Ahhh, once again the sheer glamour of it all threatens to overwhelm me.  Premiere tonight, so I did what I could to ensure a decent night's sleep last night (not helped by the dress rehearsal being yesterday - we usually get a free day before each premiere, but something had gone askew in the theatre's schedule, and we had to lump it).  In vain:  I kept having to wake up to unstick my ear from the pillowcase... leftover glue from the make-up department doing their best to keep my wig in one place whatever I may be getting up to on stage.  Not that easy to get off, I tell you.  I was at the time far more worried about removing the last of the thick black line of greasepaint around my jawline, which had become ingrained and looked suspiciously like five-o'clock shadow.  Not to mention the stains left by beetroot-juice "blood" all over my neck, decolleté, legs... um, all over any bits that weren't strictly covered by the costume.  I shall try to scrub up decently for the post-premiere party but my goodness it's difficult - even if you manage to elbow your way into make-up before anyone else (I don't; I'm far too much of a sucker for the post-show bubbly on stage...) and get the wig removed, then set to with baby wipes and the special microfibre flannels we've been issued with, and dive through the shower, there are bound to be a couple of places you manage to miss; and it's all very well donning little black dress, pearls and stunning silk scarf, but if someone then tactfully whispers in your ear that you have a suspiciously green right eyebrow and your ankles appear to have developed hives, it's all in bloody vain...

Then of course there are the incidental smudges of ash from making my toi-toi cards.  I don't know why I persist in getting all excited about making these; it really isn't necessary, but I do get rather excited by the prospect of stringing something creative together, and spend time in rehearsals daydreaming about themes and colours and bits of cardboard and chocolate hippos (or similar).  I always forget that what it will boil down to is being confronted by a pile of accumulated Stuff, which has to be put together on the day of the premiere (the best-laid plans of mice and men generally fail to support me in this respect).  A few hours of sticking and cutting and swearing and tying is followed by me sitting with my tongue between my teeth and the German/English dictionary open, trying to think of witty or at least original things to say to all the wonderful people I've been working with, followed by my writing hand getting cramp halfway through because I'm so unused to writing things by hand.

Ah well, here goes.  And if anyone is wondering, there are some production pictures here, which frankly don't even start to show the messiest bits :-)