Richard Armitage is at the Old Vic Theatre today where he’s participating in an annual charity event to raise funds for the arts. He’s part of a troupe of actors performing in the 24 Hour Plays. I heard about these years ago when they started on Broadway, and it’s always been my plan to go. The dynamic of these plays sounds fantastic. The goal is to write, direct, rehearse and perform six one-act plays within 24 hours. The Old Vic Theatre has a channel on YouTube, and I was able to see a little of what goes on:
I’ve always been fascinated with creativity under pressure and would love to be a fly on the wall during the preparation for these plays. It would be wonderful to watch them coming together, and of course I would love to see the finished product. For those of us who aren’t going, there is still a way for us to see something. Ali at RichardArmitageNet.Com will be providing some clips from The Culture Show, which will recap the highlights this Thursday, 11/25. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Ali.
In the meantime I will try to keep my feelings of extreme jealousy for a certain Twitter user in check. If I were in London, her ticket might not have been safe. But she soothes my terrible feelings with updates that will stave off my thirst for a while. :D
And on a related note, I LOVE the music on the 24HourPlays website. B.B. King (or someone who sounds a lot like him) is never a bad choice. Unfortunately, I think the site is just for this side of the pond. C’mon, the Brits need a site too, guys!!
edit:
Maybe a certain Twitter user will give us a report of her activities tonight. :D Stay tuned. I’ll be sure to let you know where it can be found. Good chance it will be on RichardArmitageNet.Com, so you can certainly be checking there as well.
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RAFrenzy 
I can’t wait to hear what Calexora has to say about her experience. It sounds utterly fantastic!! (And I have managed not to be TOO jealous . . . )
I agree about the whole creativity under pressure thing being fascinating. In my RL life job I have had to fly by the seat of my pants on a couple of occasions–particularly in terms of pulling material together at the last minute for our magazine–and it’s both an adrenaline rush and slightly terrifying. (I do have a slight heart problem, after all . . . LOL)
I love getting a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes creative process whenever possible, whether it’s at the wonderful Alabama Shakespeare Festival or our local students working on their latest production. So much fun!
Hooray for Ali as always. RAnet is my go-to place for the latest stuff on the Luscious One. Will look forward to those links.
Can’t go wrong with BB King or a reasonable facsimile. *grin*
If only BBC Can/BBC A televised these little events. We get Oscars and clips from various N.A. pat-your-self -on the-back ceremonies. But BAFTAs/ Old Vic??? Aaargh. And not just for seeing Mr. A, but just spreading the culture around? Oh well….
Angie, I love behind-the-scenes of production – actually thought of applying to the National Theate School in Montreal, for costume and stage design, but opted for uni. Too pragmatic. Which is why I have such admiration for Mr. A, for toughing it out. He KNEW he had what it takes to proceed in a creative environment, and did not give up. Bravo!
They have shown the movie BAFTAs on BBCA but never the television version. I don’t quite understand their programming choices sometimes . . . ah, well, that’s just me.
We had a marvelous lady who taught drama and English for many years at my alma mater who produced the most wonderful high school productions–I mean, people drove for hours to see these shows, done by high school students–and in recent years she designed Broadway-worthy costumes for our musical fundraisers for the local arts council, which is one of the best in the state, I am proud to say.
I loved going to her house and seeing the initial sketches, and the costumes being made, it was all such fun. Alas, she has moved for most of the year to live with a sister in California, but we are hoping she will come back and speak at the annual Chamber banquet. She has the most marvelous contralto speaking voice and many fascinating stories, so I hope it works out.
I agree, Mr. A had the gumption to stick with what his heart told him was the right path and never gave up (although he did consider it at one time–thank goodness that didn’t happen) through all the lean and tough times. He’s an inspiration to any creative person and an excellent role model, methinks. Not to mention a living doll *sigh* Bravo, indeed!!
Thank you for this wonderful insight in the activities of this weekend. I never heard of such an effort of doing a play in 24 hours from scratch to play.
What a magnificent idea.
Thank you for bringing London to our homes with your article and keeping us informed!
You’re welcome! My pleasure. :)
I think I would have liked going to this more than something like the Rover. Even if I never make the London shows, I would love to see it in NY.
This looks amazing. I so wish I could’ve seen these plays, especially the one with Richard Armitage and the one written by Richard Curtis. It sounds crazy scary but FUN at the same time, like a roller coaster that goes upside-down. We all need some heart palpitations from time to time and it sounds like this event provided plenty — of differing kinds — for the writers, cast and audience members alike.
It’s a variation of what we were talking about. I would LOVE to go to something like this. The one in NY was last Monday night. BUMMER!
Yep, scary, exciting fun. We all need some of that in our lives. Would love for all of us on this side of the pond to get together and go to something like that in the Big Apple–what an experience to remember!
That would be fun and completely feasible.
Well we have a blogpost to look forward to from that adorable tweetster. Last she tweeted was that she would write even tonight!
What a fun ride! I did let her know about Calexora this morning when she was getting ready. Her pix from & w/RA are totally adorable although bad lighting he looks cuter than in the Getty’s Shots. Heather has them already cleaned up of their watermark.
That’s great to know, Iz! Ah Heather, such a wizard.
Thanks for sharing this.. it is sooo interesting. I have to go to work but had to see it :)
Can’t wait to find out how it was.
Feigned Mischief has written her blog post about this Gala …er.. her sitting next to RA in the bus … it’s a fun read: http://feignedmischief.wordpress.com/2010/11/22/it-happened-one-night/
PS: he doesn’t seemed to be particularly fazed by any of the attention he gets, does he?
That was so much fun to read. And you are right, mulubinba, he honestly seems to take it all in stride so beautifully. What a charming, delightful fellow he is.
I bet she never in her wildest dreams thought she’d share a bus seat with RA!
Wow, what a wonderful evening for everyone there. It was great to follow all the tweets, especially from FeignedMischief.
The German RA fan forum also had one of their members in attendance and she’s sharing her evening, and also some more and different photos of Richard last night:
http://armitage.iphpbb3.com/forum/66380294nx22390/theater-f128/24-hour-plays-gala-old-vic-21-november-t2248-s105.html
Great that everyone is sharing with the rest of us! Thank you~
How fun is all this! I watched some of this come down on Twitter last night and it was such a treat for sure!
I thoroughly enjoyed that, and it didn’t cost me a dime.
@Musa,
Thank you! for posting that link. I’m loving these accounts!
Oh, and Mulubinba, glad to see you and thanks for posting the link.
Thanks RAF. Y’know I might consdier going to something like this if a number of you were going too. Distance could be an issue though :).
This would have been great! I wish I had understood how it was going to go down. I would have gone — for the plays as much as for RA. I adore live theater and also improv. This is a great mix of those. Maybe next year.
This was a great exercise in living vicariously–as you said, Frenz, didn’t cost a dime and yet what joy and delight I took in reading about Simone’s experiences.
It reminds me of why I love writing features so much–I can take readers to see people, places and events they can’t get to themselves and give them a slice of life.
I agree, live theater–which I fell in love with around age 10–is such a treat and improv really fascinates me. I think the whole experience apart from RA would have been wonderful. He would have been the icing (chocolate fudge, of course) on the cake.
I read recently you need to invest in experiences more than things. I think this is a prime example of that.
Thanks for posting those links! Very welcome to those who could not attend…That must have been a thrilling night. :) I like the coat Richard is wearing…Very tweedy…Kind of like a Posh Lucas North…:)
@mulubinba, thank you for posting that – missed you. Take care, love.
What a terrific evening! Richard A, Miranda, Richard Curtis, Niamh Cusack – long live BallyK! And bring back Geraldine – please?
Of course, RA can do comedy – he was hilarious in some scenes from RH3….
Thanks for the link Frenz, the whole process seems very exciting for both the scriptwriters that see what the actor ‘bring with them’ and make plays out of it and to the actors to see what the scriptwriters have come up with and do it.
Hopefully they will upload in their YT channel, the 24hourplay of this year.
OML :)
I’ve subscribed to the Old Vic YT channel – nothing yet
Holy moly, those pictures are gorgeous. *swoon* With the violin-player – ya reckon he’s got fiddle envy? :D