 hour drive to get home, although we got stuck in traffic behind an accident on the M25 for an hour until 1am, eventually getting back to Eastbourne just after 2am!  That was particularly hard going as we had only had one day off in a fortnight and were all exhausted.  Fortunately we had a few BBC radio comedy podcasts to pass the time…

Greenwich was a corker of a night.  It was our furthest gig north and therefore I invited loads of my friends to come along.  I ended up having 14 mates in the audience (6 people cancelled on me last minute – grrrrrr – they know who they are!) and it went down brilliantly.  It had been very heavily raining all day and we got soaked doing the get-in.  The audience started arriving at 6 to have their picnics but all of them ended up eating in the church hall as it was still peeing it down.  Then, at 7:15pm (yes, 15 minutes before the show was due to start) the rainclouds departed and left us with beautiful blue skies and a very pleasant evening.  I was so relieved that the show was able to go ahead and I’d really like to say a huge thank you to all of my friends who came along, especially the 8 who had come all the way from Bury St Edmunds!

The final place I’m going to mention for the moment is Hambledon in Hampshire.  We had a great show followed by a brilliant evening in their village pub, The Vine.  There was a piano and a local lady (Mrs Gates) sat down for over an hour playing sing-a-long tunes like Drunken Sailor, White Cliffs of Dover and She’ll be Coming Round the Mountain.  Raucous and merry doesn’t do it justice!  When we all eventually got kicked out of the pub (no idea what time it was) we went back to my host’s house (a lovely chap called Chris) to continue the party.  I’m not going to say what we got up to but I know I didn’t go to bed until 4:30am.  Breakfast at 9 was rather bleary eyed to say the least!

That’s it for now, we’ve played at a number of other stunning places and met some truly interesting and delightful people but I shall save those stories for my grandkids.  I’m so very lucky to have a job that I enjoy so much and to have the opportunity to meet such a variety of interesting people.

What a brilliant week of touring!  My first full week with the Rude Mechanicals was a real experience.  After being filmed by the BBC in Burwash Common on Day 1 we went to the legendary Rudes venue of Worth Matravers for Day 2 (or more importantly, Night 2!).  Days 3,4 and 5 were terribly refined and ended up with a performance in Hampton Court Palace!  A real roller coaster of a week. 

One of the differences with this tour to any of the others that I have done in the past is that when we are away from our base we get hosted by someone local.  This means that a few people from the village that we are performing in take in a cast member or two for the night.  Basically when we get to the pub after the show we divvy up who goes where (bearing in mind we have no idea who the people are that we are heading off with).  Fortunately for me I lucked out each night last week!  I had a cooked breakfast in each house, a comfy bed and some lovely conversations with each host.

The show is bedding in now and has been very well received.  We’ve had to do some additional curtain calls some nights so we must be doing something right!  I’ve not had any of my friends or family come to see it yet (my mum is coming this week) so I’m looking forward to getting them in and hearing their opinions.  It genuinely is a good show so I want to get loads of folk in to see it!  It’s terribly important to support the Arts in all it’s forms, particularly after the misjudged, misguided and drastically severe Government cuts (DON’T even get me started!).

Worth Matravers certainly lived up to expectations.  It’s a remote village near Swanage and we play in the back garden of a pub, The Square & Compass.  After the show we get the best in hospitality from the pub, including all of it’s locally brewed ales.  I even got to go behind the bar and pour my own.  The next morning we hiked the 1½ miles across beautiful unspoilt countryside down to the beach in order to have a swim in the sea.  We had phenomenal weather, a beach all to ourselves and a brief dip in the sea (brief mainly due to the fact that it was so cold despite the soaring temperatures!).

The rest of the week was made up of our wettest show to date (Abbotsbury) and our hottest show to date (Hampton Court) with a picturesque one in Droxford in between.  Next week is all commutable from Eastbourne so we won’t be hosted anywhere.  That’s why I stocked up the beer fridge this afternoon….

Visit www.therudemechanicaltheatre.co.uk and come and support the show!

Well, we’ve opened.  Tech week was a bit of a nightmare as the weather was really dodgy and we didn’t get to have a dress rehearsal until a few hours before the first show.  Dunkirk spirit got us through it all, however, and opening night went really well.

Our final week of rehearsals were at Friston Place, our first venue, rather than in the church rooms we had been in for the first 3 weeks.  This meant we could use the set, costumes and correct size of performance space.  Theoretically.  Our final day of rehearsals was a complete washout and we had to spend the day cramped in a dusty barn!  Glamorous it ain’t!   Our first performance was on Saturday night so during the day we had to move the backstage tent and all the set etc. from the lawn where we were rehearsing up the hill 200m away to the performance space, set it all up and then do our only dress rehearsal.  Fortunately the cast are all really strong performers so anything that went wrong was quickly rectified and re-rehearsed if necessary.  More so than in most productions, a full dress rehearsal was incredibly important.  The biggest problem for us all is that of costume changes.  There are 6 actors and 29 costumes.  Personally I play 5 characters and have a total of 23 costume changes, with 6 of those changes in the last scene alone!  In many ways there is more of a performance backstage than there is frontstage!  Anyhow, we worked it all out, scripted a few extra lines to cover the really quick changes and got on with it.  Bar a slight drizzle for the opening 5 minutes it stayed dry for us.  The only pain was that it was very windy so acoustically we really had to push our voices.  The rustling of the trees close by nearly drowned us out a few times but we battled through.  Overall the first show went down a storm and we had nothing but positive feedback.  Even better than that, we managed to make it to the pub for last orders…

Last night we performed at Cuckfield Park, a beautiful private residence with substantial grounds.  Again, it was very well received, particularly as it was a new venue for the Rude Mechanicals so audiences sometimes need ‘breaking in’ to get used to the unique style we perform in.  Today I’ve got a day off so I’m drinking tea and watching Wimbledon (strawberries in the fridge).  Marvellous.

We’re half way through week 3 of rehearsals now and we’re at the stage of starting to run the show.  It’s a lot more complicated than the usual shows that I’m in but I’m really enjoying the challenge!  None of the 6 cast members gets a break from beginning to end.  If you’re not on stage acting in the scene you’re playing music, making the sound scape (doing the sound effects like birds chattering etc), getting changed or helping someone else with a quick change.  As it stands I have 23 (yes, twenty-three!) costume changes between the 5 characters that I play!  I’ve got 6 changes in the last scene alone!  The other guys have got similar so it’ll be (organised) carnage backstage.  Anyway, I’ve just about learnt all my lines and the 2 songs that I’m singing.  I get to do a love ballad and a patter song – right up my street.  From next Tuesday we get to rehearse in situ (so to speak) outdoors at our first venue, Friston Place.  I’m really looking forward to that as we can’t use the stage or the puppets (oh yes, we’ve got a load of puppets – I don’t think they could afford any more actors…) until we get there so I don’t think I’ll get a proper feel for the show until then.  Plus we’ve got to rehearse building the stage, erecting the backstage and box office tents, putting the fencing up and sorting out the gas powered lights.  There’s a lot to think about!  Can’t chuffin’ wait to get started…..

On another note, I had my photo shoot today for panto.  I’m heading back to Stevenage to play Potty Pierre in Beauty & the Beast alongside the brilliant dame, Paul Laidlaw, and our head liners Bernie Nolan and Leanne Jones (original Tracey Turnblad in the West End production of Hairspray).  The show runs from 26^th November 2011 until 22^nd January 2012.

Well we’re at the end of week one of rehearsals for my latest project Gentle Harry’s Farm.  It’s gone really well and the opening few scenes are really starting to take shape.  The director, Pete Talbot, leaves us to develop the scenes ourselves and only acts as an outside eye.  It’s not a way that I’m used to working but it really gives us as actors a sense of ownership of the scenes.  The show is all rooted deeply in Commedia dell’Arte, one of my favourite genres.  Commedia players were the first professional actors in the world and toured around the cities, towns and villages of Italy, setting up on the green and performing to the locals before packing up and moving on.  We, similarly, will only do one night in each venue (except for 2 nights in Lewes) and we do the get-ins and get-outs (setting up and packing down) ourselves, not a crew member or techie in sight!

Commedia is an extremely physical discipline so it’s been quite a tiring week.  Although some of my lethargy might also be due to me burning the candle at both ends this week – well, with a new company you’ve got to get to know them all socially, haven’t you?!?  Anyhow, I’m playing five different characters, a robber, a policeman, a magpie, and two rams.  Quite a mixture!  As we are not using any props we have to spend a lot of time creating the scenes using mime.  All six cast members have to know where the furniture is, how heavy the tray of cakes is, which way the doors open etc so the audience all believe what we’re doing and buy into the world that we are trying to create.  Couple this with some very complicated physicalisations and the scenes take a lot longer to rehearse than usual! 

I’ve now got the weekend to consolidate my lines, rehearse my slapstick routines and cheer the Leicester Tigers on in the Aviva Premiership Final.  C’mon Tigers!

The show runs from 18^th June until 14^th August.  Visit the Coming Up… page for more information and tour dates.

Well, what an amazing experience.  Who’d have thought that jumping out of a perfectly good aeroplane 13,000ft up (that’s nearly 2½ miles) would be a good thing?  Well that’s what I did yesterday, partly for the kicks and partly for charity.  I was raising money for Focus12, an independent drug and alcohol rehabilitation charity based in Suffolk. 

The day started very early and I was sardined into a minibus with 16 other good folk to make an hours journey to Beccles Airfield near Lowestoft on the Suffolk coastline.  We had perfect weather for the jump and everyone seemed in high spirits.  I chose a rather fetching orange and purple harlequinesque jump suit and got fitted up with all my harnesses.  I’m not going to say too much about the jump, partly as there is a video of it but also because I was that excited there are a number of blank spots in my memory!  I remember looking down over Southwold (a small seaside town that I used to go on holiday to pretty much every year as a kid with my mum and grandparents) and also the breathlessness that came with free fall.  It was weird, the best way I can describe it is that it was like drowning in air.  Having wind forced up your nose at 120mph is not that pleasant an experience!  Imagine what it’s like when you stick your head out of a moving car window… then amplify that substantially!  After Geoff (my parachute chappie) had deployed our ‘chute we floated gracefully down to Earth but not until after he had let me perform some stunts.  We did this kind of spinny thing like when you pull one of the cords on a kite.  The G-Forces were incredible and today I can certainly feel where my harness had been on my legs yesterday!

In short, it was brilliant, and something I’d love to do again.  And again.  And again.  A big thank you to everyone who was there on the day supporting the jumpers and also to my fellow jumpers.  Finally, a great big thank you to Sarah Stamp for organising it all (with aplomb I might add!).

Here’s to the next jump!  But in the meantime, I start my new theatre job tomorrow.  No rest for the wicked…..

You can still donate to the charity by clicking here!

I was asked by www.LastMinuteTheatreTickets.com to write a piece for their new 'Meet the Cast' section.  The following now appears on their website.

Behind The Scenes With Actor Chris Clarkson

Posted on April 27th, 2011 by Neil in London Theatre Articles, Meet the Cast

For some unknown reason I have agreed to do a charity skydive on Saturday 21^st  I don’t know exactly why I have agreed to attempt this life-endangering feat but I do think it’s because I’m a bit of a soft touch.  I’ve always had problems using the word no when it comes to good causes and when a lovely lady called Sarah Stamp got in touch before Christmas and started haranguing me it didn’t take long for me to crack.  I’d have much rather hosted a bring-and-buy sale or done a sponsored silence or sat in a bath of spaghetti hoops but unfortunately they weren’t options.  Add in the fact that a few friends (including my girlfriend) were doing it and I realistically had no choice.  Ms Stamp had won this round…

Anyhow, now is not the time to whinge about my impending death, oh no, it’s time to start raising some money.  We are all jumping in aid of Focus12, an independent charity working with people who suffer from the effects of drugs and alcohol.  They provide detox, rehabilitation and treatment alongside facilities for the families of people who have been affected by addiction in one form or another throughout their lives.  A very good cause, indeed.

In order to prepare myself both mentally and physically for the event I have created a specific, tailor made training programme after in-depth research (ie chatting about it over a pint with a mate).  It includes;

• Launching myself onto my bed to simulate throwing myself out of a plane
• Sitting with a desk fan blowing on maximum onto my face to simulate breathlessness
• Driving quickly (but legally) over hump back bridges to simulate the loss of stomach
• Logging into Google Earth and when in Satellite Image mode scrolling in very quickly to simulate the visuals of Sky Diving
• Jumping off of the garden furniture and commando rolling on the grass to finesse my landing technique
• Filling up my hipflask to simulate what I will be doing on the morning of the jump
• Watching the opening sequence of The Spy Who Loved Me when 007 (Roger Moore) opens up his Union flag parachute to simulate… err… well, just because I like James Bond films

    

Today I had possibly the shortest working day of my career.  I've just completed work on a new Ronseal advert which is essentially just a re-hash of the one I was in last year.  Today was all about the script and getting a few different versions down on tape.  Over the last few weeks I've spent a considerable time recording voice overs for Gillette so it was nice to be recording something that wasn't shaving related!  I was in a studio that was new to me in Trafford Park that of photographer Justin Windle.  It was a nice space with a couple of stages.  In fact when I arrived I walked into a Simply Be shoot!  I was really confused!

The advert will be out 'just before Easter - the official start of DIY season' according to Creative Director from Principles Agency, Keith Lishman!

    

Last night I started a new job as Presenter at Salford City Reds home games at The Willows.  Now, for those of you who don't really know me, I'm a staunch rugby union fan.  I'm a fourth generation Leicester Tigers supporter (my great-grandad took my grandma down to Welford Road for the first time in 1930 and she still goes now) and I've been a season ticket holder myself for 23 years.  That is rugby union, Salford play rugby league - the enemy!  I have swallowed my pride, bitten the bullet and taken the opportunity to find out more about this sport (better the devil you know, eh?).

My friend John Norcott has been working at the club on match days for a few years now but his Wedding Singer and DJ business is growing so quickly he asked me to cover him at The Willows when he was double booked.  I shadowed him a few weeks ago so he could show me the ropes and then last night was my first time in charge.  The match against Wigan Warriors was, I'll be honest, still a little hard to follow as a lifelong union supporter but I thoroughly enjoyed chatting to the fans and having a good laugh with some of the players.  I spent a while winding up Ryan Boyle and Sean Gleeson as neither of them wanted to be interviewed on the microphone, and I had a few good chats with Salford legend Shane Hanson.  After the match I had a good interview with Man of the Match, Luke Patten.  I must say a big thank you to Commercial Manager Andrew Bentham for all his help on the night.

I'm back at The Willows on 2nd April for the Crusaders game.  I genuinely enjoyed my evening but I'm really looking forward to getting the train down to Leicester today to watch some proper rugby!  Come on Tigers!

After 10 brilliant weeks in Stevenage my tenure here is now at an end.  I've had such a wonderful time down here in Hertfordshire it will be a real wrench to leave the place (although I can't wait to get home and sleep in my own bed again!). 

The show was still going strong right until the end and the audience feedback was all excellent.  I think we only had one criticism throughout the whole 96 performances!  The final weekend has been a real treat, too.  On Friday night the producers, Chris Jordan Productions, invited the cast, crews and creatives from their other 4 pantomimes to come along to watch our show (we were the last panto still running) and then have a post show party.  It was really nice to meet and chat with some of the other casts especially the guys playing the other comics.  One of the chaps I met originated the role of Herbie the Huntsman (my role) a few years previously so we had a lot to talk about!  After the theatre eventually kicked us out of the bar most of us went across to a local hotel where the majority of the visiting companies were staying.  Needless to say we had a few dandelion & burdocks...

The following day we had 2 shows to do (as per) before handing the reigns over to the crew for them to perform the Cod Panto.  Obviously I can't say too much about it on here but it was absolutely hilarious!  I must give particular congratulations to Vicky Burrows who gave up her usual job on the fly floor to give her knockout performance of Ron Seal (ie. me!) on stage in full Leicester Tigers kit!  Loved it!  After the Cod we had the Golden Gnome Awards in which I won the 'Campest Performance' category (rather ironic seeing as I was the only straight man on stage not including the dwarfs!) and then the disco/party.  Needless to say we had a few dandelion & burdocks...

Sunday was emotional and a really nice way to end the run.  Two full houses sent us on our way and after a load of tears (not from me, obviously) people went their separate ways.  A few of us popped into what had become our 'panto local' just to stretch out the Stevenage Dream that little bit further.  Needless to say we had a few dandelion & burdocks...

Anyway, my car is now packed and Manchester is calling me.  I'll be forever grateful for working with such a wonderful cast, crew, band, chaperones, creatives and Front of House team.  Thank you Gordon Craig Theatre - it's been a blast!

So, we’ve opened!  After a remarkably easy tech week (as tech weeks go) we had a good couple of dress rehearsals before finally having our first paying punters rock up on Saturday afternoon.  Our first house was pretty much a sell out so we had all guns blazing from the start.  I don’t really get nervous so instead of nervous excitement and butterflies I run on adrenaline (and Lucozade!).  The parts of the show that we hoped would get laughs did do, and we were very pleasantly surprised by some other moments, too.  So far, touch wood, there have not been any (major) mistakes! 

Although it is possible to mount a show in less than a fortnight and have it looking slick, as actors we haven’t really scratched the surface of the possibilities of our characters.  We are able to say our lines, dance our steps and carry the right props but it’s still quite methodical.  From tomorrow onwards we will be able to relax into our roles a bit more and start to have fun with them.  That is when the show goes up a few notches!  I had some lovely chats in the bar on Sunday night after the show with the Friends of the Theatre.  They were all very complimentary and had nothing but positive feedback for us but I really do hope they all come again later in the run so as to see how much the panto will have evolved! 

I don’t want to say too much about the show itself as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who comes along, but I will say that it’s one of the best pantomimes that I’ve been in.  And with only 93 of our 97 performances left, it’s time to book your tickets!

What a week!  I'm completely exhausted after a hectic first week of rehearsals for Snow White in Stevenage.  We've had long days and lots to take in but today we were able to have what's known as a Producers Run which is where we basically show all the creatives (like the lighting designer, sound team and wardrobe plus the production team and writer) where we are at to make sure that what we've done is all plausible on the set etc.  It also gives them an idea of what they are lighting etc next week.  The run today actually went very well indeed!  I got most of my stuff right and I was able to use most of the props that are currently available.  Very pleasing end to a hectic week.

After an initial meet and greet on day one we started with a music call to learn some songs.  I don't want to say too much about what the actual content of the show is as I don't want to ruin the surprise for those of you coming along to one of the 97 performances.  I spend the majority of my time on stage with the Dame (and director) Paul Laidlaw.  I'd never met him before the first day of rehearsals and I'm always wary before meeting whoever I'm playing opposite.  Some Dames can be very selfish (as I'm sure comics can, too, although I always try not to be!) and it's important to have a good rapport with each other.  I've been lucky (on the most part) in years gone by and this year is no exception.  Paul and I get on like a house on fire and we are both panto traditionalists believing in stock characters, set pieces and the Holy Grail of the lazzi straight out of pantomime's origins in Commedia dell'arte.  I also have been working closely with Sue Holderness (the Wicked Queen), Daniel Boys (Prince Simon) and Katie Rowley Jones (Snow White).  There are some lovely little routines, both physical and lyrical, and we've been drumming them into each other all week.  Every time Daniel and I pass each other in the corridor we rehearse at least one of our ultra fast duologue's!  We also have seven dwarfs (unsurprisingly!), four professional ensemble and three teams of eight kids!  It's a big old production!

On Thursday we were on stage in Stevenage Town Centre to switch on the Christmas Lights before some of the main cast headed off to Champneys for an evening photo shoot there.  Some of these images are shown below.  It i'nt 'arf posh there!

All in all it's been a very pleasing first week of rehearsals.  We only have one more day of rehearsing by ourselves before we go into the tech.  But, for the time being I'm going to crack open a bottle of wine and enjoy a successful first week in Stevenage.  Here's to nine more!  *clinks glass*

Chris with Sue Holderness (Wicked Queen), Daniel Boys (Prince Simon) & Katie Rowley Jones (Snow White) at Champneys Health Resort, Henlow
  

WOW!  Had a brilliant evening at Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet presenting the Tree Lighting 2010.  Had some great acts to work with and the show ran very smoothly; bar the audio not working on the opening video!  Oh well!  The 12,000 strong crowd all seemed to love it and were screaming like mad from the off.  First up we had Frixion who have been touring with N-Dubz, Tinie Tempah and Alexandra Burke this year.  I then had my first chat of the night to the Behind-the-Scenes Green Room and Radio City's Rick Vaughn.  Good to have a bit of camaraderie with the fella!  Next we had Same Difference on stage singing three songs.  Lovely pair!  We had a good giggle in their trailer at the beginning, they've got such vitality.  Then we moved onto Diva Fever.  What can I say about those boys?!?  Such a high energy act and they know how to work a crowd.  I had a good chat with Craig afterwards (the spiky haired one) and it turns out we did a gig together on stage in Peterborough 2 years ago!  Small world.  Next on stage I had Wonderland, Louis Walsh's new Irish girl group.  They have got beautiful, lyrical voices and sang some fabulous close harmony acapella stuff.  Oh, and they're all tiny, too!  After Wonderland I had recent X-Factor evictees Belle Amie.  They just couldn't stop jumping around, bless 'em!  Our final 2 acts were our headliners, Eliza Doolittle and The Wanted.  Both bands got such huge screams as they went on I'm surprised they weren't deafened.  Both bands sang their famous hits and the crowd certainly weren't disappointed.  I was then joined on stage by Rossi and Fitzy from RadioCity 96.7 ready to light Britain's Biggest Christmas Tree.  It is huge!  After a final chat with The Wanted and then the crowd we counted down from 10 before millions of lights flashed on and the stage went pyro-mad.  Stunning.  Although it was great seeing the crowds reaction to it all I'd have loved to have seen everything from their perspective.  After a final sing-a-long when we had all the acts back on stage I wrapped the event up and we all got to go home.  Phew.  Now, onto the next job - panto starts tomorrow......

Chris on stage

Chris on stage

Chris with Same Difference
 
X-Factor's Belle Amie   and   RadioCity 96.7's Rick Vaughn
   
RadioCity 96.7's Rossi & Fitzy   and   X-Factor's Diva Fever

I've not blogged for a while as I've been working on a big job that I've not been allowed to talk about!  However, yesterday I spent the afternoon and evening co-presenting an event at the Concorde Conference Centre at Manchester Airport.  The event was called the MFestival and was for employees of the airport and their families.  Completely free, it featured a mini fun fair, scalextric, climbing wall, Batak wall, air hockey, a coconut shy, mini casino, bucking bronco, plus loads more.  I was on the main stage introducing the live acts including magicians, a Punch & Judy show, street dancers, singers and prize ceremonies.  All of this took place under the imposing structure of a decommissioned Concorde!  It was a brilliant event put on by Wizardry Entertainments and the 2,000 punters all seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves.  I was lucky that one of my best friends, Magic Matt, was performing some mix and mingle magic in the crowds so at the end of the day we were able to compete against each other on the climbing wall and mini golf course etc. We drew 1-1 on the wall, he won the air hockey but I whipped him at golf!  We finished off the evening with some candy floss and popcorn.  It's great when you get the chance to enjoy your work, isn't it?!?

Wow.  I am in awe today of thirteen young acrobats.  I was privileged to be the presenter of the Best of British event at York Designer Outlet today where we had Britain's Got Talent winners Spelbound performing live on stage.  Their performances were simply stunning, they work so ridiculously hard to get physically fit enough to perform some wonderful acrobatics.  Their 2 performances today in front of great crowds quite simply took your breath away.  Considering it was an outdoor stage (they have never performed outdoors before and weren't expecting to today!) and quite a windy day they went about setting up their mats and warming up in such a chipper way.  I can't even fault them as people, they were all lovely and talkative, signing loads of pictures and spending plenty of time chatting with their fans.  They made my life as presenter really easy, too.  I really can't speak highly enough of that wonderful troupe - plus Sally and Neil their helpers/chaperones/coach/friends!

        

So I've just finished 2 days of filming at Media:city for the new series of LighterLife commercials.  I have to be honest, I'd never heard of LighterLife before I went to the casting but having now met 12 people who have done the course and lost phenomenal amounts of weight (8 stone in some cases!) I reckon it must be a really good dieting package.

We had 140 extras in our audience and a massive crew in the same sound stage in which I filmed the Ronseal advert back in March.  Filming a weight loss advert in a studio called The Pie Factory was, I thought, quite ironic!  Anyway, the director, Julian Kronfli, was calmness personified and had a clear view as to what he wanted to achieve (which always helps, amazing how some directors just seem to wing it!).  Every single crew, cast and creative was lovely (again, not usually the case) and there was such a nice vibe.  My 12 models were all 'real' people and therefore a bit bewildered at times by the filming process.  They were all very keen to make it a success, however, and gave  brilliant performances.  My 11 ladies and 1 man strutted, posed, smiled and vox popped their socks off, and I have a huge amount of respect for them all! 

The adverts will be transmitted in the UK for one year from the 6th September.  They will also be online on the LighterLife website along with a Behind the Scenes mini-documentary and a series of stills. 

I had a fabulous time yesterday in the grand old city of Dublin!  I flew out for the day to film an infomercial for AXA.  After an initial delay at Manchester Airport of an hour (thanks RyanAir!) I arrived in the Irish capital around 9:45am.  My driver took me on a mini guided tour of the city on the way to the studios, making sure he took me past all of the cathedrals (ie. Croke Park, Lansdowne Road (NOT the Aviva - damn them!) and the RDS).  The studio was on an estate in a quiet setting on the outskirts of Dublin.  We were all to film on green screen (were it in Wales it would've been red screen, Scotland blue screen etc) and the other actors were already there.  I met another actor with my agency, Mark Jardine, who was playing the main role, who I had not seen since panto costume fittings at the Lowry in 2005!  Anyway, the crew and clients were all great and there was a nice, relaxed atmosphere.  It's so much easier to get stuff done when everyone is calm, focused and jovial - rare to find a shoot where all these are in place!  Anyway, we finished filming ahead of schedule and that gave me around 5½ hours to kill in Dublin.  As I've already done the touristy type stuff in the city centre and we didn't want to get stuck in rush hour traffic, we all decided to go to a small town called Swords out near the airport.  The ladies went off shopping and Russell Richardson and I went to sample some of the local Guinness (when in Rome etc).  We started in the very traditional pub, The Pound.  It was rammed full of blokes all laughing and joking, a real locals pub but one they made us feel welcome in.  Then, on recommendation of the make up lady, we went to eat in Wrights and ended up in a pub/restaurant called The Old Boro.  Guinness certainly does taste differently over there!  A quick taxi ride to the airport later and I was heading for home.  All in all a great day - good job, great people, wonderful part of the world.

The infomercial "Secure Advantage Protected Capital Plan from AXA Life Europe" will be on AXA's website soon.  A link will be posted when it is up.

Chris giving his interpretation of (imaginatively titled) Actor 5

Had a lovely gig tonight in the idyllic little village of Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire.  It all took place at Cutts of Campden, a Ford dealership, in the early twilight of a balmy summer's evening.  There were about 200 guests invited and they were treated to a smörgåsbord of entertainment, canapés and Champagne.  I was hired to be my Tennis Player living statue alongside a magician, a Rod Stewart Tribute and a trio of feathered showgirls!  What a mixture!  Met some lovely people and got to have a giggle with some of the guests after I had finished (and done my best to de-silver in a tiny sink!).  I love my job sometimes!
(P.S. There were some beautiful cars there, too - my favourite is below!)

      

I've had an amazing weekend in Lommel, Belgium.  It was lovely to see a load of old faces plus make some new friends from around the world.  I was working at the Beeldig Festival in the town centre, an annual event full of living statues, performance art and street theatre.  On the back of my success in Holland last year I took my James Bond costume along.  As I had a lot of trouble getting the gun and 12v battery (to power the gun) on the plane last year I decided that I would travel by train and got myself a ticket on the Eurostar.  I'm a bit of a geek but I simply could not wait to ride on it for the first time.  I got to meet up with my friends Ed Johnson and Kate Laurisden from The Living Statue Company at St Pancras so I had good company from there on.  Both the journey there and back were great, as were the trains to and from Stockport and London.  However, the 2 trains from Brussels to Lommel and then back again were a nightmare!  We had delays, cancellations and a language barrier to contend with - never again!  Fortunately Ed and Kate were in good humour so we were able to bounce off of each other and laugh at our situation - even if we did find one of Antwerp's least appealing bars to kill some time in!  Anyway, after eventually arriving 10 and a half hours after I had left home, I was able to meet up with all my Dutch friends from Beeldje on Friday night.  We had a good catch up before an 'early' night ready to work the following day. 

Over the two days the festival attracted 45,000 people, a new record for them.  I'd like to think a lot of the visitors came because of me but I don't think that is particularly true!  I met statues from Argentina, musical acts from Italy and loads of others from Spain, France, Belgium, New Zealand, Cuba and Greece.  Such a friendly bunch of performers.  It was sad saying goodbye on the Sunday night to a lot of them. 

Monday was a 5am start (English time) and after an arduous journey I walked through my front door 11 hours later at 4pm.  I'd been spoilt rotten, tickled, hugged, applauded and given copious amounts of free beer at a business party that we snuck into on the Saturday night.  Apparently it was a good party.  At least that's what we reckon after we were able to piece the night together between us the following morning!

A big thanks to Pieter Neeskens from SUPCO Events and to all those I was with for Beeldig Lommel 2010!

A close up and posing with Afke Westdijk (Beeldje) and a young local girl

This weekend I worked at Bradford Mela with one of my best mates, Scott Clarke.  We were working for Q20 Theatre and basing ourselves in the Lord Mayor's Carnival Parade Tent.  Although we were there predominantly to entertain the punters at the Mela, it was linked in with next weeks Bradford Parade.  With this years theme being tigers, Q20 commissioned Huddersfield University students to come up with a pair of tiger costumes that performers could wear on jump stilts.  We weren't disappointed with the results!  With an almost 1970's pimp theme running alongside the brief Scott and I were decked out in tiger print livery from head to toe (well, rubber pad on bottom of stilt!).  The only downside from my point of view, was that 2 consecutive days on jump stilts is quite had going!  6 hours of bouncing isn't easy in anyone's book, but it has toned up my thighs and bum quite a bit!

I started my new job today as a news presenter on Redrow.tv, the multimedia website for the one of the UK's leading residential and mixed use property developers. We were filming in Preston at the head offices of Ainsworth & Parkinson, the marketing communications agency in charge of creating the pieces.  I had a fab crew to work with (David, Jade and Abi - Sandra was on holiday this week!) and we had a good giggle off camera.  All the dialogue was on autocue which was a blessing as I'd only gotten home from France the day before and I wouldn't have had time to learn it all!  Anyway, my pieces for Redrow Scotland will be online from the start of next week.

                           

 
Presenting in front of a blue screen

Spent yesterday sitting in the sun, playing cricket and eating fine foods from your friendly Co-operative/Somerfield store.  Or at least that's what this summer's TV advert will lead you to believe!  I was really good fun filming it although my skin certainly knows I spent 13 hours in the sun - SPF15 all round!  All the food looked stunning but we weren't allowed to touch any.  Curses!  I had a surrogate extended family for the day and I got to play cricket for hours (albeit on a remarkably shorter wicket than the regulatory 22 yards and we had to keep repeating the same shot over and over and over and over again!).  Taylor Murphy is playing the hero dad who just would not get out!  The ad should be on screens for two months from mid-June.

My wife for the day, Sue McCartney, and my kids Jamie and Jess.

Everyone playing cricket (left) and the delicious food being filmed.

On Monday night I went to see the musical Laughter in the Rain at the Opera House in Manchester.  It is about the life of Neil Sedaka and featured all (well, probably not quite all) of his songs.  My friend Kieran Brown is touring in it.  I quite enjoyed the show despite not really knowing anything about Sedaka and only having heard of 2 of the songs beforehand!  The lad playing Sedaka was excellent.  It was a huge role and he played it very well.  An added bonus of the night was the fact that Neil Sedaka was there in person.  Bill Kenwright (my old boss!) got up on stage at the end and made a speech before Neil joined him and sang a couple of songs.  The audience went nuts!  Afterwards I was invited into a small drinks reception and met the man himself (Sedaka, not Kenwright!).  Great fun.  If you get a chance to see the show, do.  If you like the music, you'll love it!

Link to Kieran Brown's website              Link to Laughter in the Rain website

I've had a fabulous weekend!  On Friday night my mum and grandma drove up from Leicester and then we all travelled up to Cumbria together for my cousin's wedding.  Miss Karen Moore has now become Mrs Karen Nattrass!  The wedding was in a church in Carlisle and then the reception etc was at The Crown Hotel in Wetheral.  I had a beautiful view from my room (see below) but, for obvious reasons, I didn't spend much time in there.  I spent a lot of time chatting with as many people as I could throughout the day.  I'd never met Jonny (the groom) or any of his family before.  To be honest I hadn't even met any of Karen's friends either so it was nice to be sociable!  I reckon I've made some great new friends - at least I hope so!  I was able to do a little bit of cheesy magic for them and make the odd balloon model, too, so that was nice.  My only regret is that I had to shoot off early on Sunday to go to work at Old Trafford, I'd have much preferred to go into the pool and gym!  Such a nice hotel!  A huge congratulations to Karen and Jonny and also to my uncle and auntie, Richard and Anne.

Had a nice day today on the set of Coronation Street filming an episode for later in the year.  Of course I'm contractually obliged not to talk about the storyline but I've been working with Graeme Hawley (John) and Becky Hindley (Charlotte).  Spent most of the day NOT eating a plate of food in front of me, partly because I wasn't supposed to and partly because it was hideous!  That's the trouble with filming dinner scenes, TV companies won't pay for nice, warm food when the point of it is to be seen and not devoured!  I was sat at a table with 3 lovely extras for most of the afternoon.  We did have a good giggle so the time went a lot more quickly than it probably should have done.  Below is a photo of me giving my big speech during filming.

I'm very pleased to announce that The Art of Doing Nothing in which I feature won Best Short Documentary at the London International Film Festival this weekend.  It was filmed at the World Statues Festival in Arnhem last August and it follows the progress of 3 different statues and their different views on statueing.  The film's director is an old school friend of mine, Richard Wyllie.  The film was shown in Chennai at the International Short Film Festival of India in April and it will feature in the 6th International Short Film Festival Detmold, Germany, in June.  Hopefully it will turn up at other Festivals and end up being aired on UK television.

            

On a whim on Sunday morning I decided to drive up to Newcastle.  It was a beautifully sunny day and Leicester were playing their last away game of the season (end of season play offs permitting) up at Kingston Park.  As I had to be in York on Monday morning and I could have a work meeting whilst I was up there I thought I'd treat myself.  So glad I did!  I left Manchester in a t-shirt pair of shorts and hit the M62 with intent.  When I got to my friends flat in North Shields I parked up, had a quick brew and had a long hard think about the weather. "It's a little bit grey but I'm sure it's not going to get any worse" I thought, "I'll stay in my shorts.  They've got loads of pockets in so I don't need a bag."  Done deal.  Jumped on the Metro and headed to the ground with a vengeance, a ground where we hadn't won since 2004.

One of the things I love about rugby is the good nature of the supporters.  There is never any segregation in the grounds or en route to the grounds.  I spent a lot of time chatting with Newcastle supporters on the Metro and on the 5 minute walk from the station.  Always love a bit of banter!  Anyway, the weather was taking a turn for the worse and it was now chucking it down with very strong winds, to boot.  Started to regret my short sleeved rugby shirt and having my legs out!  It was 6^oC without the windchill.  At this point I decided it was wise for my health to keep warm.  The most logical way was to wear a beer coat.  They sold two pint glasses of Guinness so with no hesitation (and thinking predominantly about my well-being) I purchased one.  Very glad I did. 

The match was ok for the first 34 minutes.  *Attention - brief bit of rugby talk coming up*  We scored 4 tries, secured the win and the bonus point and then took our foot off of the pedal.  The sad thing is that I don't think we actually played that well, Newcastle Falcons were just terrible.  Hope they don't get relegated (a real possibility this season) as it's one of my favourite away days!

So after another medicinal Guinness after the game and yet more banter with some Geordie fans I headed off home, bumping into our head coach, Richard Cockerill, on the way out.  I had a great meeting that evening with a couple of bosses of mine and then an early night ready for my audition in York the next day.  My only annoyance with the trip was the fact that I only decided to go up on the Sunday morning.  Had I planned it earlier then I could've met up with loads of other friends!

 
Me with 2 pints of Guinness and Cocky. I'll let you work out which is which.

Been filming all day today in Southport for a new BrightHouse ad.  Did two ads in total.  They were almost identical except one had a distinct Christmas theme!  Won't be seeing that on telly for a good few months then!  Worked with some lovely actors today and also with the same camera team as last week in the Ronseal commercial!  Anyhow, the advert will be on screens in the next couple of weeks and images of Andy the Sales Assistant will be blazoned across posters in branches.  Pop in to have a shoofty!  C.

   

Yesterday I filmed a new advert for Ronseal.  I was a long old day (18 hours!) but I made some great new friends including my wardrobe mistress Sabine Cockrill and make-up supervisor Charlotte Gibb.  We became a right little clique!  Filming was good fun but very slow going due to the accuracy needed in the shots.  I've never been under more pressure as an actor than when I had to stain some decking - seriously!  After an hour and a half to set up the shot, I had to get it right first time as we couldn't un-stain it once it had been stained!  Glad it went well.....

Anyway, it will be on air sometimes in the next couple of weeks.  I get to say an iconic line in it, too.  Bet you can't guess what it is!

          

This is a little bit belated but last Friday night a group of us from my Thursday night dance class did a little performance at a charity night in aid of Christie's.  What a laugh we had!  It wasn't a huge thing but for us it certainly felt it!  We did a routine to a medley of songs including Cheryl Cole and some other bands (I'm rubbish with music, sorry...!).  Although our focus was geared on giving a good show it was really nice to have a bit of a social with the girls afterwards and get to know them a bit better.  Seeing as I don't usually chat to them during a class (I feel rather outnumbered at a twenty-something to one ratio!) it was nice to finally have a decent chat.  We're hoping to have a few more gigs soon.  Again, nothing fancy, but something fun, honest and rewarding!

I spent today at The Coppice School in Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Staffordshire.  It is a generic secondary school for pupils from Years 7 to 13 with Moderate, Severe and Profound Learning Difficulties.  Along with the Speight of the Art Foundation I was able to help with a day of art classes.  I kick started the day as a Living Statue whilst Oliver Speight gave an introduction to the day and the charity.  After a day of cartooning with Chris Altham, making caricatures with Chris Ryder, finger painting, music and calligraphy I was on hand to help present certificates in an end of day ceremony.  Today truly was one of those days when you walk out of a building thinking 'Yes, I really have made a difference'.  A wonderful feeling and I loved every minute.  Thank you Speight of the Art and The Coppice!

Click the Sentinel logo above to read the newspaper article from the day including an interview with Chris

Well, after 7 hectic weeks it's now time to draw a line under Aladdin in Kendal.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time up in the Lake District and I've got some very fond memories of people, the venue, the panto and the town.  A huge thank you to all involved for making it such a wonderful season!  Oh, and the Adult Panto was great fun, too.....

Whilst in Kendal I'm pleased to say that my website passed the 25,000 hits mark.  That's a lot of people!  What is nice is that visitors have come from 37 different countries around the world!  Amazing!

The Aladdin cast, MD, DSM, ASM and Wardobe Mistress lying on the centre of the stage!
The photo was taken from the lighting rig!

As much as I love performing to the kids I'm glad we've now finished the school's performances if for no other reason than the 10am shows!  It's so hard getting yourself pumped up for bouncing about looking happy at that time of the day.  Let's face it, it's still the middle of the night for actors!  Anyway, the shows went well and the kids all seemed to enjoy themselves.  The cast and crew are now enjoying a well earned day off.  I've come home to Manchester (if only to do my washing!) and I'm hoping to catch up with a few friends whilst I'm here, filling them in about all of the panto gossip.  I'm loving my time in Kendal and I enjoy everyone's company.  All of the cast, youth actors, girls of the chorus, stage management and crew are fab!  Hoping to keep in touch with them all when this year's Panto Dream ends in 3 and a bit weeks time.....

Wishy Washy outside Widow Twanky's Launderette

We had our opening preview performance last night and have got a matinee preview today before we officially open tonight.  Exciting stuff.  It was fantastic to finally get the show in front of an audience.  It all went well and there was only one real error.  Without spelling it out in too fine a detail, one character has the line 'Twanky's Tacky Tat' and they unfortunately put the W in the wrong place.  Ooops!  We all had a good laugh about it on stage, though! 

For me personally it was wonderful having a new audience.  As I have so many jokes to tell in front of the same people in rehearsals it gets very tiring for both them and me.  Last night it was nice to get some laughs again! 

Well, onwards and upwards.  Day off tomorrow and if I'll try and update again with news about our opening night.

Click on the link below to visit the Go-Style website and read an interview with me about my extensive knowledge of clothes.  I'm just below singer Kristyna Myles!

Chris' interview with the Go-Style Live girls

So we're coming to the end of week two of rehearsals and we're bang on schedule.  It's been a fun couple of weeks and we've had such a good laugh.  As ever with panto it is a time of exploration.  I've been allowed to play with all sorts of ideas and I reckon I've come up with some pleasing lazzi sequences.  Time will tell (well, the audience reaction will tell) and even though we don't open until next Friday I'm dying to start making people laugh!

On the social side of things, the cast and crew have been out almost every night.  Highlights include our weekly inter-department darts tournament, curry night, cinema trips and X-Factor night (NOTE: I did not attend this night as I can't stand that programme!).

Aladdin cast, in order of appearance:
Genie:  Denise Hoey
Abanazer:  Ian Casey
Princess Lotus Blossom:  Annabel Bates
Ping:  Bekah Sloan
Pong:  Helen Moffitt
Wishy Washy:  Chris Clarkson
Widow Twanky:  Christopher Wright
Aladdin:  Duncan Johnston
Emperor of China:  Martin Lamb
Emperor's Guard:  Steve Atkinson

Am sat in the lounge of my digs in Kendal munching away on some Marmite on toast and washing it down with a vat of coffee.  Need the energy today as it's all about singing and dancing!  Looking forward to bustin' some grooves in the rehearsal studio then getting down to some serious harmony making.

I'm sharing the flat with Aladdin, Duncan Johnston, and we're already acting like we're brothers.  I constantly rib him and he plays the set-upon little bro' very well!  In fact, we've even colluded in some practical jokes that we will start playing on the cast and production team later today.  I love panto!

There was a meal last night for the full cast, crew, creatives and management of the panto.  The food at the Brewery is fabulous!  I had roasted pigeon breast for starters followed by venison for my main.  It was Ian Casey's (Abanazar) birthday yesterday so we delivered him a chocolate gateau with a candle in for dessert!  Happy days.

I had a fabulous time last night presenting the Christmas Lights Switch On in Warrington.  I work a lot at Golden Square and do love the Warrington crowds!  We had a number of acts performing for us from 4 until 8:30 including Kristyna Myles, High School Holiday, the cast of Warrington's panto Dick Whittington, dance troupe Nu Era and our star turn, X-Factor's own Lucie Jones.  The whole show went swimmingly well except for the fact that Lucie turned up late due to the M6 being closed and the fact that Warrington Town Centre was at a standstill because we had so many people crammed in!  But we didn't let that or the wet weather dampen our spirits.  Lucie sang 4 songs and joined in with the sing-a-long at the end (not to mention plunging the plunger to illuminate the Warrington sky!).  She was a really nice girl and spent a long time afterwards chatting with her fans, having photos taken and doing interviews.  I must admit that I don't watch X-Factor (I'm really not a fan of reality TV!) but I do think that that Simon chap has missed a trick by letting her go!  Anyway, Warrington is now all Christmas Lighted up and ready to receive it's Christmas Shopping hoards!  Golden Square is open until 9 on Thursdays with free parking from 4 and it's also free all day on Sundays!  Santa and his sleigh will be there telling stories and having free elf workshops on the Saturdays and Sundays before Christmas from November 28th.  Get down there and enjoy the family atmosphere!

   

Had fun today in Milton Keynes presenting a Fashion Show for XS Productions.  It was showcasing loads of different stores in what they call the 'Fashionable Quarter' of Milton Keynes.  I got to work with quite a few models that I have worked with before and also had a good laugh with the different audiences that we drew.  It was a really last minute booking and so pretty much everything I did was off the cuff.  Fortunately, that is the way I like to work!

Long time no post!  I've been very busy lately with various projects and my current one is a gem.  I've been working in two different attractions at Alton Towers as part of their Scarefest, The Boiler House and The Field of 1000 Screams.  Very few people actually get to work in both of these in any one year so I'm quite honoured!  In The Boiler House I have been playing the Handyman and in The Field of 1000 Screams I have been both the Hero (RAF Officer) and a Zombie.  Great fun!  I get to spend 6 or 7 hours just shouting at people and making them scream!  Without wanting to go into too much detail, across both attractions we have had a number of 'Code Yellows' and at least one 'Code Brown'.  Read into that what you want.....!

                  

Today I had a very BBC day indeed.  I was on BBC Radio Manchester at lunchtime on the Heather Stott show and then this evening in front of an audience of 700,000 people I was on BBC1's North West Tonight with Gordon Burns and Ranvir Singh.  The radio interview was good fun and Heather was really lovely.  She seemed genuinely interested, too, which was nice.  Gordon Burns had the shiniest shoes I think I've ever seen and Ranvir was extremely chatty!  Both interviews are available on my Living Statues page (click the link on the right of this page!).

Me in the North West Tonight studio

Wow!  What a weekend!  I am proud to write on here that I won the Audience Award at the 2009 World Statues Championships.  Sooooooo chuffed!  In the biggest audience vote ever recorded I was fortunate to top the list and I was awarded with my medal on stage at the end of the Parade.  As it was all in Dutch it wasn't until the presenter said 'James Bond' in a heavily accented voice that I realised what was going on.  Amazing!

   
Chris in one of his poses.            Chris mistakes a young girl for Blofeld.

World Champion Statue (orange) flanked by Chris and the Mayor then
the amateur winners.

I am proud to announce that my pub team won the Cup last night!  For those of you who don't know, to keep my singing voice in relatively good nick when I'm not working, I sing karaoke for my pub team, The Crown (416 Buxton Road, Great Moor, Stockport, SK2 7BY).  It's like a darts team or a pool team - just karaoke!  We came second in the league this season (congrats to The Jolly Sailor on their victory) but last night was the end of season knock out cup final.  Our equivalent of Wembley!

Our team on the night was made up of myself, Vickey Farr, Paul Lawton, Andy O'Brien and Matt Lees.  I sang Feed Me from Little Shop of Horrors with Andy in the 1st half and All I Care About from Chicago in the 2nd.  I must put a special mention here to our opponents on the night, Peters Square Tavern.  They are one of my favourite pubs on the circuit and they have an amazing team.  We had two incredibly close games in the league this season (one was even a draw) and I can't wait to play them again in 2010!

Thanks to everyone involved in the league for a fantastic season!  See you at the Presentation Night on Monday 21st September!

For more information on the league;
* Have a look at the website by clicking here and selecting Karaoke League on the top left. 
* Join our Facebook group by clicking here.

What a great day today was!  I was working at Golden Square Shopping Centre in Warrington with Calum Best and the Brit Chix doing a Celebrity Style Challenge with loads of different fashions available in the Centre.  Calum was a pleasure to work with and a thoroughly nice bloke, down to Earth and self-depricating.  The Brit Chix were a riot!  Three fantastic, talented ladies who are more than keen to join in and have a giggle.  Plus Neil, Victoria's boyfriend (again, a cracking chap).  A day's work does go so much quicker when you enjoy what you are doing and who you are doing it with!  Thanks to all involved!  C.

Victoria (T), Chris, Maddy, Paisley and Calum

Last week I had my first holiday in almost exactly 2 years as I went off to France with my golf club (Painswick) to play for the Le Coq Trophee.  12 of us made the trip across the channel from Portsmouth and we played 4 courses;

Golf Barriere de St.Julien
Beuzeval in Houlgate
Omaha Beach, (the Le Manoir/Etang courses)  and
L'Amiraute, in Deauville.

I'm delighted to report that I won the overall competition playing to around 4 shots below my handicap.  I had a fab time with the lads and hope to go back next year.  Much fun!

From left to right;
Barrie Hesling , Mick McGarr, Graham Moody, Dave Brazington, Brendan Nunan, Huw Anthony, Robin Anthony, Chris Clarkson, Mike Hoey, Neal Haddock (Captain), Kish Venkatasami, Gil Locke.

Not so much a work related blog but one I felt I wanted to make.  Yesterday I donated blood for the 30th time.  I've been giving regularly since I was 18.  The National Blood Service is always on the look out for more people to donate.  Nowadays you must be aged 17 upwards (there is no longer an upper age cut off).

• There are only 1.6 million registered blood donors in the UK and that equates to roughly 4% of the population.
• The National Blood Service needs to collect 9,000 pints a day.

I was very fortunate to be part of the launch for the North Staffordshire branch of the Speight of the Art Foundation at McDonalds in Newcastle Under Lyme.  I performed one of my Living Statues for the event.  Also there was Ian Cook (as seen on Blue Peter) who led workshops for kids which included making pieces of art by painting with remote controlled cars!  Lee D from CBBC's Prank Patrol was signing loads of autographs and walking around entertaining the crowds were magician and balloon modeller Ethan Mark and face painter Mari Leeds. 

For more information on the charity and to read more about the inspiration behind the foundation, Mark Speight, log onto their website below;

Yesterday was simply wonderful!  I presented a charity event in Salford Quays for Cash for Kids in association with Key 103 and Magic 1152.  Basically from the top of the Imperial War Museum North (the tower being 95m tall) a wire was stretched 300 metres across the Manchester Shipping Canal to the front of The Lowry.  Fundraisers were asked to raise a minimum of £150 to ride the Death Slide.  It was an amazing event and overall somewhere in the region of £40,000 was raised for local disadvantaged kids.  Every penny raised went straight back out into the Greater Manchester area.  I did some sums and worked out these facts;

2 days of Zipping with roughly 140 Zippers a day = 280 Zips

1 Zip = 300m  therefore  280 Zips = 84,000m

84,000m = Just over 52 miles worth of Zipping!

Amazing!  For me, though, the best part was that at the end of the day I was lucky enough to have a go, too!  Such an amazing experience!  I even convinced the man at the top to Gaffa Tape my wrists and ankles together along with putting a strip over my mouth.  At least it stopped me running away!

The Zip Wire came out of the dark grey rectangle on the tower and finished just behind the camera.

What fun!  I got to be Pete McConey in Death of a Rockstar somewhere in North Yorkshire tonight.  I had a wail of a time!  I'd never been in a Murder Mystery before and it was a hoot.  I got to work with my friends Jon Stokes, Rebecca Jenkins, Rob Laughlin and a new friend Muireann Price.  Fabulous stuff.  All based on a structured improvisation we were able to manipulate the evening to it thrilling denoument.  It was set in the 1960's and centred on the world famous band The Beetroots.  I don't want to say much more as I don't want to give anything away!

Well I had a great time with Sue last night on her radio show.  It was lovely to have a good chinwag and also great to receive loads of e-mails into the studio from both friends and listeners.  I happen to know that there were friends of mine listening in Tyne & Wear, Cardiff, Birmingham, London and even in Russia and Holland!  Fantastic!  Cheers guys!  Manchester Radio Online has over 350,000 listeners every month.

I've started going to dance classes this week.  This is a big step for me!  I know I'm not a dancer but I do have to dance in shows sometimes so I decided to try and keep my hand in whilst I'm not working.  I've been to two classes so far, on Tuesday and Thursday.  Tuesday's session was a bit embarrassing as I had to do a 'girly' dance to the Pussycat Dolls (I don't have hips that I can swing!) but last night's class with Clare was much more, ahem, 'butch'.  Sort of.  Anyway, I've really enjoyed it so far and the girls down at Tiva Dance in Stockport are great.  The studio is lovely and well equipped.  Well worth the embarrassment of being a boy in a dance class!

Tomorrow night (Friday) I'm going on my friend's, Susan Hanks, radio show!  I went to Bretton Hall with Sue and she is now a comedienne.  Her weekly show is on Manchester Radio Online and is, rather scarily, called The Girly Show.  We've been trying to arrange this for ages but either I've been busy working or she has already had someone booked in.  However, we were talking about it on Saturday night at her birthday party so finally we've been able to find an appropriate date!  Tune in from 9 until 11pm on Friday, I'll be on from 10 onwards!

To visit Manchester Radio Online click here!

Yesterday I had the chance to meet a true rugby great - Jason Robinson.  For those of you who don't know who he is, he played both League (never mind!) and Union, with the distinction of scoring the only try in the 2003 World Cup Final when England beat Australia. 

Anyway, myself and 10 friends went to Edgeley Park, the home of Sale Sharks, to watch Guinness Premiership match between Sale and Newcastle Falcons, and also to have Sunday lunch with Jason himself.  What a lovely man!  We had coffee and pastries before the game and a roast after (Sale lost the match which was a pity - but ironically great for my team, Leicester!) all in the company of Mr Robinson.  I chatted to him about his playing days and his family, and also quizzed him about his new job as Head Coach of Sale next season.  Much fun was had and much Guinness was drunk!

Sorry it's been such a long time since my last post but I've been really busy with work.  With the website still pulling in over 1,000 hits a month it is about time I wrote something new!  This week I will be appearing as the Clerk of the Court in EMMERDALE on ITV1 on Tuesday and Thursday.  I filmed it at the end of January in Morley Magistrates Court.  Funnily enough, the Judge was being played by a old friend of mine, Andy Hockley.  We last worked together playing Son-in-Law and Mother-in-Law... it was in panto!  Back over Christmas 2004-05 we were in Sleeping Beauty together at The Belgrade in Coventry (oh, Andy was in drag - not me!).    C.

Alas, Aladdin has had to close early for financial reasons.  It is a real shame as it really was a great show with a great bunch of people working on it.  I've made some lovely new friends who I'm sure to keep in touch with and by and large the audiences have been fabulous (bar the odd idiot...). 

We had everything possible thrown at us from company-wide illness to a cast member just walking away, power cuts mid-show to a Peterborough shortage of glitter!  Plenty of material for my autobiography.....!

Anyhow, goodbye Aladdin, it was fun!  C.

Today is only my second day off since 14th December!  29 shows with only Christmas Day off!  I'm shattered!  Anyhow, it's going really well and the show is still in fantastic shape.  Since Ray Quinn left us, Owen Thompson has been playing Aladdin and he has been wonderful.  It's great working with him on stage, too.  The audiences have been wonderful although we always need more people to turn up!  Some shows are sold out but we can usually squeeze a couple more people in.  Also, we are closing a few days earlier on 13th January so get up/down/across whilst you still can!

We had a great New Years party here in Peterborough around at the Technical Managers house.  Much table tennis was played and larking about was at a premium!  With only a few days left to go now we are starting to gear up for our end-of-show parties, meals and nights out.  If you make it along to the show then come say hello and tag along!!!

C.

To everyone who regularly checks my site and to all newcomers and first timers - Merry Christmas!  I've had a great year this year with loads of new avenues of work opening up and plenty of new friends.  Thank you to everyone who has made 2008 a special year for me.

Panto is going well and after a hectic and tumultuous couple of weeks at work we are now settling down into a nice routine.  The company is lovely and we've had some fabulous nights out in and around Peterborough (or Pantoborough as I call it!).  I've especially made some very close friends who I know I will definitely keep in touch with.  The show still looks stunning so if you can make it to Peterborough - do come along!  Always more than happy to say hello to folk after a performance!

C.

Yesterday we had our first two previews of Aladdin and they went well considering how tired we all were!  In one of the most complicated technical rehearsals I've ever been involved with, everyone worked incredibly hard to get the show up and running.  I've had some lovely messages from people who have been to see the show and I always try to reply to them personally.  Thanks for the wonderful response!  C.

I'm now a week into rehearsals for Aladdin and it's going well.  We're bang on schedule and maybe even a little ahead.  I'm hoping to start dancing properly at the start of next week (I should add at this point that I was hospitalised last week with a poorly leg and have been on crutches ever since).  The cast are all great.  I'm living with Alex McNamara, Alex Bird and Holly Hughes in a lovely little house in a Peterborough supurb.  It's been a riot so far!  Anyway, get yourself down to The Broadway Theatre in Peterborough for a visually fantastic panto!  Never has there been so much glitter in a pantomime - and that's saying something!

Last night I was down in Peterborough to set the fireworks off at East Anglia's biggest display, the Firework Fiesta.  Despite getting DRENCHED in the monsoon-like weather it was really good fun and the celebrations weren't dampened down too much!  It was nice to be able to meet up with some cast members, too.  Anthony Williams, Brian Capron, Gareth Richards and Daniella Valvano were all just as cold as me (Aladdin costumes have a lot of flesh on show!) but spirits were high and banter was rife.  I'll be down there again on Thursday to turn on the Christmas lights in the Queensgate Shopping Centre - come on down and say hello!

What a day!  For my friend's birthday (damn you Stu!) he decided that instead of having a party, he would make us all do a 5km run for charity in Heaton Park, Manchester.  Nice.  Well, not wanting to take the easy option of just running around the course, Scott Clarke and I decided to get dressed up and do it on jump stilts!  What fun!  It took us a lot longer to get around than most people, but we must have used more energy than everyone else put together.  Shattered now but, hey, the trees of Manchester will appreciate us!  For more information on the charity go to their website.  http://www.tree-athlon.org/

Francesca Larkin, Chris Clarkson, Stuart Rooker and Scott Clarke.

Right, along with my new projects of learning two new languages (not saying which ones until I'm half-decent at them!), I have been challenged by a good friend of mine, Fiona J Keats, with whom I'm doing panto this year, to learn the ukulele BEFORE PANTO STARTS!  I begin rehearsals on 17th November so need to crack on.  Can anyone tell me where I can get a cheap, decent ukulele and also any tricks to learning how to play it.  I hate losing a challenge so I need as much help as possible!  PLEASE GET IN TOUCH!!!!!  Chris.