Tom Flanagan2013-05-20T12:44:06-04:00Tom Flanaganhttp://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/index.php?author=tom-flanaganCopyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc.HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Tom FlanaganGood old fashioned elbow grease.KAPUT at the Edinburgh Fringetag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.17553872012-08-08T08:55:35-04:002012-10-08T05:12:32-04:00Tom Flanaganhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-flanagan/Barry Morgan's World of Organs) picked my up in his Toyota Crown Royal Salon.
En route to Melbourne International Airport I realised I had 85kgs of planks, buckets, ladders, biscuits, rolls of paper, but only 23kg of check in luggage and no music for the show! Luckily the amazing John Thorn was busily creating his magic and with the helpful addition of today's technology, the music arrived before we did!
Barry and I made it in plenty of time, and thankfully QANTAS were so nice about the 85kgs I volunteered to entertain their check-in line. Let's hope BA are equally as generous!
36hrs hours later we arrived! Ahhhhh Edinburgh you are always so beautiful when I get here. I hit town two days before my first preview. Despite the fact I had already taken 85kgs worth of props with me, I still had around 300kgs to source and build...approximately.
The wood I needed I could only get from a hardware store in Hermiston Gait. So I caught a cab out to pick it up and the cabby was so lovely that he assured me it would fit in the cab for the return journey to Bristo Square. However, it stuck out the cab's window by about a foot, so no go!
Fortunately there was a man with a van parked right beside, watching us trying to shove this 2.5m piece of wood into a black cab. He said, 'Give me a tenna and I'll drive you in". I said, 'just gorgeous' and we were on our way.
FINALLY SHOWTIME! The first show I was very nervous, but in a good way. The kind of way that it keeps you on your toes or my case, makes you fall over them!
The space was a new space to me and in Edinburgh it's not like you get to rehearse in your space before you perform. But, if there is anything that can benefit my show, it's an obstacle. And boy, were there some obstacles in this show. I had the most spontaneous and fulfilling show straight up and it was such a nice way to kick things off!
It reminded me of how much I love being on stage and how much I'm lost in the moment of being in the world that is created for people to watch and be apart of.
KAPUT - Edinburgh Fringe Festival @ 15.05 Underbelly.]]>Edinburgh Festival - KAPUTtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.16942172012-07-23T06:55:26-04:002012-09-22T05:12:05-04:00Tom Flanaganhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-flanagan/
I am blogging to you from beside an outback Australian dirt road without a car insight, hoping to hitch a ride to Melbourne airport....
I have just spent the last two weeks rehearsing the show Captain Frodo (the incredible rubber man). I have also had the pleasure of working with John Thorn to make an original sound track for the show. So the show is polished and I'm ready to go! I had to make a quick stop however for a 2-show-only season at Lyonville Hall in outback Australia.
Lyonville is a great little Australian outback town consisting of 4 houses and one of my favourite pubs in the world, The Radio Springs Hotel, one of Australia's top 10 country pubs. Props to Ken and Jackie for one of the best sticky date puddings I've ever eaten!
All the rooms were booked out the first night so I found some different accommodation down the road... the icy morning shower was tough, but I managed- Believe it or not, it got down to minus 8 degrees! Perfect training for the cold Edinburgh nights.
I'm not sure where they all came from, but I performed to 2 over-sold houses. The town population is only around 50 and over 300 turned up. Was such a warm lovely feeling performing to country people. The group of 4-year-old boys in the front row supplied all the adults with bonus entertainment. The little country rascals were having so much fun, loudly pointing out the obvious obstacles that occurred along the way.
Now I'm ready to get back on the road from the Aussie outback to the cold hard cobble stones of Edinburgh.
Only thing is, there is no public transport out here and no phone reception. I hope someone comes past soon and doesn't mind giving me a lift to Melbourne airport with one projector, 2 saw horses, a ladder, 2planks of wood, 10 kgs of popcorn, some cream biscuits and a massive movie screen. Oooo I think I hear a car. Cya you at The Dairy room in Bristo square Edinburgh!... I hope...
]]>