Ever wondered how rock stars spend their evenings when they're not thrashing out chords on a guitar? Simple really... they're at the theatre. Don't believe me? Well, the proof may not be in the puddin' but it's certainly in the Apollo.
The Apollo Theatre was certainly the place to be last night. Just ask Dave Grohl, lead singer and guitarist from the Foo Fighters. He joined the lastminute.com customers for the 'Fool For Love' Q & A night.
No doubt he was there to support his fellow rocker Juliette Lewis in her first West End role. I'm sure he'd agree - the lady of many talents sure does it well. Juliette joined co-stars Martin Henderson, Joe Duttine and Larry Lamb in a gripping new revival of Sam Shephard's classic Fool For Love. The play follows two former lovers who meet at an isolated motel on the edge of the Mojave Desert. The result is a mix of buried passions, lust, violence and cruel betrayals. No wonder the rock stars are hitting the theatre - this explosive story of obsession causes more of a stir than any tower of amplifiers.
The biggest noise however, was that of the buzzing audience. Last night was no normal night... lastminute.com customers knew they were in for a treat, and the electric excitement of the crowd zapped them in their seats. Forget Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and Big Brother's Golden tickets... the exclusive tickets to the 'third half' of the show were hot property.
As the host for the night, my rear end was perhaps the most thrill-singed of all. There's something surreal about stepping onto a stage with four top class actors; especially when you add a star-studded audience to the equasion. But, in true inquisitive spirit, the fans were quick off the mark with the questions and the cast soon found themselves directly in the firing line. And boy, you sure were a creative bunch of interrogators.
Juliette even turned the questions back on the audience, quizzing one whiskered chap about his unique accent. Pity we didn't understand his answer. Accents rang throughout the Apollo; the American twang of Juliette and her fans (did they really come all that way?), French, Australian and a faithful English contingent. Martin Henderson's New Zealander drawl and friendly demeanour put me at ease before our stint on stage... (did you know he loves to ski?).
This set the scene for a relaxed, humorous question and answer session. After a gruelling performance (there's no interval so the play has added uninterrupted intensity), the cast did an amazing job engaging with the audience. There is something refreshing about seeing stars in the flesh, rather than staring at them through the cold glass of a television screen.
As the questions kicked off, we learnt about the techniques used by writer Sam Shephard and Director Lindsay Posner and the cast's feelings about their characters and their motives. We also discussed whether it really hurts when Joe Duttine and Martin Henderson's bodies slam into a wall (you have to see it to believe it). In case you're wondering, Juliette's time off stage is spent a variety of ways; devouring a tuna salad was last night's chosen activity.
When the lights dimmed to signal the final question, I couldn't help but feel disappointed. The bright lights may have set me on the road to blindness but the mix of characters on stage were so intriguing, it would have been worth the impending darkness. As they made their way out into the night - to do whatever it is that stage Gods do after a performance, I couldn't help but feel honoured to have nabbed a chunk of their evening. I'd hazard to guess that the lucky lastminute.com customers did too.
We'll see you at the next one. Who knows who you'll bump into...
Get your 50% off Fool For Love tickets here.
For all the backstage action, check out our exclusive Fool For Love video diary.
If that rings your theatre bell, we also have video blogs for The Play's The Thing and See How They Run (the video diary of Digby the dog - the hairiest star on stage).
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