I don't feel the usual nerves, I know my lines and everyone seems confident. We've sold 30 tickets, which means we'll be very close to selling out with people paying on the door.
The usual rituals are observed: changing into costume, a trip to the toilet and a vocal warm-up. Soon director Richard Spaul is outside The Leper Chapel explaining to the audience what will happen while we're inside, ready, waiting for him to return and join us. We're blindfolded, walking slowly, groping for the door, then we're outside, spouting our various discourses which are connected in different ways to the story.
At the signal we all remove our blindfolds and head into the chapel. The audience filter in as we form a circle, ready to begin the story. The hard work we've done over the weekend pays off. The choruses are tighter and punchier. The interjections confident. Only a very occasional line goes astray, the presence of an audience causing a surge of adrenaline which is driving everyone on.
By 9:15pm we're slow-walking towards the door for the emotional finale. We've shaved over twenty minutes off the running time by speeding up some of the scene transitions and choruses, resulting in a much more satisfying presentation.
We celebrate with an aftershow curry. Looking forward to tomorrow night...
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