Guest Blog: Bill Champion and Nadim Naaman On BY JEEVES

Bill Champion: When Alan Ayckbourn asked me if I would like to play Jeeves in By Jeeves at the Old Laundry Theatre, in their 25th anniversary production, it required some serious thought...for all of a second and a half!

I was already booking train tickets online before I'd put the phone down. The reason I jumped at the chance was because, having worked for Alan before on many occasions, I knew exactly what to expect.

First, I knew above all else that it would be fun. In the 20-odd years on and off that I've worked for Sir A, the atmosphere in the rehearsal room is always the same: happy. He seems to have the gift of picking people who can meld together into a happy, friendly, supportive cast. The By Jeeves team are that in spades! I don't think I've ever been in a rehearsal room with so much constant laughter.

Second, I knew to expect a cast of deeply talented actors, who would be a delight and a challenge to work with. The sort of actors that always require you to bring your A game to the table. That's always so exciting to be a part of.

Thirdly, I knew to expect Sir Alan, and that means you know you're going to be dealing with a script that's been constructed like a Swiss watch. By turns hysterical, touching and clever. Directed by a master of the craft, with the deftest of touches, whether that's the practical blocking of a scene or giving an actor just the right note to nudge their character onto the right path.

Then to have the icing on the cake that you're working at The Old Laundry Theatre in glorious Bowness-on-Windermere, one of the most beautiful places on the planet, AND it's their 25th anniversary production.

As Bertie Wooster might say, you'd have to be a prize chump to say no.

Nadim Naaman: We've just reached the end of our third rehearsal week on By Jeeves, and what a treat it has been thus far. After initial music calls and costume fittings in London, the company travelled up to Scarborough, where we've had the privilege of piecing the show together in Sir Alan Ayckbourn's private rehearsal room.

And now we are off for our final week of rehearsals in the Lake District at The Old Laundry Theatre, where the production will run for three weeks to celebrate the 25th anniversary of this tremendous little theatre, of which Sir Alan is a trustee.

This new production of By Jeeves reunites several members of the show's original 1996 creative team (including the owner of TOL theatre, the award-winning costume designer Roger Glossop - not to mention Alan directing!). This has undoubtedly helped to generate an atmosphere of celebration, excitement and nostalgia throughout the process.

On a personal note, I couldn't be happier to be working on this show, and to be finding my feet in the role of Bertie Wooster, an iconic figure of English comedic literature. Big shoes to fill, following in the footsteps of actors such as Hugh Laurie, Steven Pacey, Stephen Mangan and Robert Webb, who have previously portrayed the loveable idiot, but I'm relishing the challenge. As Alan and I have concluded in the rehearsal room, he's totally confident, yet totally incompetent. It's great fun.

It's also a delight to have made the move from one Andrew Lloyd Webber score to another. After a run of two years playing Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre, I'm thrilled to find myself learning different songs by the same legendary composer.

I always strive to be versatile in my career, and so I feel I've hit the jackpot here: from playing a noble Parisian Vicomte to playing a bumbling English buffoon, from high melodrama to relentless farce, from mega-musical to small-scale, from 1,200 seats to 200 seats... From The West End to Windermere! The contrast is a delight. I'm very lucky.

By Jeeves at the Old Laundry Theatre 6 October-4 November

Photo credit: Florence Acland Photography

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