ECHO 7/1/06

Final panto performances – magical last two shows – both sold out completely -in the first I was blessed with an energy that allowed me to reinvent much of what I had achieved, which at this late stage gave the show for me a clear way to say goodbye to it – the second show was more accomplished, perhaps less edgier than the first, but as Pol said: ‘You were on fire out there’! There were of course tears from the little ones and some of the back stage crew; in the ensuing party complements abound from the director and his wife who said that I had truly made this dame my own and that she had been a pleasure to behold – she was sweet, funny and believable! I was humbled by all of these things people said, but most of all by a note from an old Equity member passed on to me by the DSM in the interval between the two shows which stated that she thought I was ‘the best Dame since Clarkson Rose’. I do not yet know who this name refers to but must find out. Either way, it touched me deeply. And not only that but my parents had made a surprise visit to see the final show, all kept secret by Pol and my brother and other relatives for the past two weeks. Such a joy to see them there afterwards, I was overwhelmed by the pleasure of it, and of the fact they had a chance to see this piece of work after all. At the end of the night I did something I never normally do at the end of a run, I made my way back to my dressing room, all the lights out, the party coming to a close upstairs gone midnight, and in that room I said goodbye to Nora, all my wigs and costumes hanging there in colourful rows but now removed of their life until next Christmas.

Dame face, my routine –
- Soap down eyebrows until flat;
- Moisturize face and neck;
- Apply Leichner No.5 to face, neck and eye area, where necessary applying tow or three layers to hide five o’clock shadow etc;
- Add a dusting of Leichner Blending Powder all over to seal foundation;
- Apply eye shadow (in my case vivid green) to upper eyelids and up over the brows in an arching shape to accentuate look of ‘surprise’;
- Apply false eyelashes;
- Add eye liner as follows: false eyebrows again arching over the eyeshadow shape applied earlier to further the ‘surprise’; then add clown-like lashes beneath the eyes (akin to the Clockwork Orange gangs eye motif); then a fine line above the false eyelashes onto the eyelid that curves out either side of each eye to accentuate depth and darkness of the eyes and the false lashes;
- Rouge cheeks with lipstick and blend into the ‘circular’ clownish motif on each cheek, though never as clearly defined as a clown or doll for example, bringing a little bit of the colour down to accentuate the cheek-bones and jowls;
- Add the ‘kiss’ lips with a lip brush, with the heart-shaped, divided curves on the top lip and a truncated semi-circle on the bottom and fill with lipstick;
- A beauty spot added to the left-hand side of the cheek or beneath the nose above the top lie with the eye liner and a final dusting all over with the Blending Powder to seal, dress into your first costume (of 7) and go play!