Team bonding had actually started the night before when we all met up for some cast photos and then went for a curry at the Customs House along with director Mark Wingett, production co-ordinator Jackie Fielding and set designer Mike Yeaman. Sadly Louis was unable to join us on the Sunday night due to a family bereavement, hence his non-appearance in the photo above.

Anyway, back to today. We’re rehearsing in a new venue for me, the upstairs room of the Sun Dial pub in South Shields. It’s a very handy spot with plenty of room for manoeuver.  Sometimes a readthrough can be a bit laborious as the cast find their way through an unfamiliar script and there’s a bit of a start/stop feel to the whole thing, but not today. It zipped along very nicely and there were lots of laughs, which is very reassuring for the writers. We’ve edited the play since its first run so it was nice to see that the changes seem to work and if anything we’ve added pace to a play that was already pretty frenetic.

Ed and I will now make ourselves scarce for a few days to give everyone a chance to experiment without the writers breathing down their necks. We’ll probably pop in towards the end of the week to see how things are shaping up. Mark and Jackie have already come up with a few new ideas to freshen things up so I’m sure we’ll be in for a few pleasant surprises.

Louis’s got a pretty busy week as not only is he rehearsing for Raising The Stakes during the day but he’s also starring in Apples at Northern Stage in Newcastle until Saturday. I’ve heard great things about the play and will try and get along later in the week.

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Mark, who is best known for his role as DCI Carver in The Bill, comes in straight from his huge success in directing Good To Firm, the prequel to Raising The Stakes.

Good To Firm gathered some wonderful reviews and the excellent word of mouth ensure full houses by the end of its run last Saturday. 

Like its predecessor, Raising the Stakes stars Ray Spencer and Angela Szalay as Bob and Shirley Fletcher but this time around they are joined by Jill Dellow, who plays their daughter Suzie and Arabella Arnott who plays Shirley’s sister Dolores.

Jill and Arabella have both worked with Ed and Trevor in the past, Jill starred in Son of Samurai at the Latitude Festival and on tour and Arabella played a devious Labour MP in Maggie’s End at Durham Gala.

The cast is completed by Louis Roberts, fresh from his huge success in Apples which is currently on at Northern Stage.

Raising The Stakes runs at the Customs House from October 6th-9th and tickets are available from the theatre’s website or on 01914541234

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There’s always a sense of anti-climax once a production has finished. Several weeks of growing excitement reaches a wonderful climax (oo-er madam) and is suddenly replaced by a vacuum. Normally this lasts for quite a while but with Raising the Stakes going into rehearsal on Monday we don’t really have time to mope.

The final performance of Good To Firm at the Customs House on Saturday was a joy. A full house, terrific performances and a clearly delighted audience, what more could you ask? There are a couple of posts on the Customs House Facebook page which sum up the reaction. The cast did a brilliant job and the whole thing was put together superbly by the director Mark Wingett and the Production Co-ordinator Jackie Fielding.

Mark was working at the Customs House for the first time but you would never have known it, he’s a real gentleman and has charmed everyone there. I’m certain he’ll be back in the future. It was lovely to see his family in the audience on Saturday night and I’m sure they enjoyed the rest of their weekend in the North East as they headed off to Seaham Hall for a bit of luxury pampering.

Jackie is overseeing all three plays in the trilogy, she’s a real perfectionist  – the copy of the Daily Mirror  used in the play was the actual edition from Grand National Day in 2003 when the play the set. Such attention to detail undoubtedly made Mark’s job much easier, giving him less to think about and the chance to work more closely with the actors.

There was a bit of a Maggie’s End reunion on Saturday as Melanie Hill came to see the show. Mel starred with Mark in the London production of the play and it was great to get together again. Despite her Sunderland roots she’s a grand lass! Mel’s coming back to the North East in October to start rehearsals for Inheritance, a new play at Live Theatre in Newcastle

We’ve now got a handful of days to actually try and do some writing before the next production starts and have to work out what our priorities are. We’ve got a couple of film ideas we want to develop and an idea for a new play that we’ve started to kick around but the BBC have just announced a new sitcom competition that has a very tight deadline which we might just have something for. Decisions, decisions.

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The play, which opened on Wednesday night in front of a packed Customs House audience, was described in the Evening Chronicle as ‘a prize-winning performance by any standard.

The Northern Echo reviewer was equally impressed: “Incredibly funny throughout but with some real touching moments of drama”

The What’s On Stage website review praised the performances of lead actors Ray Spencer and Angela Szalay, describing the play as “a firm favourite…absolutely first past the post”

Good to Firm, brilliantly directed by former star of The Bill, Mark Wingett, runs at the Customs House until Saturday September 10. It’s sequel, Raising The Stakes opens on October 6^th and a brand new play Photo Finish will complete the trilogy when it premieres at the same venue from October 28^th to November 6^th.

Tickets are available from the Customs House box office on 0191 454 1234 or online at www.customshouse.co.uk

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Clark, however, is not what he seems and when Bob discovers he’s having an affair with both their daughter Suzie and Shirley’s sister Dolores all hell breaks lose.  A hilarious farce, Raising The Stakes is the second play in the Fletcher family trilogy.

Raising The Stakes premiered at the Customs House, South Shields in March 2004. It returned in October 2010 as part of the theatre’s 15^th anniversary celebrations

Reviews

“…the woman next to me was weeping as she rocked back and forth with laughter” The Journal

“very, very funny…you will leave the theatre feeling brighter” Shields Gazette

“an avalanche of one-liners… the frenetic finale left the audience in stitches” Evening Chronicle

“hilarious… the auditorium was ready to explode” Sunderland Echo

“a faultless example of comedy at its best” What’s On Stage

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