is it a kind of dream?

Henry IV part one, Aisle 2, row A (which is a front row), seat 5. Middle of the side of the stage. Little did i know David would spend most of his time acting about 5 feet away from me! Best seat in the house, OH YES.

He plays Sir John Falstaff, a fat corrupted man who eats and drinks too much and whores around, lol. David as we all know is bone thin, so the fat in itself was amusing - he looked like a badly stuffed Santa Claus, and that added much to the comic relief. He groaned when he stood up, acted like he got his fat arse stuck in a chair, etc. Very amusing. His lines were funny, and he made people laugh a lot, doing that straight faced comedian routine of his.

He was the star of the show, even if he wasn't top billed.

The time came, near the end, for the two warring parties to engage in battle. David chose his 'troops' - by having a bunch of us on the side of the stage stand up! I was grabbed by the hand by another cast member and asked to stand and be counted as David's troops! What an honour!

When it came time for Sir John Falstaff to fake his death, David was 'stabbed' in the brandy pouch with a sword. Stuff came squirting out all over the stage... and MY LAP. The two people on either side of me got a few drops, but i was DRENCHED.
I probably screamed or shouted, i cant remember. It was fecking COLD, and very sticky. People around me asked if i was ok when it was over, and generally people were talking to me a lot afterwards, laughing at the fake blood on my skirt, my shirt, my face, my handbag, my legs and my shoes. I was laughing - it was hysterical really, and I didnt mind!

RSC people offered to pay for it. I said nah, i got it all at a charity shop anyways, dont worry! Its my trophies! (I may use it later to bargain for a reduced price to Part 2, though! *wink* )

I waited for David to come out of the stage door. He didnt. I waited 55 minutes.
Some actor saw me as he was going back to his dressing room or whatever, laughed a bit at the 'bloodbath girl' as he called me, and probably said something to David.
David rushed out the stage door to me, apologising profusely.

He was wet, had just showered. Red tshirt, red and blue track suit trousers. I didnt notice his shoes. He is VERY TALL so i had to break my neck looking up at him. Longer hair, too, steel grey, and those gorgeous blue eyes. So very thin, though, and his breath was smoky. Probably took it back up when he moved back here to the UK, because he's lost all that puppy fat he had in the 90s, oh yes. He's a rack of bones. Long skinny arms with lots of liver spots and a moderate amount of arm hair!

He just kept apologising, said it had never happened before. The stuff usually squirts the other way, not on the front row...
I said it was okay, all part of the fun.
He suggested i sue RSC, i said no way! I was keeping them as souvenirs!
He laughed, and then changed the subject. Asked me what i thought of his performance as the 'fat man' - did anyone know he was very thin?
I replied that he was doing a very convincing job as a big man, but that some people probably knew if they knew who he was, from, say Hamlet. (the lady sitting next to me saw his Hamlet in 65!! What a conversation we had waiting for it to start!)
Then i got out my programme from Hamlet (hoping he'd offer to sign it!) and showed him.
The look on his face was nostalgia, and pride.
I turned to his page, and said that i knew he was a thin man, all along.
He said where'd you get this? He was genuinely shocked at seeing it.
I said ebay.
He said yeah, because you're too young to have seen it.
I said yeah but i keep hearing it was bloody marvellous!
He smiled bashfully. Asked me if i was staying for part 2 tonight at 7.30.
I said no, i had a little girl to get home to, and the last train leaves at 8.20, so i couldnt stay.
He said shame, that.
I said i'd be back to another performance another time, minus the fake blood.
He thanked me for being such a good sport, and for the trip down memory lane.
I grabbed his hand and shook it, thanked him for talking to me.
He said it was a pleasure, thanked me, and that was that.

I was the only audience member he saw before the 7.30 show, and i only managed to see him because of the fake blood, that fell on me, out of hundreds of people. Talk about LUCK!!

I dont know what he's doing after its over at 10.30, probably going to bed! He looked quite tired at 5.25 when i saw him...

No time for photo, no time for autograph, but he TALKED to me, as a person. He spoke to me like he was no one, like just a regular Joe, and that my opinion, my experiences, mattered to him. That means more to me than any photo or autograph, just like his handwritten letter does.

I ran out of there, grabbed a McBurger, changed into my trainers, and huffed my arse back to the 18.07 train. I guess i could have changed at some point, but i didnt. I wore my fake blood home, and delighted in it. I wont be washing the shirt, or the handbag. I'm keeping it as a memoir of my RSC cherry being popped, and i'm booking tickets for Part 2 on Monday.

I am in love all over again. What a great person to be a fan of! What a really nice, shy, polite, genuine, humble, self conscious and self deprecating man. He's very shy when you compliment him, and i dont think any of it sinks in. Like when people compliment me, i dont take it on board either. I dismiss it as guff and carry on hating my body or whatever.

edited to insert 2 images: firstly, there's [incredibly FAT] blood covered me. Mostly on my skirt, and its hard to see because its dark, as is the skirt. Clicky for biggerness.



secondly, there's the water in my sink from rinsing the skirt before i washed it this evening. There were stains on my LEGS from the fake blood!