A Canterbury Tale...

Having rekindled my love for trains (not in a weird way) as part of my journey to Dublin, and on discovering there really is nowhere to leave your car in Canterbury, I parked my 106 and left the comforts of independent travel for South Eastern Trains. I’m sure I am not alone in falling into the trap “I have my car and therefore must take more than I need” but it is only practical to prepare for all eventualities, especially when one has the option. (Don’t let this persuade you that the Ryan Air Luggage Incident was justified - I had seriously condensed and must reinforce that my suitcase really wasn’t that big.) Anyway the point is, when embarking on my expedition to Canterbury, I had halved my load and felt liberated at the thought. 

I arrived on yet another sunny day and ventured off to find my digs. Now I feel I have been very lucky with accommodation so far and although having paid varied prices, have found it on the most part to be very pleasant. This week was a good example of what you can discover on arrival. Most theatres provide a digs list, on which you will find accommodation ranging from a room in someone's house to smart local hotels (which are rarely utilised and kept mainly in business by Alastair Whatley.) This week, I was in a room in someone's house. My experiences of these have been varied but mostly warm, comfortable and cheap. This week, although being very close to the theatre, and providing a fridge AND a microwave, (which is rare and very convenient) I woke up feeling like I'd smoked a pack of Marlboro Reds. For the first time, I found myself with the dilemma - do I move? You are not bound my any contract and have the freedom to move in these situations (although it's probably bad form if there's no valid reason) so I trawled through the digs list once again. There was no convenient or cheap alternative, so I stuck it out. In these situations, I guess you weigh up actually how uncomfortable it is and in this case, how close it is to the theatre - which I have discovered, is probably the top priority. I think it would have been nice (by way of the digs list) to be informed that it was a smoking household, perhaps because it was a rather severe case - smoking all day, all through the house and the final straw; Emily finding cigarette ash on the floor by her bed. It is hard to know how to approach a landlord/lady in this case as you are only there for a week and confrontation is not ideal when you just want to go back and go to bed after a show. What has come of this is that sadly I won't stay there again and won't recommend it. And for the health of my fellow actors, will request that Stage Door amend the digs list to state that it is very much a smoking household...

Once "settled" I wandered down the high street to see what Canterbury had to offer. To my delight, Patisserie Valerie had found itself a mere 30 seconds from my digs and so there I had found the perfect haven to which I could escape. Coffee, eggs and many a treat to fuel my sugar addiction...

Our social secretary for the week was none other than our star Costume Mistress, Sinead Mary Francis. Canterbury is her home turf, so we were certainly in for a treat, especially where the pubs were concerned...if ever we needed directions, she navigated by way of proximity to the nearest watering hole ;-) - too right!

The first activity was a historic boat tour down the River Stour, led my the one and only Tarquin. By the end of our week in Canterbury, Tarquin (yes that was his real name) had become a dear friend and I think it is fair to say that having left him behind, there is now a considerable void.

He talked us all through the history of the town and the origins of the sayings...

"Legging it" - When the boats came to a bridge, some local boys would be paid a small sum to come aboard, lie down with their feet in the air and run upside down along the underside of the bridge to move it along.
"Toe-rag" - Some of these boys wouldn't have shoes, so would put rags between their toes to protect them.
"Daylight Robbery" - Window Tax

Windowless house

The Marlowe Theatre - rumoured to be playing a rather good show...

Lovely ladies basking in the sun

Me. And Tarquin.

By the end of his very entertaining and knowledgeable tour, we had taken a shine to Tarquin and convinced him to come and see the show. From that point on, rarely an hour would go by without seeing him about town or hearing his name. He is omnipresent in Canterbury. Either that or it is just a rather small town. If you are ever there, you must go and see him! http://www.canterburyrivertours.co.uk

The next activity on our schedule is one never to be matched. With the sheer depth of knowledge attained and level of fear instilled, we are sure never to forget this once-in-a-lifetime experience. If you haven't guessed already, we were taken on The Canterbury Ghost Tour. It is incredible how much one man can fit into an hour and how many thrilling, nail-biting stories one man can remember and tell with such vigour, character and enthusiasm. He even interacts with you as part of the story, sorry stories, he tells...

Malcolm James as Thomas Becket, directed by....John.

To recover from this (and recovery was needed) we ventured to the Thomas Becket Pub where of course Tarquin appeared, to then sit and listen to our tales of the past hour. As a consequence, he felt we must go to another pub where they will be playing music which will drain away our angst and fear. And so it did.

All in all we had a lovely and fairly calm week in Canterbury. The theatre has very recently been refurbished and now seats up to 1,200. There is a slight echo so it took of bit of time to get used to on the first night but once we had, it was a very interesting space to play. As I have found so often on this tour, every theatre differs and has its own character that lends something to the piece. Even if two consecutive theatres are similar sizes, it is never the same show.

I will leave you with this lovely review from the Folkestone Herald.
"Stunning, compelling, powerful - if you see one play this year, make it Birdsong."

Full review here - http://www.folkestoneherald.co.uk/Review-Birdsong-Marlowe-Theatre/story-19193411-detail/story.html

X