You Can’t Stop the Beat

Second show in as many days (this minimising social contact lark is going really well!) and a complete contrast to the day before.
Hairspray is a musical that I know all the songs and dialogue to, but have never seen. Well, not from the front anyway. Our local operatic society did it a few years ago but, as part of the stage crew, I was ensconced behind a piece of scenery throughout the performance. Scene changes had to be quick so we had a few multi sided trucks that could be spun round to show the appropriate flats as required. But with no tabs, and only minimal blackouts, we stage hands had to stay behind the trucks, spinning them as required. Generally we all ended up with the same scene showing on all the trucks, but there was the odd occasion when someone got a bit over enthusiastic and went too far.
We were in Blackpool last night and I don’t know whether it’s down to that location or the type of show it is, but the behaviour of the audience was atrocious. Barely any masks were worn, in spite of signs and announcements saying they were mandatory. There was a lot of talking and an almost constant stream of people up and down the aisle as they headed to either the bar or the loo (the one seemed to follow the other!) We were also surprised how many young children there were in the audience. I get that it is a show with bright costumes, upbeat numbers and lots of dancing, but it also deals with racism and sizeism. Not really themes 6 or 7 year olds can connect with! It all rather spoiled our enjoyment of the show and made us seriously question whether we would go and see a show at Blackpool Opera House in the future, as this is not the first time we have seen such behaviour in this particular venue.
On a more positive note, we had another successful band practice at lunchtime with our temporary guitarist, despite our singer having virtually lost his voice. It looks like we will have a couple of decent sets ready for New Years Eve - all we have to hope now is that we are not going to be locked down after Xmas. The signs are not good, but we have to keep practising in the belief that the gig will go ahead. You definitely can’t stop the beat!