Our Q&A with Richard Schiff last week went down a storm with our lovely customers, with about 150 people staying behind after the show to chat to the ex-West Wing actor, turned West End star.
For about 40 minutes Richard answered questions about the play and told us how different it is, playing to a British audience, than it is to playing in the States. He mentioned how quiet we are. Can you believe that? Quite obviously he hasn't spent much time standing outside McDonalds on Oxford Street at 2am on a Saturday night. That would change his ideas about quiet Brits.
Richard told us that on his first preview of the show in the States, after just a couple of lines, a person in the front row shouted 'Speak Up!' - which made him pretty nervous. Well, it would hardly fill a person with confidence on their first night to have a personal heckler in the audience, would it? We're pleased to report the volume levels have been fully checked and are quite fine for the current production of Underneath the Lintel.
Towards the end there were a few questions about West Wing. As you can imagine, Richard had a fair few stories to tell - one being about a visit to meet the (real) president - President Clinton. He was walking beside him in a procession, where people were waving their flags and shouting for Clinton's attention and Richard couldn't help turn round to the president and tell him that it all felt like an episode from the West Wing. Very surreal. We can imagine. Well, actually, we can't. Must be nice having presidential fans. It'd be a bit like Tony Blair coming up to our office and offering to make us all a cup of tea, forgetting the biscuits, and us saying, wow Tony, that's awfully nice of you, making the tea,... but forgetting the biscuits sort of feels like when you offered me a free education and National Health Service and somehow, I'm still going to be in debt to my country until I the day I die. Oh well. Might be different in America.
Anyway, the evening went very well and Richard was very relaxed - so much so that when leaving, he left with the audience, through the stalls and out to the front of the theatre, signing programmes for everyone. Aaah it's nice to know the presidential fanbase hasn't gone to his head.
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