#ambassadors theatre

[batnbreakfast]

For everyone, who’d like to see Catherine Tate in something sinister:

The Hodgsons had no idea what a poltergeist was when, in the summer of 1977, furniture and toys started moving of their own accord. An ordinary, working-class family, who lived in a north London council house became the centre of one of the most famous poltergeist events in the world. This is the story of one night in the spring of 1978 when events were approaching a climax.

Based on the first-hand accounts of one of the ghost hunters, The Enfield Haunting is the true story of what happened when a dedicated single mother, tries to protect her three children from something that is incomprehensible, deeply disturbing and is hurtling to a terrifying conclusion.

There’s a sale on at londontheatre.co.uk right now.

[willstafford]

Unwelcome Geist

THE ENFIELD HAUNTING Ambassadors Theatre, London, Thursday 8th February 2024 Inspired by the notorious real-life events that supposedly took place in an Enfield council house in the 1970s, this new play by Paul Unwin has had something of a mixed reception, by all accounts.  If you go in expecting a Woman in Black to show up at 2:22, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. The action plays out…

[weezarddd]

i started binge watching camp camp again for some reason??[![![!!

also yeagh i got curious and decided to attempt designing a grownup Max as a camp counselor in the future! i have 0 doubt that this is already a thing, and there’s probably a whole ass AU for it already, but i chose to go in blind!

i see him being around Gwen’s age? but maybe a lil younger idk

i probably should’ve made his facial features less squished together and maybe made his torso longer… maybe even shoulda made his head smaller, cause i think i accidentally made him look MUCH younger than i intended… oops 😭

[emcgoverns]

elizabeth mcgovern attends the ATG summer party hosted by ambassador theatre group (september 2021) | 📸: dave benett

[petricorah]

#dramatic bit hes having their portrait done via @gayhistoryperson

yess（≧∇≦）i love this interpretation

maybe it's a metaphor. maybe it's not. you can decide (wip) [id in alt]

[bdzonthareel]

The Color Purple (2023)

So I’m a theater kid not just any type of theater kid though, I am the least favorite of the general public… I am a musical geek!

I am all in on this medium, whether on stage or as an audience member; so I often get super trepidatious over movie musicals, especially adaptations. So the prospect of a remake of one of the most prolific stories in Black Culture terrified me.

I can say this was definitely an experience, so let’s get into it.

The Color Purple is the tale of Celie as she navigates the 1920s as a constantly disrespected woman of color. After being separated from her beloved sister Nettie, she has to learn how to love and stand up for herself.

Something to keep in mind is that this is more of a reimagining than a full-on remake, and your mileage may vary on that statement.

The casting is a mixed bag, my favorites were Danielle Brooks as fan favorite character, Sophia; who I feel killed it. And Fantastia Barrino reprises the role of Celie from her stent on Broadway, It’s a role near and dear to her heart and you can feel the passion in her overall performance. And H.E.R. in the role of “squeak” was delightful, she convinced me of her acting chops long before this role though. Colman Domingo brought his own level of malevolence to the role of Mister and I was impressed.

And some of the casting that made me scratch my head a bit were the likes of Corey Hawkins and Taraji P. Hanson. Neither was bad by any means, but they’re just safe choices, polished and conventionally attractive.

Speaking of head scratching, I have a lot of feelings on most of the dance choreography; it doesn’t fit the era. In a time when there were dances like the Charleston and ragtime, choreographer Fatima Robinson made the questionable choice to do contemporary dance. It breaks the immersion and I could do without it.

Director Blitz the Ambassador, who also worked on Beyonce’s “Black is King” is a master at visual storyteller, I found myself astounded by set pieces and the camerawork. I would be saddened if it didn’t receive some sort of award.

Composer Kris Bowers created some amazing music for the score, more befitting of the era than the dancing. However, the movie tries too hard to fit as many songs from the show in as possible and this works to the film's detriment at certain points. Songs like “God is trying to tell you something,” are whittled down for the sake of more elaborate numbers.

The movie is a mixed bag, I enjoyed certain aspects but a lot of it falls flat. The acting and vocal performances are solid and I couldn’t get enough of either, but I stand my view of the film’s negatives.

When it comes to musical theater to movie reimagminings , less is more and this movie added a little bit too much to the plate.

I give the Color Purple a 3 out of 5.

[k-star-holic]

'Hyoja' Lim Young-woong buys 'LA souvenir' for mother + Grandma's Boy

Source: k-star-holic.blogspot.com

[toribookworm22]

Final Thoughts On 2024

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

This year seems a bit like a dream. I wrote my first feature film starring two aromantic lesbians. I drafted the trauma play about my high school theatre experience. I found new ways to dress like myself. I got angry about things I've needed to be angry about. I served as a department ambassador at TVFest. I made some of the best little new friends. I hung out with my friends more. I got my first sports bra that actually fits me. I started a new musical. I met one of the best professors and people I've ever loved. I secretaried so many writing club meetings. I got back on pointe. I finally finished The Trials of Apollo. I wrote a dance history paper on dance as recordkeeping across different times of trial. I learned how to make scones-- and they're so good! I binged my way through animated Batman shows. I finally watched Harley Quinn! I stage managed a show! I said goodbye for now to all my graduating friends. I flew first class (so strange!). I finally visited where I was born and where my parents lived in Germany. I went back to Neuschwanstein castle! I ate so much Gelato. I spent the summer abroad in France. I lived in a silly little basement with my silly little friend. I pretty much grew attached at the hip to both some old friends and new ones alike. I traveled to Marseille, Paris (twice!), Avignon, Apt, Geneva, Colmar, Nice, and Monacco. I tried champagne at the Moulin Rouge. I fell in love with two of my friends in particular. I flew by myself. One of my scripts was chosen for a reading. I survived my first (and last) 8pm class. I ran so much! I saw The Wild Robot in theaters with my friend. I looked super cute all October. I met up with so many of my friends. My friend and I dressed up together for Halloween. (I was Bingo.) I was selected to introduce a speaker. My two best friends took me out for my birthday. My favorite professor invited me out to eat. I edited my trauma play!! My professor started reading my books! I did so much at film fest. I did one last hang out with my friends. I moved out of my apartment. I graduated college. I moved back home. I visited my friend and we went to parks in Orlando and we swapped dance cultures. I released my third novel. I had the coziest Christmas and soft season after it. I wrote a lot. I loved a lot.

And for all its ups and downs, written out like this, it really does seem like the most wonderful little dream. Thank you, 2024. Your edges were soft to me. And I felt loved.

[mercurygray]

Friends, I have failed you all. I've seen a lot of posts over the last week with a lot of great biographical detail about many of the flyers and aircrew who've been name-dropped so far in Masters of the Air - and I haven't seen a single thing about the one name that is directly in the center of this blog's lane.

In Part 2, returning from their mission to Trondheim, Cleven and Egan walk into the Interrogation hut and Egan accepts a cup of coffee from a woman he thanks as Tatty. Later on, at the dance, James Douglass remarks that he will be 'coming in hot' on one of the American Red Cross women on the other side of the room, and one of his friends asks "General Spaatz's daughter? Or the other one?"

Katherine "Tatty" Spaatz was a member of the American Red Cross Clubmobile service and the daughter of General Carl "Tooey" Spaatz, who commanded the Eighth Air Force on its move to England. (General Spaatz later moved to overall command of the entire Army Air Forces in the Europe Theatre of Operations, or ETO. He is, as the kids say, rather important.)

But we're not talking about him here. We're talking about her.

Katherine was 22 years old when she arrived in Europe with the Red Cross. (One of her traveling companions that trip was Kathleen Kennedy, daughter of former U.S. Ambassador Joseph P Kennedy Sr., also coming to serve overseas with the ARC.)

The American Red Cross's mission in Europe had many facets during the Second World War - in addition to activities we might think of today, like collecting blood, providing disaster relief at home and running first aid seminars, they were responsible for collecting and distributing packages for Prisoners of War.

They also operated large canteens like the Rainbow Corner club, a recreational facility in London where soldiers on leave could get a room for the weekend, a bite to eat, and a number of other amenities. Smaller clubs called Donut Dugouts provided a space where a serviceman could always be assured of a cup of hot coffee, a donut, and a pretty girl to talk to, specially recruited for being friendly, fair, approachable, and specially trained to be the girl next door overseas. In addition to these more permanent installations, they also operated the Clubmobile service, a mobile version of their popular Dugouts that moved operations into retooled Green Line Bus Company buses to take donuts and a taste of home to the front line.

Tatty, as she was called, worked on the Clubmobile "North Dakota" along with Julia "Dooley" Townsend, Virginia "Ginny" Sherwood, and Dorothy "Mike" Myrick. Life Magazine did a full article on their clubmobile in February of 1943, which you can read online at the link. There is another lovely blog post with pictures here. She also worked for a time in a more permanent post at the USAAF base at Snetterton Heath, and was later sent to France. You can read a little bit more about her and see more pictures at her bio page at the American Air Museum in Britain website.

If you'd like more information about Tatty, Helen, and women like them, as well as the Clubmobile service, consider reading the following:

Slinging Doughnuts for the Boys by James H. Madison Battlestars & Doughnuts: World War II Clubmobile Experiences of Mary Metcalfe Rexford War through the Hole of a Donut, by Angela Petesch Goodnight, Irene (fiction) - Although this is a novel, it is based on Luis Alberto Urrea's mother's time as a Clubmobile worker and her personal papers.

[cumberbatchcom]

Benedict is the new ambassador of KOKO Foundation, a charity based in the UK and part of the KOKO Theatre in Camden, focused on environmental issues and providing opportunities for disadvantaged young people in the creative field.

Benedict's the new global ambassador for environmental advocacy.

"I am honoured to be a KOKO Foundation Ambassador with a special focus on the environment. It’s been so inspiring to witness first-hand, the amazing impact that the Foundation has quietly had over the past few years, making real and lasting change in Camden. I’m excited, inspired and committed to help bring awareness to the special work being done and continue to help improve the local area and scale the foundations work around the country, and the world.” - BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH.

"The foundation was born out of a desire to create something really special, to contribute to the community that KOKO is a part of; its environment, young people, and the next generation of essential artists. I have deeply moved by the impact our initiatives are already making, and it's a privilege to lead our Foundation on this next journey. I am beyond grateful for Benedict’s integrity and authenticity, he's incredibly inspiring and having him on board to help amplify our work is a true honour“ - SOPHIA PASETTI (CEO of KOKO Foundation)

To celebrate their partnership, KOKO Foundation is partnering with Letters Live to host a special fundraising edition “A Night In The Theatre���, on Thursday 7th November at KOKO.

Benedict Cumberbatch is already confirmed to attend.

[mikashisus]

GET HIM BACK — wasted bitches!

YN — 19. creative writing major. excessively burnt out. big earthcore and goblincore girlie. has plants on her windowsill and her entire dorm is cottagecore themed. vice president of the theatre club. roommates with kuni and sethos, who she's known since childhood. works in admissions as an ambassador.

MUALANI — 19. business major. knows literally almost everyone on campus, it's kinda terrifying. co-captain of the girls volleyball club. captain of the surfing club. involved with four other clubs that she's the vice president for. loves talking with people and very lively. also works in admissions as an ambassador. tour groups absolutely adore her.

XILONEN — 21. engineering major. captain of the girls soccer club. captain of the girls volleyball club. likes to be involved with sports, but doesn't like socializing all that much. a part of the dance club for funsies. loves to party and dragging her friends out to parties. has a high tolerance. high half the time. met yn in middle school.

LUMINE — 18. psychology major. burnt out 24/7. always too busy working on assignments to go out to parties, but tries her best to go to club meetings and fun events on campus. when she does get to go to a party, she gets shitfaced and then complains about having to go to class with a hangover the next day.

KUNI — 19. history major. has a love/hate relationship with his major. dating sethos. one of yn's childhood best friends. owns a black cat named sharkie but he endearingly calls him 'fuckface'. president of the alternative music appreciation club. was coerced (forced) to join the theatre club.

SETHOS — 19. communications major. another person who works in admissions. very much a people-person, and loves talking with anyone and everyone. not really involved with any clubs, but he has considered joining the theatre club because yn begged him to. dating kuni. loves going to parties with xilonen.

masterlist

[citizenscreen]

Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap,” opened at the Ambassadors Theatre in London #OnThisDay in 1952 and became the longest continuously running play in history.

[jbaileyfansite]

Interview with British Vogue (2025)

Jonathan Bailey has always flatly refused to pose topless on a shoot. For Vogue, he relented. How come? “There was this pair of Loewe trousers and I thought, ‘Fucking hell, what an incredible silhouette.’ No one suggested it, I just knew it was right.” He pauses. “But please don’t mention I said I’m always asked to take my top off.” I plead with him. “OK,” he replies. “It’s the truth.”

But why all the prudishness? Didn’t he reveal his naked bum in season one of Netflix’s phenomenally successful Regency romp, Bridgerton? It was quite the performance, I say. Has it been nominated for any awards? “Not yet,” he replies, rolling his eyes.

We are lounging on a velvet sofa in an anteroom at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, the location a nod to the Brit’s imminent, post-stratosphere-hitting return to the West End. He was last on the London stage in 2022, in Mike Bartlett’s Cock at the Ambassadors Theatre, already a star, and yet the 36-year-old’s wattage has continued to grow and grow. Any attempt on my part to observe him dispassionately disappears quickly. His dark-haired and unshaven beauty is too intoxicating, as is his style. He is male-model catwalk-ready in pale blue Levi’s, an ivory Sunspel rib-knit short-sleeved polo shirt, off-white slip-on suede Birkenstocks and beige socks. M&S? “Uniqlo – they’re my favourite holey socks,” he answers, raising a tanned, muscular arm (an Omega De Ville watch dangles from his wrist) to scratch his head. His biceps look like they’ve done time in the gym. “I did that on purpose so you’d notice,” he says cheekily. “I’ve got real gunnage.”

Bailey has managed to achieve what was once thought impossible in Hollywood. He is among a new guard of out actors to be lusted over by men and women (the latter tag him their “internet boyfriend”) while also evading falling into a gender pigeonhole, snagging roles of every persuasion. Tragedy, comedy, singing, dancing, stage, big screen, small screen, fashion week, fan mobbings… he can do it all. Scarlett Johansson, his costar in next year’s looming instalment of the Jurassic Park franchise, recently gushed on the red carpet: “I adore absolutely every single thing about that man.”

Bailey, who despite a tightly honed skill set never attended drama school, has been acting since the age of seven, when he was scouted by the Royal Shakespeare Company to star in its production of A Christmas Carol at the Barbican Theatre. But it was in 2020 that he became swarmed-in-the-streets famous, following his performance as Lord Anthony Bridgerton (the second series, in which his character, a viscount, took centre stage, became the most-watched English language series on Netflix). Hollywood beckoned. Now, he’s riding a wave of Wicked mania, his career having been taken to a whole new level thanks to his turn as the fleet-footed, high note-hitting, dashing male lead, Fiyero, opposite Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in the big-screen musical, not to mention the accompanying press tour to end all press tours. Next year, he’ll go on to star in the aforementioned Jurassic World Rebirth. True blockbuster fare.

Theatre, though, has been his foundation. A run of television hits (he has starred on the small screen in W1A, Bramwell, Broadchurch, Heartstopper, Fellow Travelers and Leonardo, among others) has been built from, and woven through with, a long career on stage – notable roles in the past decade, aside from Cock, include Company, King Lear, The York Realist and Othello. He has a shelf full of shiny hardware, with awards including an Olivier for best actor in a supporting role in a musical, for playing panicked groom-to-be Jamie in Marianne Elliott’s 2018 production of Stephen Sondheim’s Company, and a Critics Choice Award for best supporting actor in a limited series or movie made for television in Fellow Travelers earlier this year. On balance, he loves the protection of being on stage – how immersive it feels, how he feeds off the reactions of an audience. “There’s security in the theatre community,” he says.

And so, he is ready to make a return to live performance. His next role feels like a career zenith. In February, he will appear as Richard II in director Nicholas Hytner’s production at the Bridge Theatre. It is his most high-profile Shakespearean role to date, his second with Hytner, who first cast him as Cassio in Othello at the National Theatre in 2013. “People talk about fame and Bridgerton, but the one moment where I really thought I’d made it was when Nicholas cast me as Cassio 10 years ago,” says Bailey. “He gave me the biggest break. He’s been an incredible mentor. With Richard II, I am returning not just to a play, but to a theatre director. He’s seen me freak out in the rehearsal room. He’s seen me sobbing.”

On Bailey’s far-reaching talent, Hytner tells me: “Jonny is eloquent, mercurial, intelligent and transparent.” The star director is giving little away ahead of the production, only to comment it will reveal: “a feudal world on the cusp of modernity”. He recalls: “As Cassio in Othello – and later as Edgar to Ian McKellen’s King Lear, which I didn’t direct – he had the rare ability to speak Shakespeare as if it’s his first language. His imagination is vivid enough to put himself directly in the position of characters… It becomes completely natural in his hands.” Doubtless he will lean heavily on Bailey’s gifts for precision wit, dark charm and petulance for the flawed, weak Richard. “What do you do when a ruler is absolutely inadequate?” Hytner wonders. “How do you get rid of the rightful leader?”

In person, Bailey’s flair is plain as day. He’s not just stylish – he is friends with Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson, who dressed him for 2024’s Met Gala (and whom he designed a T-shirt with for the LGBTQ+ initiative he recently founded, The Shameless Fund), has worn Givenchy on the red carpet and modelled Emporio Armani eyewear in its latest campaign – but also intoxicatingly charismatic. He laughs readily and expansively, gesticulating often, occasionally jumping up like a young Rudolf Nureyev about to leap, before crashing back down and curling his legs underneath him. The writer and actor Phoebe Waller-Bridge, whom he costarred with in her 2016 miniseries Crashing (a precursor to Fleabag), once described him as “a meteorite of fun”. I can see why.

“There’s a big wonderful tribe of friends in London to which we both belong,” longtime friend and actor Andrew Scott tells me. “As well as being the most charismatic and gifted performer, he’s always struck me as someone who adores and prioritises his friends and family and loved ones. That counts for so much in my book. It’s so wonderful to watch Jonny soar.”

So too is he eloquent and honest, especially when we veer to the more personal, such as what it was like growing up questioning his sexuality and how he only came out as gay to his family and close friends in his early 20s. Did he have a sense of his sexuality from a young age? He indicates it was more of a gradual realisation, mentioning how he went out with a girl for two years in his early 20s. “It’s interesting with the binary,” he says, “where you’re perceived to be either this or that. That’s how I saw it at the time, but there are so many nuances to it. My experience of that relationship was not that I was in the shadows. She remains one of my best friends.”

“I think other people understood my sexuality before I was even aware of it,” he continues. As a young boy, he remembers rummaging through the family’s dressing-up box, jumping around and being flamboyant, and entertaining his grannies by singing and dancing whenever he stayed with them. He sounds like Billy Elliot. “A bit, but really Shirley Temple, if I’m honest.” He credits his parents with encouraging him to take up ballet. “I remember looking through the window at these girls at school in their tutus. They were doing, like, first position, second position, and I knew I just wanted to be in there.”

One night at a sleepover with primary school friends he remembers excitedly asking them: “‘Guys, guys, who else thinks they’re gay? Do you? I do. I do.’ It was a conversation I really, really wanted to have, to see if everyone else was on the same page,” he says. “But everyone went quiet.” Then a teacher called him out in front of the whole class. “I was having trouble with my work and he said, ‘Well, if you weren’t so busy being a fairy you’d understand.’”

More recently, and in addition to his work with The Shameless Fund, he became a patron for the charity Just Like Us, which aims to ensure young LGBTQ+ people in school and beyond can thrive. He is keenly aware of the challenges that still exist, even in the everyday. “I’ve always been a confident hand-holder in relationships,” he says. “I had a boyfriend who wasn’t experienced at holding hands in public. We got heckled in London. But that kind of behaviour is now outweighed by the smiles you get.” Is he currently in a relationship? “Not discussing that,” he answers, sharply.

We talk instead about how he deals with the nature of fame. “It felt quite hard-hitting after Bridgerton came out,” he says. “I really struggled initially; I was overwhelmed by it. But the people in your life have to adapt too. That’s the hardest thing: you see them struggling before you see it in yourself, someone pushing past your dear mum and dad to get a picture. I’m really good now at saying no to photos.” Does he think he might become too big for his boots? “Let’s see,” he says. “It would be good if you could keep your eye on me as we go through the next few years, tell me if I’m doing well or I’ve fallen down the [fame] hole.”

Friends like Andrew Scott will no doubt help keep him grounded. “The search for us to be in the right thing together is on,” says Scott. “Bert and Ernie the movie is the frontrunner, it just depends on who’s willing to shave off their eyebrows.”

Bailey was brought up in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, along with three older sisters, and later attended The Oratory School. His mother was an audiologist and his father, a one-time DJ who played in Sloopy’s, a ’70s nightclub just off Piccadilly Circus, would go on to become the managing director of Rowse Honey. “Every time I see an easy-squeezy bottle of honey I think my dad was an absolute legend.”

He was five when his grandmother took him to see Oliver! in the West End. He knew at that moment he had found his calling. His first acting role was at school, where he played a raindrop in Noah’s Ark. A year after starring in A Christmas Carol at the Barbican, he landed the role of Gavroche in the West End production of Les Misérables.

In 2017, he appeared in King Lear at the Chichester Festival Theatre, as Edgar, opposite McKellen in the title role. “We had amazing conversations,” he says of his costar. “I was like: ‘Tell me everything. Tell me what it was like back in the day.’ I assumed everyone would have been happily expressing themselves, fucking in the wings, all the things you’d hoped. And he said, ‘No, no. No one knew, not even in the most creative pockets.’”

But liberation can be found on stage too. Cock, as its title suggests, focused on some of the thornier realities of gay romance and proved life-changing for Bailey. “I was able to mine and explore and have this experience on stage which felt like everything I would want for my life. It was all about a boy coming out and falling in love at school, and somehow by experiencing it within someone else’s story, you can dress-rehearse your own life.”

We discuss his most recently released film, Wicked (a two-part adaptation of the hit musical, the second instalment of which will drop towards the end of 2025). “What did you think of it? Did you like it?” he asks nervously. I tell him I’m not usually a fan of musicals, but it took me by surprise and I found it emotionally touching. He breathes a sigh of relief. “Isn’t it lovely, isn’t it special, isn’t it actually!” he says, bouncing on his knees like an excitable teenager. “You’re the first person I’ve spoken to who’s seen it. When I watched it, I sobbed. I think it’s a masterpiece.”

For now, having just finished filming the latest season of Bridgerton, he’s finally taking a break. “Everything else is on pause until Richard II opens.” He admits finding it difficult going between roles and his everyday life in Brighton, where he moved in 2020 so he could be close both to the sea, which he loves, and his mother’s side of the family who live there. “It can be a hard, cold transition, so I get back to friends as soon as possible or I go travelling. I love Salento in Italy – I try and go every year.” Is he tempted to move to the US? “No. That’s a hard no,” he says. “I love New York theatre, so maybe, but it would be led by work.”

He says that, more than anything, he yearns for quiet. He spends time in nature, either walking, paddleboarding or mountaineering (in 2018, he hiked to Everest base camp and a year later climbed Ben Nevis, Snowdon and Scafell Pike in 24 hours in aid of a motor neurone disease charity), as well as cold-swimming in the sea and cycling (he has competed in marathons and triathlons). He likes the calm those activities bring him but always takes his noise-cancelling headphones wherever he goes. “I feel naked if I forget them.” What does he listen to? “I go through phases, most recently ’60s and ’70s California rock, and The Beatles.” But surely he parties too? “I love a dirty martini,” he says. “The dirtier the better. But really I’m obsessed with breakfast, especially oats. Sometimes I make my own granola. I just love a seed.”

While he might not tell me if he’s in a relationship, he is surprisingly candid when I ask him if he wants children. “Yes, it’s such a privilege for a man,” he says. “But I can’t bring children into my lifestyle now.” Because he is so busy? “Yes,” he answers. I tell him it’s never a good time. “I want to make sure I’m going to be present. I’m reading books on adoption. I might coparent with a woman, but I’m thinking it will be with a man.”

Just as we’re about to say goodbye, he squeals, holding up his phone. “Andrew Scott has just texted me! He calls me ‘J-Bads’. I told him I was doing a Vogue shoot, with the total self-awareness of what that sounds like.” He slips on his Birkenstocks. “You know I’ve got them in Parma violet too,” he says, as he slinks out of the door, headphones on.

Source

[ortofosforico]

If different vampire worlds were connected and we didn't know just because they don't like eachother part 2.

Part one

Part 3, Nadja.

The Vampire Viago Von Dorna Schmarten Scheden Heimburg.

Your maker? Ya, I met the Vampire Armand in 1845. I was a young 200 something vampire full of hope and juvenile disillusionment, and I wanted to be a star. I auditioned at the Theatre des Vampires as a musician and he, Armand, said to me and I quote "I didn't know there was a way to put a face to mediocre music, Viago. Thank you for the inspiring glimpse of what my troupe would sound like if they were performing for pennies and fighting the rats living under the bridges of the Seine for a place to sleep."

It was quite embarrassing to go back to my coven in Germany after I'd told them to get fucked. He's been trying to get a spot in the vampiric council as ambassador for Dubai for the last ten years or so... guess I should consider it, bury the hatchet like the responsible 389 year old vampire I am.

Not in Dubai anymore you say? Oh... Oh that is quite the news. No Daniel this is my normal smile, nothing devious whatsoever about it. Now excuse me, I have to make a call. No not through the ether, through the Skype.

[fdelopera]

Welcome to the 19th installment of 15 Weeks of Phantom, where I post all 68 sections of Le Fantôme de l’Opéra, as they were first printed in Le Gaulois newspaper 115 yeas ago.

In today’s installment, we have Part III of Chapter 8, “Où MM. Firmin Richard et Armand Moncharmin ont l’audace de faire représenter « Faust » dans une salle « maudite » et de l’effroyable événement qui en résulta” (“Where MM. Firmin Richard and Armand Moncharmin Have the Audacity to Have ‘Faust’ Performed in a ‘Cursed’ House and the Horrifying Event Which Thereby Ensued”).

This section was first printed on Friday, 22 October, 1909.

For anyone following along in David Coward's translation of the First Edition of Phantom of the Opera (either in paperback, or Kindle, or from another vendor -- the ISBN-13 is: 978-0199694570), the text starts in Chapter 8 at, “Moncharmin, ever a man for a joke, said, ‘Actually, quite a good house for a theatre which has a curse on it!'” and goes to Chapter 8, “But a few, who seemed slightly better informed, agreed that 'they'd kick up a storm' at the start of the ballad of the King of Thule, and hurried off to the subscribers' door to tell La Carlotta.”

Please note, however, that a large portion of this section was omitted from Leroux’s First Edition.

There are some significant differences between the Gaulois text and the First Edition. In this section, these include (highlighted in red above):

1) This section in the Gaulois was sadly cut from the First Edition:

The Persian was a living enigma who was beginning to annoy Paris. He spoke to no one. He never smiled. He seemed to love music since he attended all of the musical productions, and yet he was not enthusiastic, he did not applaud, and he never became impassioned.

Here is how M. A.D…, a former journalist who had been the Opéra’s secretary, spoke of the Persian:* “For many years, he has been sneaking his way through our Parisian lives, always alone, always silent, but loving and seeking out the crowds, displaying in broad daylight and by lamplight a stone-faced countenance and a slightly hesitant gait, and well, appearing at every performance with his perpetual attire, a Persian hat and a great, black houppelande coat,** in the sleeves of which he continuously wrings his unceasingly nervous hands.”

That evening, like every evening, our Persian was thus dressed in Persian attire; but the new Ambassador of Persia himself was dressed in the latest Parisian fashion, and there was nothing surprising about this, since he had come directly from London.

The seat occupied by the Persian was located right below the Ambassador’s box. At the close of the curtain, the Persian rose and remained standing, turning his back to the box. But certainly he would soon turn around, and the Ambassador would see him. What would he do? Would he recognize him? Was there even anyone in Persia who knew the Persian? There were those who said that he was a very important figure; well, they were going to see!

They saw nothing at all. M. Moncharmin relates in his Memoirs that the Persian appeared before the Ambassador of Persia without even acknowledging him and that there was in the demeanor of the former more aloofness and quiet disdain than usual. In this regard, M. Moncharmin writes that the Persian was one of the most handsome men that one could see, “of average height, with even features, an expressive and masculine face etched with a profound melancholy, with black eyes*** that are intense and sad, a jet black beard, and an amber colored complexion made golden by the sunlight of the Orient.” M. Moncharmin recounts that when the public’s attention turned to the Persian, one heard in the house the discrete sound of rattling keys. The spectators were wary of the “evil eye.” And he says nothing more about that incident.

When the Managers were once again alone in their box, M. Moncharmin said to M. Richard, still with a light-hearted air: (this is where the First Edition picks back up)

*NOTE: As revealed by Raj Shah in his article, “No Ordinary Skeleton" (read more about his research here), "M. A.D…" was M. Adolphe Dupeuty. He described a real incident which happened at the old Opéra Le Peletier in 1857, in which the Persian Ambassador attended a performance at which the "Persian" (Mohammed Ismaël Khan) was also present. This article was published in "La Vie parisienne à travers le XIXe siècle: Paris de 1800 à 1900 d’après les estampes et les mémoires du temps,” edited by Charles Simond.

In his “factional” style (fact+fiction), Leroux “borrowed” heavily from this article in writing his fictional account of the Persian and the Persian Ambassador. The quote from “M. A.D.” was taken verbatim from Dupeuty’s article.

**NOTE: This image below possibly depicts the outfit that Dupeuty was describing, and that Leroux copied into Le Fantôme de l'Opéra (Leroux described the Persian wearing a houppelande and an Astrakhan cap in his narrative).

This image is from Les Célébrités de la rue, by Charles Yriarte, published in 1864, a book that listed notable figures in Paris in the early to mid 1800s. It was published seven years after the incident described in Dupeuty's article, and so is reasonably contemporary with his account. It was also published during Mohammed Ismaël Khan's lifetime, as M. Khan passed away in 1868.

It is worth noting that the Opera House that M. Khan frequented was the Salle Le Peletier, which was destroyed in a fire in 1873 (five years after M. Khan's death). Two years later in 1875, the Paris Opera was moved to the newly opened Palais Garnier (aka Erik's Opera House). So, M. Khan never actually frequented the Palais Garnier, contrary to what Leroux depicts in Le Fantôme de l'Opéra.

***NOTE: Throughout the rest of the narrative, the Persian’s eyes are described as being “jade” rather than black. This was a case of internal inconsistency. In the Gaulois text of the chapter, "The Vicomte and the Persian" (as well as in the First Edition), Leroux described that the Persian had ebony skin and jade-green eyes (instead of bronze-colored skin and black eyes).

It is also worthy of note that the Persian as a character is an example of Lerouxian trope subversion. The Daroga is a foreigner and an outcast. The Parisian operagoers make no attempt at hiding their prejudice against him. And yet he is one of the heroes of Leroux’s novel, and he puts his life on the line to save the very Tout-Paris who rattle their keychains at him.

2) This sentence was cut from the First Edition:

Yes, this was the appointed replacement for the old madwoman, and with her in place, they would see if Box 5 continued to cause a sensation.

3) These paragraphs were cut from the First Edition:

None of the sounds of the sort that are heard at séances and which, as everyone knows, are generally attributed to interference from the beyond, resounded against or within the partition walls, the ceiling, or the floor; the chair upon which Richard was sitting behaved itself in the most admirable way possible, and the voice, the notorious voice, still remained silent.

The Managers were busy noting this, when the door of their box was abruptly flung open by the panic-stricken stage manager.

4) This sentence was cut from the First Edition:

They would see to this in a little while.

5) Sadly, this section in the Gaulois was cut from the First Edition, and replaced with a brief summary:

At this time, MM. Moncharmin and Richard descended from their box. The wings were already overrun. Having arrived on the stage, they headed immediately to the right, towards La Carlotta’s dressing room, whose windows overlooked the administrative courtyard. They then ran into La Sorelli, who was rushing to see the Comte de Chagny before he returned to his box.

They gestured to her, which she understood, for she straightaway left the Comte and came over to the two Managers who begged her to discretely ask the Comte about what might be the basis of the rumors of a cabal organized against La Carlotta.

While they awaited La Sorelli’s reply, they entered La Carlotta’s dressing room. The room was full of friends and comrades, and high above all the various conversations, one could hear the singer’s voice, which proclaimed a thousand threats against La Daaé.

Of Spanish origin, La Carlotta had retained an accent of a very particular flavor, and when some excessive emotion, like anger, hurried her speech, she expressed herself in such a way that it was difficult for those listening to refrain from smiling. And so despite the gravity of the situation, there were many smiles that evening in La Carlotta’s dressing room.

The two Managers approached the singer, who was in the process of placing upon her magnificent tresses, blacker than the night, another no less magnificent coiffure, paler blonde than the dawn’s first light. It was the wig with two thick plaits worn by the gentle Marguerite. The twinkling of La Carlotta’s jet black eyes stood out even more within this golden frame. She rose when she saw “these gentlemen,” and placing a hand upon her heart, she professed her sincerest feelings to the new management so passionately that certainly MM. Moncharmin and Richard would have been moved to tears if they had been able to understand a word of that astounding gibberish. Finally, she handed them a piece of paper whose writing in red ink had the effect of thoroughly commanding the interest of the two Managers. They had no difficulty recognizing it.

6) Minor differences in punctuation and capitalization.

Click here to see the entire edition of Le Gaulois from 22 October, 1909. This link brings you to page 3 of the newspaper — Le Fantôme is at the bottom of the page in the feuilleton section. Click on the arrow buttons at the bottom of the screen to turn the pages of the newspaper, and click on the Zoom button at the bottom left to magnify the text.

[elennemigo]

31 (August. I thought this one was on sept 1st by I was wrong so here it is.)

★ Benedict arrived at the Venice Film Festival.

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★ Benedict attended Miu Miu Women’s Tales event in Venice. x x

★ He also assisted to the Aston Martin Vanquish launch event in Venice. Gallery / clips (my post)

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★ Benedict´s toast and speech during a special gala for Sophie´s Salt of the Earth film. (more here)

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★New Benedict pic.

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★ National Theatre Live announced their plays will come to Latin America (and Spain) with Spanish subtitles. Including Hamlet and Frankestein.

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★ Benedict and Sophie attended a dinner event to celebrate Naomi Campbell.

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★ Benedict and Sophie participated in the Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit. (my post)

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★ Benedict and Sophie Hunter attended an event at the British Embassy in NYC, during the United Nations General Assembly Week. (video and pics x, x)

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★ Benedict became ambassador for the KOKO Foundation.

★ And he will be attending a special fundraising edition of Letters Live.

✧ ── ⋅ FIN ⋅ ── ✧