Barrowmans at the National Theatre
So, I took my dad along to the NT with me, for John and Carole E Barrowman talking about the recently published paperback of I Am What I Am. My next trip down to London will be completely on my own, though, for LFCC.
We walked from Victoria to the South Bank. I’ve never actually been past the Houses of Parliament when it’s occupied (but have been past when Big Ben is bonging noon), so it was a bit of surprise to see the gates covered with police, and marksmen patrolling the grounds. Wasn’t as much circus type weirdness on the South Bank as there tends to be at the weekends. We had something to eat in Giraffe, then went next door, to the theatre, about 5.40pm.
And this is where I have to rant a little. Now, if you’re selling books, you might know all the details of platform, and the accompanying signing. Or maybe not. As I knew she would also be on stage, I asked the man selling the books if Carole would be signing as well, and then had to explain who she was! Not exactly what I had been expecting to have to do, it has to be said. So, I admit, I took a bit of a tone with the man. He told me Carole wouldn’t be signing (and probably still didn’t really know who she is), and was all jobsworth as he said he’s only selling books, not a JB aficionado.
But he could tell us where the signing would be. Going into the theatre, in the circle, we were given a flyer about the talk. That mentioned Carole, but only on the talk part, not the signing. I was going with the information as presented, so figured that Carole would not be signing. Should’ve done more digging around on Carole’s facebook and gone with my gut and joined the queue, I learned, when we got home! I’d wanted to tell her in person how much I love the Chicks Dig Time Lords book, her part, and the rest of the book, and missed out on doing that.
Argh!
Anyway, the talk. Spotted a few familiar faces in the crowd. Seats were arranged in front of the set of The White Guard, a play that's currently on in the Lyttelton. At 6pm, John and Carole walked out hand in hand, accompanied by Kaye Adams, and we snapped away. But that was it for pics, as John then told us we couldn't take photos because the set is copyrighted. This most likely also means that there won't be any video either, like there was of the last book talk at the NT. Kaye Adams explained how the talk would work, and that we would have the chance to ask questions. They would have to be shouted, though, as there were no roving mics.
A lot of what they talked about is in the paperback, stuff like the houses in Desperate Housewives having no real upstairs, even if the downstairs is decked out like a proper house. The upstairs are just the set toilets. Which, of course, presented John with the perfect opportunity to tease his big sister when she paid him a visit on set. Another round of teasing involved a word Carole really hates being said A LOT, while she was around XD
John spent a lot of time on the DH set being bored, doing nothing. And one morning, during the time Scott was with him, he was called at 6am, when they were both still in bed, telling he was needed on set RIGHT NOW. John told the person on the other end of the line that he had to get up, Scott had to get up, they’d have to wait a couple of hours. No, it had to be RIGHT NOW. No, they’d have to WAIT. John won that one ;)
One of the stories from La Cage that didn’t make it into the book was the time when John ran off stage at the end of the first half, after I Am What I Am, and straight into an ambulance parked by the theatre. If the woman in the ambulance hadn’t already had a heart attack, then the sight of a drag queen with no wig would surely have done it!
We were treated to the chant and accompanying actions that the La Cage company used to psych themselves up before the show.
John told us he bought every single one of Zaza’s dresses. (Which makes for even more interesting Friday nights at their house ;) )We also learned that he and Scott have just done an “at home” for OK magazine, and the dresses get a starring role in that. The dresses also have another forthcoming starring role, but he wouldn’t tell us what that is. I know I read/heard somewhere that the dresses would be featured in the concert tour, but maybe that’s not all. Tonight’s the Night? The male dancers wearing them in the concert, as they each drag a mannequin on stage?
And talking of the tour, there was question about if he had a set list yet. He doesn’t, but he did tell us that we’d get videos this time, after the response to the photos last time. Scott is supposedly terrified about this prospect ;)
Someone asked about the differences between dressing in drag at home and on stage, and John talked about the Christmas panto type stuff he does for his nieces and nephews. He can’t persuade Turner into false boobs and a dress as easily as he used to be able to, as he’s now 20, and far more interested in the real thing XD
We got filthy tales of Carole and Scott trawling Soho to look for a certain something to present John with for his 20th anniversary in showbusiness. And John still has the video of Scott, and their American friends, Brett and Javier, creating this …thing on his iPad. John managed a hat trick, successfully embarrassing or teasing Scott, Gavin and his partner, Stu by pointing them out in the crowd, thus making us all look at them, even people up in the circle.
They talked about the incident known as “Ballgate”. John completely shut himself off from everyone after this, and it was clear he still doesn’t really like talking about it. He’s perfectly right about how some UK newspapers dislike the BBC.
John seems to finally caught up on the current series of Doctor Who, as when he was asked by a member of the audience if now that David Tennant’s left (and Team Cardiff is headed by new people), there were any plans to have Jack work with Matt Smith’s Doctor, he had a good reply. There aren’t at the moment, but as Steven Moffat played a big part in creating Jack, John hoped there would be. He had caught the same line as the rest of us in The Pandorica Opens, though: “fresh off the wrist of a handsome Time Agent… I said OFF the wrist.”
Carole had been watching with him, and her question at the time had been: “Does this mean you only have one hand, now?” John’s instant reply had been: yeah, but he could grow one back. He’s such a geek, and it’s awesome :) Carole’s a geek, too and she was the second person he told that he’d got Captain Jack, as John’s niece Clare had been with him at the time. Carole was the first person John told that Jack was the Face of Boe.
They talked about Torchwood, mainly CoE and the new series. He did think was particularly great (even if it is painful to watch) that Jack gets blown up, and comes back together again, regrowing his whole body. John told us that Captain Jack will be in every episode of the new series, which is just as it should be. We already know he and Eve Myles will be in it, but he doesn’t know who the rest of the cast will be. He also said he would happily work with GDL again, in response to a question from the audience.
There was a question about plans for more books, dealing with the more serious issues in AG and IAWIA. John and Carole said they had ideas about acting advice, and families dealing with children/siblings coming out as gay. What they’re working on at the moment, though (along with a Torchwood tie-in, but they didn’t talk about that), is a children’s sci-fi/fantasy series, kind of like Enid Blyton’s books. Carole’s over here doing research for it. Oh, and for a change, she was the one who drifted into Scottish.
That’s pretty much it, I think. Like I said at the beginning, we left once the talk had finished, and should’ve stayed. It was a fun, filthy and sweet 45 minutes, though, and well worth all the travelling and walking.
Now let’s see what the TV show and concert tour brings us ;)
And I wrote the fic in the previous entry before the above occurred. Hive mind XD
We walked from Victoria to the South Bank. I’ve never actually been past the Houses of Parliament when it’s occupied (but have been past when Big Ben is bonging noon), so it was a bit of surprise to see the gates covered with police, and marksmen patrolling the grounds. Wasn’t as much circus type weirdness on the South Bank as there tends to be at the weekends. We had something to eat in Giraffe, then went next door, to the theatre, about 5.40pm.
And this is where I have to rant a little. Now, if you’re selling books, you might know all the details of platform, and the accompanying signing. Or maybe not. As I knew she would also be on stage, I asked the man selling the books if Carole would be signing as well, and then had to explain who she was! Not exactly what I had been expecting to have to do, it has to be said. So, I admit, I took a bit of a tone with the man. He told me Carole wouldn’t be signing (and probably still didn’t really know who she is), and was all jobsworth as he said he’s only selling books, not a JB aficionado.
But he could tell us where the signing would be. Going into the theatre, in the circle, we were given a flyer about the talk. That mentioned Carole, but only on the talk part, not the signing. I was going with the information as presented, so figured that Carole would not be signing. Should’ve done more digging around on Carole’s facebook and gone with my gut and joined the queue, I learned, when we got home! I’d wanted to tell her in person how much I love the Chicks Dig Time Lords book, her part, and the rest of the book, and missed out on doing that.
Argh!
Anyway, the talk. Spotted a few familiar faces in the crowd. Seats were arranged in front of the set of The White Guard, a play that's currently on in the Lyttelton. At 6pm, John and Carole walked out hand in hand, accompanied by Kaye Adams, and we snapped away. But that was it for pics, as John then told us we couldn't take photos because the set is copyrighted. This most likely also means that there won't be any video either, like there was of the last book talk at the NT. Kaye Adams explained how the talk would work, and that we would have the chance to ask questions. They would have to be shouted, though, as there were no roving mics.
A lot of what they talked about is in the paperback, stuff like the houses in Desperate Housewives having no real upstairs, even if the downstairs is decked out like a proper house. The upstairs are just the set toilets. Which, of course, presented John with the perfect opportunity to tease his big sister when she paid him a visit on set. Another round of teasing involved a word Carole really hates being said A LOT, while she was around XD
John spent a lot of time on the DH set being bored, doing nothing. And one morning, during the time Scott was with him, he was called at 6am, when they were both still in bed, telling he was needed on set RIGHT NOW. John told the person on the other end of the line that he had to get up, Scott had to get up, they’d have to wait a couple of hours. No, it had to be RIGHT NOW. No, they’d have to WAIT. John won that one ;)
One of the stories from La Cage that didn’t make it into the book was the time when John ran off stage at the end of the first half, after I Am What I Am, and straight into an ambulance parked by the theatre. If the woman in the ambulance hadn’t already had a heart attack, then the sight of a drag queen with no wig would surely have done it!
We were treated to the chant and accompanying actions that the La Cage company used to psych themselves up before the show.
John told us he bought every single one of Zaza’s dresses. (Which makes for even more interesting Friday nights at their house ;) )We also learned that he and Scott have just done an “at home” for OK magazine, and the dresses get a starring role in that. The dresses also have another forthcoming starring role, but he wouldn’t tell us what that is. I know I read/heard somewhere that the dresses would be featured in the concert tour, but maybe that’s not all. Tonight’s the Night? The male dancers wearing them in the concert, as they each drag a mannequin on stage?
And talking of the tour, there was question about if he had a set list yet. He doesn’t, but he did tell us that we’d get videos this time, after the response to the photos last time. Scott is supposedly terrified about this prospect ;)
Someone asked about the differences between dressing in drag at home and on stage, and John talked about the Christmas panto type stuff he does for his nieces and nephews. He can’t persuade Turner into false boobs and a dress as easily as he used to be able to, as he’s now 20, and far more interested in the real thing XD
We got filthy tales of Carole and Scott trawling Soho to look for a certain something to present John with for his 20th anniversary in showbusiness. And John still has the video of Scott, and their American friends, Brett and Javier, creating this …thing on his iPad. John managed a hat trick, successfully embarrassing or teasing Scott, Gavin and his partner, Stu by pointing them out in the crowd, thus making us all look at them, even people up in the circle.
They talked about the incident known as “Ballgate”. John completely shut himself off from everyone after this, and it was clear he still doesn’t really like talking about it. He’s perfectly right about how some UK newspapers dislike the BBC.
John seems to finally caught up on the current series of Doctor Who, as when he was asked by a member of the audience if now that David Tennant’s left (and Team Cardiff is headed by new people), there were any plans to have Jack work with Matt Smith’s Doctor, he had a good reply. There aren’t at the moment, but as Steven Moffat played a big part in creating Jack, John hoped there would be. He had caught the same line as the rest of us in The Pandorica Opens, though: “fresh off the wrist of a handsome Time Agent… I said OFF the wrist.”
Carole had been watching with him, and her question at the time had been: “Does this mean you only have one hand, now?” John’s instant reply had been: yeah, but he could grow one back. He’s such a geek, and it’s awesome :) Carole’s a geek, too and she was the second person he told that he’d got Captain Jack, as John’s niece Clare had been with him at the time. Carole was the first person John told that Jack was the Face of Boe.
They talked about Torchwood, mainly CoE and the new series. He did think was particularly great (even if it is painful to watch) that Jack gets blown up, and comes back together again, regrowing his whole body. John told us that Captain Jack will be in every episode of the new series, which is just as it should be. We already know he and Eve Myles will be in it, but he doesn’t know who the rest of the cast will be. He also said he would happily work with GDL again, in response to a question from the audience.
There was a question about plans for more books, dealing with the more serious issues in AG and IAWIA. John and Carole said they had ideas about acting advice, and families dealing with children/siblings coming out as gay. What they’re working on at the moment, though (along with a Torchwood tie-in, but they didn’t talk about that), is a children’s sci-fi/fantasy series, kind of like Enid Blyton’s books. Carole’s over here doing research for it. Oh, and for a change, she was the one who drifted into Scottish.
That’s pretty much it, I think. Like I said at the beginning, we left once the talk had finished, and should’ve stayed. It was a fun, filthy and sweet 45 minutes, though, and well worth all the travelling and walking.
Now let’s see what the TV show and concert tour brings us ;)
And I wrote the fic in the previous entry before the above occurred. Hive mind XD