Aquajock
Cathlete
I went to London with my college's semester abroad program back in the fall of 1980. I wanted to go out with a bit of a bang on my last night in London, and Jonathan Pryce was appearing in the 3-person play Harold Pinter's "The Caretaker" also at the Lyttleton of the National Theatre. I'd read about Pryce's innovative interpretation of "Hamlet" earlier on Broadway (instead of a separate actor playing the ghost of his father, Pryce's Hamlet became possessed by his father's spirit and acted out the dialog that way), and had already seen "The Caretaker" once earlier in the month. I bought a ticket for the evening's performance for my last night, AND I bought a Christmas card for Pryce that I brought with me to the theatre that night. I gave a ticket booth attendant the card; he said he would send it backstage to Pryce.
Well. After the performance I got a bee in my hat and went backstage afterward. Lo and behold there were several others back there just as natural as you please, to meet and congratulate the actors. I was brought back to the dressing rooms, whereupon I was introduced to Kenneth Cranham (one of the other actors), AND Jonathan Pryce, who thanked me for my card, and then Kenneth and Jonathan invited me to join their group at the private bar for the actors, directors and writers upstairs. I did so knowing I'd be a geek but a geek with a REALLY GREAT MEMORY, and whom should I ALSO be introduced to up in the bar but the playwright Harold Pinter and his wife Lady Antonia Fraser.
That was a magic night. I left at about midnight, walked across a bridge over The Thames; it was a rare perfectly clear starry night. I stood at the apex of the bridge; to my left was Parliament and to my right was St. Paul's Cathedral, both centuries old, both backlit against that starry sky. Although I was still sad about leaving the next day, I knew my visit was in some sense complete.
Pretty neat, huh?
A-Jock
Well. After the performance I got a bee in my hat and went backstage afterward. Lo and behold there were several others back there just as natural as you please, to meet and congratulate the actors. I was brought back to the dressing rooms, whereupon I was introduced to Kenneth Cranham (one of the other actors), AND Jonathan Pryce, who thanked me for my card, and then Kenneth and Jonathan invited me to join their group at the private bar for the actors, directors and writers upstairs. I did so knowing I'd be a geek but a geek with a REALLY GREAT MEMORY, and whom should I ALSO be introduced to up in the bar but the playwright Harold Pinter and his wife Lady Antonia Fraser.
That was a magic night. I left at about midnight, walked across a bridge over The Thames; it was a rare perfectly clear starry night. I stood at the apex of the bridge; to my left was Parliament and to my right was St. Paul's Cathedral, both centuries old, both backlit against that starry sky. Although I was still sad about leaving the next day, I knew my visit was in some sense complete.
Pretty neat, huh?
A-Jock
