So... We did the show in front of Bush snr and Babs in Houston Texas.  After my hair was blow-dried into Frost's seventies coiffure I pop my head round Stacy's door.

I have heard that guilty creatures sitting at a play
Have by the very cunning of the scene
Been struck so to the soul that presently
The have proclaimed there malefactions.
For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak 
With most miraculous organ...
springes to catch woodcocks, Stacy, springes to catch woodcocks!

I am put in mind of doing a performance of Importance of being Earnest before the Queen Mother on her 100th birthday, her two daughters in attendance, with Queen Elizabeth saying 'Mamma’s been on her feet all day' and Princess Margaret having scalded hers stepping into a hot bath. But this is somewhat different...
 
I see the Bushes in the corridor just before curtain up. Ellen Burstyn and James Cromwell? Not quite. The former President and first lady receive a standing ovation as they take their seats.

There are sitting ovations in surprise places; when Nixon asks if there are are any secret service in the room and when Jim Reston complains that after the taping finished, he heard two of the film crew say they never voted for Nixon when they had the chance but if he were to stand now he would get their support.
 
The atmosphere was intense during the performance especially as Frost asks Nixon to admit more than mistakes, abuse of power and putting American people through years of agony.

I had been told by Jack who works in the sound department that the Bushes came to see Wicked, but most of the older cast refused to meet them, including Carol Kane whom he drove round the block four times in full costume and curly wig rather than meet them.  George H.W invited the cast of Jersey Boys back to his office, whereupon he sent the secret service men out and gave the actors his guns to handle. When the Rockettes came to Houston the former president rested has gnarled hand on a leggy dancer botty during the photo op. True to form he taps Roxanna, who plays Caroline Cushing, on the bum with the cane he now sports. 

We assemble still in costume in the rather chilly green room to meet the parents of arguably the worst President in America's history. It must have strange for them, as if they were at a fancy dress party, the theme being people from their past.

He greets me as "the guy who's more David Frost than David Frost", and says how he had spoken with David and asked him to come along and surprise us, but that he couldn't get out of his Al Jazeera commitments. He introduces Christopher Buckley as Bill Buckley's son whom I recognise off the Daily Show.

He then spots Ted Koch in his military uniform and says how he knew Jack Brennan and wonders what he is up to now. He says that watching the show was nostalgic for him.

I later find George H. W.'s dairy entry for 9 August, 1972. He and Barbara breakfasted at the Whitehouse where

There was an aura of sadness, like someone had died. …
President Nixon  look just awful.. Everyone in the room in tears…The speech was vintage Nixon- a kick or two at the press-enormous strains. One couldn’t help but look at the family and the whole thing and think of his accomplishments and then think of the shame and wonder What kind of a man is this really? No morality- kicking his friends in those tapes= all of them. Gratuitous abuse. Caring for no one and yet doing so much. When he used the word ‘plumbers’ meaning it ‘laboring with his hands’ the connotation was a shock on me. I remember Lt. Col. Brennan who has been with him so long- Marine_ standing proudly with tears running down his face…. People who labored next to Nixon’s side forever are not invited. It’s weird. The Nixon speech was masterful. In spite of his inability to totally resist a dig at the press

After the resignation Bush snr went and addressed the National Committee. I tried to identify with the feelings I am sure they all felt- of betrayal and distrust and yet pride. I told them we had been through the toughest year and a half in history and yet I now felt we were coming on an optimistic period.

Back in 2008, Barbara Bush is more interested in Frosty's love life. 

BB: What happened to the girlfriend? Because, you know, we know Carina quite well, his wife now.
Me: I think he moved on pretty quickly afterwards.
BB: Didn't he used to go out with that singer?
Me: Diahann Carrol. Yes, but that was before the play takes place
BB: Ah, right...I can't wait for this election to be over, can you?
Me: ummm, no...
BB: Well, this brought back a lot of painful memories for us. You know we were in the East room when he gave the farewell address to the White house staff? But it was his own fault! Nixon brought it on himself. Have you ever listened to the tapes? 

She gives a big roll of the eyes, gathers her husband and we all have our photograph taken. Then, flanked by secret service men and one rather attractive secret service woman, they hobble off  to the elevator.

Before I go off for my tea,  I pop my head round Stacy's door as he is taking off his Nixon wig and he recounts a private exchange

GEORGE H.W: Do ya think I should see "W."?
STACY: I dunno, Mr President; I am in it but I haven't seen it so I couldn't say. But I do know they explore the father/son relationship in it.
GEORGE H.W: Yes I'd heard that... We're really worried about it.

Stacy wells up as he tells me this. 
I call him an old softy!

Two days later the American people vote for Barack Obama, quieting the perturbed spirits of JFK and Dr. King clearing a new path through this sweet land of liberty.

Now it begins to work...

Met Tommy Chong and Cheech Marin last night performing their Halloween gig. The pair did old sketches, Chong did stand up talking about his time in jail, Cheech did solo routines and songs.

Been catching up on Question Time

Ken Clarke is a bit worried about Obama's protectionism. Blimey I didn't know he had any, and I don't know what it is!
Learnt me a term off Simon Schama... "blowhard"

Trial by moral watchdog

http://www.bbdo.co.uk/blog/archives/1230

(ow! a bit harsh)

Sachsgate!!!  Really

Manuel has a granddaughter and she is a Satanic Slut? Ok

Gordon Brown and David Cameron bringing down Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand. WTF?

Another case of tabloid fodder distracting us from real issues?

Peter Mandelson and Gordon Osborne bringing down Gordon Brown.

Rupert Murdoch has a daughter and she's 40? Ok

Corfugate!!! Really

And the Royal Shakespeare Company is putting on 3 years of Russian themed work?

And David Tennant is quitting Dr. Who?

Will I find a Time Lord at...

The Johnson Space Center

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Take the NASA tram tour to the mission control Center

The Astronaut Training Facility

and the Saturn V facility

and a film on Human Destiny

Cyrano, Rothko and Jung

Go to student matinee of Cyrano de Bergerac at the Alley theatre

Stacy considers Cyrano to be the greatest role for an actor

WHAT IS PANACHE? To be a great hero is not enough. Panache is not greatness but something added to greatness and stirring above it. It is something fluttering, excessive and a bit daring. If I was not afraid of being too pressed to work on a dictionary myself, I would propose this definition: Panache is the spirit of bravery. It is courage dominating the situation to the point of needing to find another word for it. To joke in the face of danger, that is the supreme politeness. A delicate refusal to take oneself tragically, Panache is then the modesty of heroism, like the smile with which one apologizes for being sublime. A little frivolous perhaps,a bit theatrical certainly, Panache is only a grace: but this grace that is so difficult to maintain in the face of death, this grace that assumes such force- this is the grace I wish for us.

From Edmond Rostand's Discourse Upon Acceptance Into the Acadamie Francaise

The Rothko Chapel

The Rothko Chapel is oriented toward the sacred and yet it imposes no traditional environment. It offers a place where a common orientation could be found- an orientation towards God, named or unnamed, an orientation towards the highest aspirations of Man and the most intimate calls of the conscience.- Dominique de Menil

The familiar identity of things has to be pulverized in order to destroy the finite associations with which our society increasingly enshrouds every aspect of our environment. - Mark Rothko

The Jung Center of Houston

Living the questions now.

Perhaps then, someday far in the future,

you will gradually, without even noticing it,

live your way into the answer.- Rainer Maria Rilke

The most important thing is to not stop questioning- Albert Einstein

Twenty questions worth asking.

1. What is my calling, at this stage in my life?

2. What can I learn from my dreams?

3. How can I tap my creative potential?

4. How can I improve my relationship with others?

5. What is the difference between job and vocation?

6. How can I be a better parent?

7. Where am I stuck in my development?

8. What is my persona, and when does it get in the way?

9. What parts of my reality have I left behind? What do I need to retrieve?

10. What is mature spirituality?

11. What does it mean to be an extravert or an introvert

12. How can I create a better relationship with my body?

13. What is the value of suffering?

14. Why do I create self-defeating patterns in my life?

15. Where am I blocked by fear?

16. How can I better serve my community?

17. Why do I have to hide so much of myself?

18. How can I recover a sense of purpose and dignity?

19. Why does the idea of the soul ("psyche") both trouble and intrigue me at the same time?

20. How is the life I am living too small for the soul?

Froggie Went A-Courtin

Wondering if Joe the Plumber and the esteemed Canadian actor Christopher Plummer are related.

Latest nonsense: 

Mr. Wurtzelburger on the campaign trail agreeing that a vote for Obama means death to Israel. He also has a PR rep and is trying to secure a Country and Western music deal.Sheesh!

Claims that Sarah Palin is goin' rogue. This cheesy rhetoric! Still loving Larry Flynt's inspiration in putting out a porno with a Palin porn-a-like; 'Whose Nailin' Paylin?'. Playing to the desire/need to see this woman get fucked! 

The Bradley effect. White people just won't vote for a black guy.

Bill Weld latest Republican for Obama. Jews for Jesus anyone?

Was Herbert Hoover related to J Edgar Hoover?

No.. nor vacuum cleaners

Time to learn something about the Supreme Court

Who is Sandra Day O Connor ?

 

Getting a little vibe of Margaret the Thatcher but I am not holding that against her

I picked up that she retired to look after her husband who has Alzheimer's. So one of the good guys?

Also... what is the deal with

The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court

and..

Who is chief justice Roberts?

Wow! Dread Pirate Roberts. Getting a Shaw in Jaws thang

Big change coming after the election!

The three liberals set to retire; Stevens, Ginsberg and Souter. The court could become very conservative.

Watch out..

What is a Goldwater republican?

My attention was recently drawn to him I read that the ecology movement scares Robert Anton Wilson "as much as Goldwater did in 1964"

Colbert riffing on the Republican party's need to re-invent itself...

Sugar and Spice and Condaleeza Rice reminds me how much I enjoyed Thandie Newton's performance in W. which in turn makes me think of  Toby Jones' top turn as Karl Rove.

I have been meaning to research David Frost's coverage of the 1968 election

and came across a posting featuring a recording of an interview with Robert Kennedy

Watch this space!

Caught up with Religulous

from the back of a flyer...

Bill Maher's

Question to ponder

Why do all-powerfull gods speak through prophets instead of just telling their important messages to all of us directly?

When a plane goes down, was it God's will for everyone on board to die that day? And if so, how did he book them all on the same flight?

Adam and Eve had two sons.

Who did they marry and have children with?

Why is suffering so random?

One guy living on a landfill, and then there's Rod Stewart.

In Christianity, the devil is a fallen angel who plotted against and betrayed God, who is omniscient. So why didn't He see it coming?

What if God is busy and your prayers are being answered by some guy in Bombay?

In the most recent survey, 44% of Americans have switched religions in their lifetime- is this at odds with something that's supposed to be eternal and cast in stone? Also, have you considered Satan? No salesman will call.

www.disbeliefnet.com

Just remembering...

There is a piece in the Houston Chronicle on Cheech and Chong's reunion tour  coming to the Verizon Wireless theater just near us

There's another performer in town that night who has a history with the pair. Stacy Keach, who played uptight cop Sgt. Stadanko in two Cheech and Chong films, will be onstage at the Hobby Center as the former U.S. president inFrost/Nixon.

Might we see a surprise appearance at the late show by Stadanko?

"That would be hilarious!" Cheech says when told. "I wonder if we can make that happen.

Last night the Media saved my life

Thursday October 25

The New York Times endorses Barack Obama for president.

Senator John McCain of Arizona has retreated farther and farther to the fringe of American politics, running a campaign on partisan division, class warfare and even hints of racism

Just to recap...

21 August 

I arrive in New York to start work Tuesday. First week of rehearsals would be Stacy  and myself working with Seth and the production team before being joined by the rest of the cast . Thanks to a friend of a friend I am staying in a Master of the Universe type apartment over looking Central Park, 10 blocks down from my old neighborhood in Hell's Kitchen. Sign up for a month's unlimited classes at the Bikram Yoga studio, catch up with my NY pals and frequent old haunts in an attempt to maintain a autobiographical continuity.

Beginning of a working day usually involves some sort of catch up on what's happening in the presidential race.

Whilst in the UK, I caught a fragment of a broadcast chaired within some Christian context or other which involved questions on pro life and same sex marriages. I liked Obama's answers because although circuitous they fielded the questions. I felt McCain was direct, authoritative and crowd pleasing but he was anti-abortion and gay marriage so...for me, a pregnant gay teenager who wants to get married... no good!  I subsequently heard their performances described  as the professor vs the soldier. Googling for some specifics, I find this refers to an event on August 17th  which was a forum of evangelical Christians hosted by Rev. Rick Warren at Saddleback church in Southern California.

When I arrived in the US the Democratic convention (25-28 August) was just about to start

I don't recall the moment that Obama received his Presidential candidate nomination but I do remember Joe Biden's Vice Presidential nomination on August 27th , partially because I had registered the possibility that Hillary Clinton might be up for it and didn't get it

29th August

The Republican Vice- Presidential nomination is announced. Enter Stage Left- Sarah Palin, Governor of Wasilla 

I found McCain's clapping behind Palin funny and likened it to an over eager child. Later, I was informed that his arms are that way because of injuries received whilst a prisoner of war so I dropped the comparison.  I also checked my amusement when I read the veteran's upper limbs referred to as 'pop n' lock arms'.

Walking to work the day after Palin's acceptance speech, I remember the cover of the New York Post picked up on her Lipstick on a pit bull line. In rehearsals, I heard that John Stewart had alluded to the Vice Presidential nominee's resemblance to Tina Fey. From that point on, like my stoner slacker pinko liberal tofu munching tree hugging colleagues, I went to the funsters to unscrew the saddle off the top of the 24 hour news cycle and give it a kinky sniff

I was struck by the Fox news pundit saying that Alaska's proximity to Russia qualified as foreign policy experience in international relations..an idea that had never occurred to me. I also loved Samantha Bee explaining that women will be voting "not with the big head but the little hood". I am still alarmed at the idea that there could be a move to overturn the Rowe vs Wade ruling, one of the few landmark legal cases I remember from Politics A level, that and Brown vs Education Board of Topeka

31 August

 

Mentor and goader Ken Campbell leaves us. Skyward ho!? My post on facebook

 

First... Funny walks, silly voices, farting about in disguises, Uncle Fred acting , Burmese joke telling, debilitating humour and the influence of the Three Stooges on American culture with particular reference to the Vietnam war... Last... a cheery chat about stuff over burgers at the Latitude festival... and all the matter above, below, around and beyond. There will never be another-

1 September

Watching a pundit slamdown on CNN, I suspect the network of keeping viewers hooked by using hyperbolic headlines promising reports on the destruction waged by Hurricane Gustav. Still...

Top work from Mr. Carville showing a picture of the city hall that "looks like a bait shop in South Louisiana"

It is interesting how one starts to develop a relationship with characters in the TV Political Scene and for me, the Republican party seems to produce cartoon baddies, ridiculously clumsy with their ill intentions

1-4 September

Republican Convention

Loving Samantha Bee getting Republicans to say "Choice" when discussing Bristol Palin's teenage pregnancy

At home in the apartment, my attention is hooked  when I hear Palin surfing the booing of the convention crowd at the mention of Obama on the TV. Going back to my computer, I am cheered by The Best F#&king News Team Ever

9 September

"Boys, do you listen to nothing that I tell you? The real nature of the Universe in unknown and unknowable! Your problem is that your World-Reality Picture is based on half-ingested science!- These so-called Scientific Laws aren't laws at all! - They weren't given to some bearded gent on a Mountain Top!- They're mere observations on how it usually goes!- There's only one word in the English language which approximates the true nature of the Universe and that word is "OTHER"!- and every little once in a while THE OTHER WILL MANIFEST and it's good to around at those times, because if you've the courage- THERE MAY BE SOMETHING UP FOR GRABS!"

Furtive Nudist 1992

KC buried in Epping Forest

Read Jeni Barnet's record

Top interview on Theatre voice

Republican campaigners imply that Obama's use of the line "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig" was a dig at their Vice Presidential nominee. Man, this is so silly. Very happy to find some hard nosed British Satire on the Daily Mash "Obama Defends 'Creationist Psycho Bitch' Remark

11 September

Charles Gibson interview... oh dear!

I go to see 'HAIR the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical' in Central Park. Bit disappointed that the actors weren't more grungy but moved by audience joining the cast and bopping to 'Let the Sunshine in'.

Inspired to check back in with Timothy Leary who Nixon described as the 'most dangerous man in America'

TIMOTHY LEARY: (January 1996) When Nixon called me that, I was thrilled. The President of the United States, whom many Americans and the rest of the world thought was a crazed, psychotic danger, for him to be calling me that, I, that's my Nobel Prize, that's my bumper stick, that's my trophy on the wall.

12 September

Bill Maher accuses Wall Street Post journalist John Fund of cynicism. "A real cynic is someone like you.. who knows better but knows that the stupid people don't"

13 September

The clevers at SNL  write a sketch for Ms. Fey as Palin as Amy Poeler as Hillary Clinton.

15 September

David Foster Wallace seems to have decided.... enough! and leaves us

'... there are plenty of religious people who seem arrogant and certain of their own interpretations, too. They're probably even more repulsive than atheists, at least to most of us. But religious dogmatists' problem is exactly the same as the story's unbeliever: blind certainty, a close-mindedness that amounts to an imprisonment so total that the prisoner doesn't even know he's locked up.

'the point here is that I think this is one part of what teaching me how to think is really supposed to mean. To be a little less arrogant. To have just a little critical awareness about myself and my certainties. Because a huge percentage of the stuff that I tend to be automatically certain of is, it turns out, totally wrong and deluded.' 

http://www.marginalia.org/dfw_kenyon_commencement.html

18 September

Tony Blair appears on DS

19 September

Quote from Lindsay Anderson on KCCML blog

"In the morning I feel about 50; then, depending on how the day goes, I might get down to about 22. When I'm directing on stage, I'm 43 and 32 when making a film because I feel less in control. Acting? Oh, then I'm 24, And when I'm on my own, I feel about 17 and think the world is all before me.'

21 September

ARRIVE IN OWENSBORO KENTUCKY

24 September

The Katie Couric interview Oh dear, oh dear!!

25 September

I'm with Stephen. Can't we take a break from all this politics and learn to love again?

26 September

Attend

International Bluegrass Music museum

Bluegrass is the experience, the history, the people, the performers, the business and the music. But that's not all... perhaps a more satisfactory answer is found not in the individual items, artifacts, films, panels, images, sounds and galleries that make up these exhibits, but in the people who walk through these halls, the way they respond to what they see and hear, and the community they create with each other and the museum. Together we are the music and the community we call Bluegrass. As Bill Monroe once said, " Bluegrass has brought more people together and made more friends than any music in the world."

First Presidential debate

29 September

ARRIVE IN DE MOINES IOWA

30 September

Go see Jim Reston talk to students at Drake's university. 

Some random notes written on Embassy Suites Hotels paper

He opens by saying that apologies are not within the American psyche.

He explains that there is a misunderstimation that gnaws at him: that Nixon's crimes and misdeeds are trivial compared to those of George W.

What was Watergate? A criminal conspiracy operated out of the Oval office.

The Nixon/Frost interviews are a unique piece of prosecutorial journalism

5 articles of impeachment. 3 passed

on obstruction of justice

on abuse of power

on contempt of congress

2 failed

ICONIC MOMENTS DURING NIXON ADMINISTRATION

1. Vietnam war cost US 46,000 American combat deaths

2. Moratorium to end war in Vietnam Nov 15th 1969

3. US troops in Cambodia: Nixon TV address Apr 30 1970

4. Kent State shootings May 4 1970

5. Meeting Mao in China

6. Kissinger and Le Duc tho cease fire

7. Watergate break ins

8. Nixon farewell Aug 9 1974

Jim Reston's conversations with.

CHARLES COLSON: established Enemies list, proposal to bomb Brookings Institute and organized Plumber's Unit break in of psychiatrist Daniel Ellsberg's office

David Frost;Empty vessel, Confidante to the stars, Engaged to Dianne Carroll

Jim Reston's breakdown of the interview:

First Trap

Prosecutorial Journalism

(assumption that you are talking to a guilty man)

Obstruction of Justice

Journalistic courage

The second trap

coup de grace

Third trap

Good butcher

Oh my goodness

No, never

I have impeached myself

I AM SORRY

NIXON

'when you finally get down to it, it's a question of clemency''

Frost found himself adopting a father confessor strategy

Why did Nixon agree to do these interviews?

1.Money, 

2.He thought Frost was a softy and 

3. He was engaged in his memoires at the time.

Who could interview Bush today, deal with his pathological disengagement and penetrate the wall of platitude? Questions on Religion? Substance abuse?

What is going on when history moves into the realm of Art?

Will there be anything like this for Bush in the next 3 years?

How does a country bring a discredited leader to account?

Growing executive power/ Karl Rove's advice

MOTIVES: Bush' nobility

Stubborn wall of rectitude and self righteousness

Robert Mcnamara "The Fog of War"

 

1 October

Watch an interview with a woman who has written a book on Patriotic Grace (!).  She has an Irish sounding surname and a studied calm I associate with Catholicism. So I did some searches on this Peggy Noonan. It turns out she sparked a little furor when she was over heard saying 'It's over' and that the Republican party always fucks up when it resorts to 'political bullshit about narrative.' A few 'Hail Marys' and a couple of 'Our Fathers' should clear her of the deed.

2 October

oh yes and The Vice Presidential debate.. not as embarrassing as one would have liked, darn it!! but I hadn't seen Biden before and thought he came across as a decent man.

5 October

Feel that I better learn a bit about this Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae thing. I had thought they were generic names for American's affected by the crisis...doh!

Luckily...

6 October

 ARRIVE IN APPLETON WISCONSIN

Pick up a copy of Entertainment Weekly

On the way to Appleton Wisconsin Stacy gives me his copy of Newsweek. In it is an article by Sam Harris, writer of The End of Faith. I suspect his editor of sensationalism in heading the piece 'When Atheists Attack- A noted provocateur rips Sarah Palin- and defends elitism.'

The next administration must immediately confront issues like nuclear proliferation, ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (and covert wars elsewhere) economy, Russian belligerence, the rise of China, emerging epidemics, Islamism on a hundred fronts, a defunct United Nations, the deterioration of American schools, failures of energy, infrastructure and Internet security.

I wrote this section down on Residence Inn note paper so as to ponder

7 October

MSNBC Keith Olbermann in pugilistic anti-pugilism mode..

8 October

Michelle Obama's DS appearance brings a tear to my eye as she shakes JS' hand at the end of the interview. Bit weird. Something to do with the real possibility of a black first lady in the White House. Have we come this far?No?Yes?

Go to The Times They Are A-Changin' exhibition at the History Museum at the Castle  and the AKA Houdini exhibit. Things that lodge...

Lynn Kellogg,  the original Sheila Franklin, denouncing Hair as 

"one of the primary openers of the Pandora's box of destruction that devastated my 60s- 70s generation, and through exponential expansion, every subsequent generation to the present"

Allen Ginsberg and The Fugs performing an exorcism over the grave of Joseph McCarthy

The Jim Crow laws in Wisconsin and the picture of  Jim Zwerg beaten and bleeding

If Show Biz hadn't worked out for Houdini, he would have become a locksmith. Natch!

Second Presidential debate. Town hall stylie

10 October

Gayle Quinnell, a John McCain supporter calls Barack Obama an Arab at a campaign rally, October 10, 2008 in Lakeville, Minnesota. Thankfully, John McCain corrects her and takes away the microphone.

13 October

ARRIVE IN COLUMBUS OHIO

to be contextualised...

Crazy lady thinking Obama is an Arab

Mob mentality being fuelled by Palin's Obama 'palling around with terrorists' angle

14 October

Joe "the plumber" appears on the scene in Ohio

16 October

Lunch at Schmidt's sausage haus in  the German Village.

And for afters.. a leedle fudge, Mr McCain?

nein danke x

17 October

Talk to theatre students at the Ohio State University. Get given a fantastic document on 'the professional aspects of the theater'. At last! An opportunity to find out what they are?

Go to the Wexner Center Galleries to see the Exclusive US Presentation of  Andy Warhol Other Voices, Other Rooms

18 October

Walking to the theatre I listen to an interview with Robert Anton Wilson.

He makes mention of Carl Oglesby's "a multitude of conspiracies contend in the night" whom he ranks alongside Buckminster Fuller and Noam Chomsky.

Interestingly Carl Ogelsby makes a good case that the Watergate scandal was deliberately "leaked" by a Yankee coalition to drive Nixon out of the Whitehouse, Nixon being a representative of Western "Cowboy" money

I had mixed feelings when I heard that Palin was due to appear on SNL and indeed I felt sick when I saw her jiving to Amy Poeler's rap. I thought I detected real scorn as Amy P left the shot, but I think she was just in cha'rap'ter

And the next day..

19 October

Colin Powell endorses Barack Obama

A black republican giving the thumbs up to a  black democrat

The Aries okaying the Leo

I am interested in what the G.O.P really stands for, partly because I have only just learned what the acronym stands for. What is the identity of this Grand Old Party if it separates church and state. Narrow minded right wingers whose true god is money? Misunderstood idealists?

20 October

ARRIVE IN HOUSTON TEXAS

George Orwell writes Animal Farm and 1984, critiques of communism. Just thinking...

So...

I have to do an interview for the electronic press kit (?) the gist of the discussion topics being

Who is/was David Frost

Well... Talk show host, playboy, grand inquisitor, friendly neighborhood confidante, Methodist, satirist, Cambridge graduate, ubiquitous figure while I was growing up

Peter Morgan's gift for making movies or plays about people from history that you think you know and then showing you a side of them you never knew existed.

Well.. he seems to have a gift for imagining how people are when they are not 'on', what they get up to outside the glare of the spotlight, plucking the celebrity gods down to a mortal level to explore a common humanity

The play is not just 2 talking heads. Discuss the other characters in the play and what they bring to the story.

Well... the other characters remind us that 'no man is an island'; that co-operation and teamwork are as much a factor in achieving objectives as individual talent/genius/ambition. David has a girlfriend, a producer and a team of advisers/crack investigators/researchers who enable him to score his gotcha

The emotional journey the play takes you on- sympathy, disbelief, tenseness, suspense, amusement. How does the audience feel at the climax of the play?

Emotional journey ??Well.. you start off one place in your thinking and feeling and end up somewhere else  2 hours later. The nature of the territory travelled has something to do with the degree to which the writer has made the characters sympathetic and the actors can produce empathy. For the amateur psychologist, Peter presents the interview strategies then allows glimpses of that strategy being implemented which reveals the key to satisfying constructure; knowing about set up and pay off.

At the climax of the play, the audience feels that they need to pee out of excitement and bladder pressure.

The humor of the play

Seeing self-important characters slipping on intellectual banana skins and getting egg on their false faces

What makes a play good, how are plays different from musicals and what do audiences get out of a straight play that they can't get out of any other medium. How does Frost/Nixon deliver on that?

Good writing makes a play good. Snappy dialogue, fascinating speech rhythms, interesting themes, harmonious structure

Plays are different from musicals in that there are no songs, except when there is singing. They are usually quieter and make more demands of an audience to listen and be attentive.

Audiences get an intellectual and emotional workout. F/N delivers in that people leave the theatre thinking they are cleverer than they were when they came into it

Production value of the play, the big TV monitor & TV's overall role in the production.

Audiences are now so used to television that they rarely question how they are manipulated by the medium. People tend to respond negatively if the think they are being illicitly hypnotized. So the screen, any kind of screen, is seen in a scene on a stage at some stage as a metaphor for the interface between seeming reality and the truth...OK

Simple, eh?

A concern has drifted down that the producers are worried that people are not coming to see the show and filling the 3000 seat venues because they think it is just a history lesson.  

So what else is the show? 

A dynamic and exciting ensemble piece, a multi-media experience, a fashion show for seventies garb, all wrapped up in a psychological thriller

why should people go see a play anyway? 

The sanctimonious answer- Cos its good for their moral and spiritual health

The highbrow answer- the theatre is an engine of democracy, a space that people come to in order to meditate on the themes of justice and mercy and man's relationship to forces outside and inside of him. To experience pity and fear in catharsis

The practical answer- It gets them out of the house

All this makes want to check in with Howard Barker who for me is still the most inspiring visionary when it comes at articulating the processes of theatre. He can sound almost fundamentalist at times in his 'Art has no duty' position

That's entertainment!