We spent a Weekend at Hareford. We did the Lambeth Walk. And we wowed a packed Palladium. The Evening Standard said: Such was the urgency, enthusiasm and talent that this production managed to inject new life into Stephen Fry and Mike Ockrent’s 1984 revision of a 71-year-old warhorse.

Me and My Girl went down a storm and so it only seemed fair that after a jam-packed, crazy 48 hours of structured mayhem, we all trundled down Oxford Street to have a bally old knees-up and several glasses of wine to celebrate. New friends danced the night away and the energy was electric. And here is the evidence:

Showtime’s nearly here… Well, in just under seven hours…

It’s 1am now on the morning of Sunday 26 October. Saturday’s rehearsals started at 8am yesterday. Eyebrow team met at 7am. Rehearsals finished at 11pm.

Showtime supporter Dame Judi Dench says of the process: ‘There’s no time for fright, there’s no time for nerves.’

I’ll add in that there’s no time to write, and no time to sleep. Sorry for not adding more of an update, but it’s insane!

This evening we had the dress rehearsal. Yes, the dress after only 24 hours of rehearsing. All I can say is, if that much can be accomplished in just one day, not only must we have the most talented, most wonderful, most enthusiastic cast in the world, but that really, anything is possible when everyone is focused on working together for the bigger picture.

Of course, it needs tweaking, of course scenes will be worked on tomorrow, of course props will still need to be obtained, but honestly, and I’m not just saying this because I’m biased (far from it, I’m a severe critic), the dress rehearsal was an incredible promise of what is to come for the show.

The weekend has not been without it’s mishaps - we lost half an hour at the start when the building’s doors decided to automatically lock. Subsequently, the company management team went into overdrive as they tried to get doors open and find rehearsal space outside of rooms, not to mention keep a firm eye on where every member of the cast and team were - and we’re talking more than 150 people here in total.

A very generous sponsorship from Red Bull in the form of literally hundreds of can of beverages meant the cast were wide awake, thankfully, and raring to go when the rehearsals finally kicked off.

At any one point there would be three choreography sessions, several acting rooms, an orchestra rehearsal, singing groups, a singing surgery for those wishing to get some additional vocal support, a costume, hair and make-up room ready to deal with an influx of cast members, an Eyebrow room HQ where organisation, team meetings and producing were going on, lighting design plotting and set assembling, not to mention many, many, many more activities.

Tomorrow we move into the London Palladium for the first time. This means all props, costumes, set and instruments must be brought over from our rehearsal venue at King’s College, London on the Strand at 7am and while we’re doing that there, at the theatre, all dressing rooms will be allocated. The cast meet at 8am for notes of the dress rehearsal, and kick off rehearsals at 9am. A large amount of the cast will also travel to Covent Garden to perform in the Piazza around midday to do a special performance - meanwhile at the theatre the tech run will be on its way. There’s lots to do and we’re not yet there - but Showtime Challenge 3’s production of Me and My Girl looks set to be the most spectacular event yet.

I’d like to thank all those involved in the run-up to the show over the past 18 months, and to all those behind the scenes who have prepared so efficiently for such a challenge.

And on behalf of all of Eyebrow, I’d like to wish the cast the very best show possible, and thank them for the extraordinary amount of work they have put in. You have already made us proud, guys.

See you at the after-party! xxx

Oh. Boy.

So, who on earth thought this 48 hour rehearsal thing was a good idea?!

It’s been an insane week - well, insane month - no, wait, insane year - for most people involved in Me and My Girl. It’s a strange feeling when suddenly a year’s worth of work catches up with you and all points to just one night. The expectation, the excitement, the passion is immense. 

From a producing perspective, it’s a strange thing - all the planning, marketing, advertising, press, cast liaison etc doesn’t quite stop over the weekend, but to a degree you’re left to watch what goes on - surrender an element of control - and see theatre at its best, by watching director and actor turn songs and words on a page into something real. For a project like this, when the cast have never worked together on the show until now - for this jam-packed 48 hour rehearsal period - the energy will be electric. Excuse the lame pun, but there will be no time for leaning against the wall, huffing and puffing out of boredom, frustration or having a diva-ish moment - there just isn’t time. It is all hands of deck - from every single cast member knowing their lines and where they should be to every member of Eyebrow utilising every moment to help make things run smoothly. We have to help each other. If the director, John, wants a coffee pronto, I might just get it for him (as long as he’s nice…).

It’s going to be tough for John and his directing team, Kat, Kate, Jules, Alex and Mel, the musical director Leigh and AMD Joe, and choreographers Lou, Racky, Seb and George - they’ll barely have a free moment to sleep  over the weekend - I’ve seen the schedule, it’s a formidable piece of Excel artistry. Not to mention that Sheara has to costume every single actor, too, and consult on hair and make-up.

While most of the weekend has been planned for, there are always things that suddenly crop up. I don’t know what they’ll be - I hope it’s nothing bad, but I’ll keep you posted on the process.

One thing I’ve noticed, and I wonder if it’s a sign of these credit crunch times, is that it’s tough to sell out a venue like the awe-inspiring Palladium. If you’re reading this, but haven’t got your ticket, please, please do! There are some still left, and everything goes to the Anthony Nolan Trust. So go on, do something fun on Sunday night - see Me and My Girl.

Right, as there’ll be no sleep over the weekend I should probably get some now. But for some reason, (though I can probably think of a few), I can’t sleep and opted to write this over cleaning my kitchen floor (which I might still do). I’m listening to Elvis on the radio. Which has nothing to do with anything, but I’m enjoying it. I’ll get told this is a random way to end a blog entry, but I’m going to do it anyway.

Will write more tomorrow. x

It’s 3:10am. Amy, Joe and I are sat around the computer putting the final touches to the Me and My Girl programme before it has to go to print. We feel bizarrely awake even though we know that there is still quite a bit to do before we are allowed to head to our beds.

I think part of our enthusiasm is due to the fabulous time we all had over the weekend in Covent Garden with some 80 members of the Showtime cast and the fact that we keep bursting into songs from the repertoire and humming the same lines from Till We Reach That Day over and over again (The other part is down to our high levels of caffeine and the fact that we keep laughing at Amy’s burbling stomach. If you were here, you’d find it hilarious too. It’s the small things…)

The Press Weekend really was a huge success, helped immensely by the glorious Autumn sunshine. Starting the day at St Thomas’ Hospital singing to the children, the energy was electric and the cast sounded so beautiful that All My Trials actually brought tears to my eyes. Then in Covent Garden, crowds of people gathered round to listen and, as members of the production team handed out flyers and talked the Showtime talk, a real buzz was being created about Me and My Girl. The sound reverberating around the piazza was just incredible and only a taster of what we can expect in two weeks time – if that performance was anything to go by, the show itself is surely something not to be missed.

It was the perfect opportunity for cast and crew to bond before the craziness of the 48 hour challenge sets in and I am now even more raring to go and excited to see what this talented bunch of individuals will bring to the Palladium on Sunday 26th October.

A huge thank you to all who contributed to the weekend and voluntarily gave up yet more time for Eyebrow. What would we do without you? Showtime Challenge hopes to raise so much money for the Anthony Nolan Trust and we couldn’t do it without the input of all the cast and crew – it really is such a rewarding project to be a part of and also the opportunity to save lives and spread word of the good work that Anthony Nolan do.

And while we’re on the subject, another huge thank you to all those people at the Press Weekend who attended the Anthony Nolan clinic on the Saturday and signed up to their bone marrow register. I am really proud of you all - and it brings home all the more the reasons why we are doing this show.

Another Eyebrow social down.  And what a fabulous group of people we have involved in Me and My Girl. Every time I looked around the room, I saw a face that I wanted to talk to, but there were just too many people to get around to see and not enough time.

The general feeling is of excitement.  Even though there is just so much to do and not enough time to do it in, everyone seems raring to go and prepared to put 100% effort into it.  And why wouldn’t they?  It’s such a great challenge – Me and My Girl at the London Palladium in 48 hours to a sell-out audience – why wouldn’t you want to be a part of it?

Unlike Amy at the last social, I was not told stories of axe-wielding mad men in Wood Green.  But I was introduced to Carola’s dog (who is playing the Duchess.  Carola that is.  Not the dog…) who is possibly the cutest pup I have ever seen.  And while beer was downed and introductions were made, I talked tweed, twin sets, tennis and tailcoats till my wine glass was empty and the Northern line beckoned.

The long and short of it is that a once stressed and nervous Sheara who couldn’t sleep at night as a result of all the thoughts going round in her head is slowly starting to relax.  Not too much mind.  Still lots of people to liaise with, costumes to source, drawings to sketch, people to schmooze, meetings to attend.

But I can honestly say that I can’t wait to see everyone again – cast and crew alike.  Roll on the Palladium.  We’re ready for you!

Me and My Girl has just made the front page of The Stage website.

http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/21631/one-off-me-and-my-girl-fundraising-show-to-be

So.

I told myself two things about writing this blog.

1. This isn’t an avenue to channel my innermost thoughts that are non Eyebrow. And…

2. Don’t write when drunk.

So, so far, point number 1 is fairly well adhered to. But I’ll admit, it’s late, I’ve had a bit more to drink than I should have, but it’s the night of the first Me and My Girl cast social, and I’m a little bit excited.

It’s always a gamble when you re-meet the cast. Yes, we auditioned everyone over the course of three weekends, but we’ve never seen them all in the same room together, and we’ve never seen them out of the audition room - which is, though it’s the best you can do, hardly the most naturalistic setting for truly seeing people as they ‘really’ are.

Anyway, so although I arrived a couple of hours late to the social as I’d been at a work do (because yes, we have day jobs in Eyebrow), and was a wee bit inebriated after celebrating my work place’s magazine redesign (this is slightly turning into a violation of Rule No 1 about rambling inanely about non Eyebrow things), it was amazing how alive the place was. (The Players Lounge, in case you were wondering…). Everyone was so friendly, so happy to be there, perhaps a little nervous, but really excited about the project.

And damn right! I’m so excited, I feel like that irritating kid in the Disneyland advert who can’t sleep (’But Muuuum’, cue whiny voice, ‘Mum says it’s just mmmmmagical.’) Not that I’m whining to my parents (who hardly see me in an Eyebrow year), but just that we’ve only got 60-something days left and it’s going to be brilliant. The cast are FANTASTIC.

So, I’ve had a bit to drink. I’m overusing capital letters and brackets so I should probably stop writing now, but really the point is this….

This is going to be HUGE.

Except that we need something else… An audience. Do not underestimate how hard it can be selling 2,279 seats (though we’re doing pretty well so far).

So, if you haven’t got your ticket already, buy it NOW at:

www.seetickets.com

Honestly, this is going to be massive. No pressure, Team. Well, actually, there’s lots of pressure. But this is going to be a great night at the theatre. A great night to support a really important charity. And a great night to be entertained.

So there you go. I guess the only bad thing was some of the cast telling me that they once saw a man wielding an axe while running down the road where I live, so that’s pretty depressing. But other than that, fab.

Just a quick message - 

After an amazing turnout for the auditions, and an incredibly high standard of performers, Eyebrow Productions has now cast Me and My Girl.

All those cast will now have been informed of their specific role in the show. If you have not been notified, I’m afraid you won’t have been successful this time. However, Eyebrow Productions has a lot more projects in the pipeline and we do hope to see many of you again in the future.

Many thanks and congratulations to the cast.

Yes we love singing, acting and dancing, and yes we adore theatre and its power to do more than just entertain, but Showtime Challenge has a very important side to it that’s not just about the performance - it’s a serious effort to raise money and awareness for a charity of our choice.

I just saw an article in The Times that really reminded me why we do Showtime as volunteers. 

I had heard about leukaemia sufferer Adrian Sudbury’s story already through the Anthony Nolan Trust, and I had also signed the government petition to encourage more awareness about bone marrow donation, but I hadn’t taken the time to read his blog. I wish I had earlier.

Here’s the link to the Times article. Adrian’s attitude to life is incredible, admirable and inspiring - and puts me to shame when I think how temperamental or moody I can be for no legitimate reason sometimes.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article4400917.ece

Adrian’s blog can be found at:

http://baldyblog.freshblogs.co.uk/ 

Do read some of the entries of it if you can. As he stresses in the article, a bone marrow donation can make a difference for many, many people - and by supporting Showtime Challenge, we can be part of something that helps save lives, too.

It is hard to know what to say in situations like this, except that, on behalf of all of us, I wish Adrian strength, love and peace.  

As if two weekends in a row auditioning hundreds of people was not enough, Eyebrow was very excited to be invited to be part of the entertainment at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Saturday night to help raise money for Chelsea and Westminster Children’s Hospital.

Bringing together members of the casts of our past productions, our singers, looking glamorous and sexy in black, performed a selection of songs that really brought the house down. Conducted by the very talented Joe Atkins, the audience clapped along to Seasons of Love and cheered as Rhythm of Life echoed around the Ballroom. And as our set came to a close, the celebrities, doctors and charitable ball attendees could all be heard chattering about our next challenge Me and My Girl.

A huge huge thank you to everyone who helped make this gig such a success. Looking forward to sharing another very expensive glass of wine with you all again very soon.