Happy Birthday, Helena!

Tonight we went to the Cheltenham Everyman to see the classic play, ‘Private Lives’, written by and originally starring Noel Coward. The trip was courtesy of G., Helena’s good friend, who had offered to take her to the play, but she’d had to pull out at the last minute because of needing to self-isolate prior to an elective operation early next week. As a result I had the pleasure of escorting Helena.

Tonight's play was a touring production by, and starring, Nigel Havers, with equal billing going to Patricia Hodge, and it was their last night in this theatre. I took this picture in the interval when I was able to squeeze a shot between the heads of two women sitting in the row in front of us high in the upper balcony. I thought it was worth blipping the fine interior, or what I could squeeze into my small prime lens. I’ve added an ‘Extra’ of the stage set at the beginning of the Second Act. It depicts a Parisian apartment in the 1930s, with a decidedly ‘deco’ period feel. I didn’t use it as my main blip as Helena reminded I shouldn’t take images of the set, as the producers might object. I think they should be pleased to have the publicity.

Helena and I went on a guided tour of the theatre back in 2015 including all the backstage areas, which was fascinating. I blipped it here – as 'The view from the Everyman stage'

From wiki:
The Grade 11 Listed theatre was designed by the famous architect and designer Frank Matcham and opened on 1st October 1891 with a performance by Lilll Langtry. It was restored and returned to a decorative style resembling Frank Matcham's original style, including bespoke wallpaper and carpets, painting by fine arts and replacement of cherubs around the auditorium. The pink paint on the iconic narrow and high Opera House proscenium arch was removed to reveal the original Scagliola marble. Above the proscenium arch, the spandrels were restored to put original paintings representing the angels of Comedy and Tragedy back in place.