Stafford Castle
6/7/05

by Laura

When I woke up on Tuesday morning, I could hardly believe the day was here at last- the day when I would finally get the opportunity to see Bruno live in the flesh, and to experience his very first professional theatre role with him. It doesn't seem that long ago when his new role was first announced and we were all dashing around, desperately trying to get ticket's organised. Now the day was here at last and so when I awoke in the early hours of Tuesday morning, I was a bundle of excitement and nerves as it dawned on me that, in just a few hours, I would be getting to see Bruno Langley in action in Romeo & Juliet.

We had a very early start as we had to get the coach into London Victoria Coach Station at 7.40am and then, from there, we had to leg it across to London Euston station to get the train to Stafford at 11.16am. We just made it but, typically, the train was late- nothing new there then!

It wasn't too long before we were finally on our way though. The sun was shining outside and so it looked like it was going to be an absolutely perfect day to fully experience the Romeo & Juliet open air experience.

I was soon woken up from a brief slumber though as my mum pointed out of the window to show me that, as we approached Nuneaton station, it was now cloudy, pouring with rain, and just bloody miserable basically! I inwardly groaned as I imagined all kinds of horrors from Bruno falling over in the wet on stage to the performance actually being cancelled! Suddenly I wasn't in such a good mood!

Things weren't much better once we arrived in Stafford, although the rain was actually pouring a lot slower and so we took this as a good sign.

It was about a 5 minute walk to the hotel and I must admit to being constantly alert just in case anybody in particular came walking by ;) Sadly there was no early Bruno sighting though and so we got ourselves checked in before having a bit of a rest.

Afterwards, we headed downstairs, where we bumped into Angie and her nephew. After doing the usual introductions, we sat in the cafe and had a bit of a chat, most of which consisted of the words "Bruno", "Romeo", "Stafford", "Scarlett", "Juliet", and "rain"! Yes, despite the rain looking to be stopping earlier on, it was now in full flow again, pouring down constantly with no signs of stopping- uh oh! Again we began to panic about the performance being cancelled, wondering aloud how bad it would have to get before they cancelled it. I also got my first glimpse of Bruno in his costume as I looked through the newspaper's Angie had brought with her. He looked very nice indeed, and the Shakespeare costume's really suited both him and Scarlett.

After a while, we decided to go and get changed, ready to head off to the Castle. As luck would have it, the rain had now subsided and so we were feeling a lot more positive than we had been before! So off I go, merrily getting changed and getting all glammed up (ahem!) when Angie arrives at our hotel room to deliver the bad news- it had now started raining again!!! We decided to leave for the Castle straightaway, hoping and praying that the rain would eventually stop. As we walked to Angie's car, we went past the Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, which was full of Romeo & Juliet poster's. I just had to have my picture taken outside!

We needn't have panicked about the rain in the end as, whilst we sat in the car in the car park at the Castle, munching on flapjack's and KitKat's and a whole variety of things, the rain did actually stop, and it stayed fine for the rest of the evening!

As we sat in the car, we had a good view of what was going on- who was arriving and where they were going etc. We saw Rachel Bell, who plays the Nurse, arrive first and she wasted no time in heading up the hill to the Castle. She was shortly followed by Freya Copeland, who plays Lady Capulet. By now I was getting impatient- I wanted to see Bruno! I wondered aloud whether he had already arrived, and we all agreed that this was a definite possibility. We began to look out for Fiat Punto cars arriving, thinking that Bruno might be travelling in his car. We got rather excited when a mini bus arrived, thinking that Bruno could be on it with other cast member's. It turned out to be no one though. I then spotted a silver car. Getting excited, I wondered if it was a Fiat Punto. Angie' nephew helpfully pointed out that it was a mini. But somehow, the passenger in the car who was wearing a baseball cap looked strangely familiar...

As the man in the baseball cap got out of the car, it became obvious that he WAS Bruno- we'd recognise that stature anywhere! We observed him for a short time as he briefly stood by the car, with an overnight bag in hand (presumably for his appearance on GMTV in the morning). We didn't know what to do. Should we get out of the car and approach him? Should we take a discreet picture? Should we start walking up to the Castle now so that Bruno could casually pass us on the way? Whilst all these thoughts came out of our, now very dry, mouth's, Bruno started to walk up the hill to the Castle. Cue major panic as we debated what to do! In the end, myself, my mum, and Angie' nephew decided to sprint up the hill, although no amount of sprinting would have helped us catch up with him as he had disappeared completely by the time we started the short walk up to the Castle! We must have only been a minute behind him and so he must have run very very very fast- perhaps he saw us coming!!!

We couldn't see him anywhere once we had reached the Castle although, by the time Angie joined us, my Bruno radar was fully functioning him once more as I spotted him leaving his trailer and walking onto the stage. Although we couldn't see much of Bruno on the stage (as we were stood behind the performance area), we did see him testing out the stage, presumably for wetness, and also messing around with the sword's that are used as props during the show. He soon left the stage and went back down to the trailer, where we got to see quite a few glimpse's of him. I found it absolutely fascinating to watch- after seeing Bruno's quirky little mannerism's on various TV show's, we were actually getting to see them in real life! I'm rather fond of Stubbly Bruno and so I was disappointed to see him leave his trailer and start shaving his stubble off outside (whilst reading from a piece of paper- not many men are able to do two thing's at the same time!!) although, as I would later see, he was still looking as gorgeous as ever! Bruno Watching soon stopped, however, as he went back inside the trailer and closed the door- I presume he was getting himself ready for the show.

So, after all that fun, we were left standing around for a while, waiting to be allowed into the performance area. We were eventually allowed in at 7.30pm and I was stunned at how close the audience are to the stage! There isn't one bad seat in the house, you get a good view from wherever you sit! I was completely gobsmacked and in awe at how intimate the setting was; it was such a beautiful setting too, with the castle in the background, and the dark evening setting in....it was very atmospheric! I also loved the music they used to emphasise certain parts of the play- the music is from the Sophie's Choice and Troy soundtracks and so I think I might have to go out and buy them! The stage was absolutely stunning too, although Angie has explained what it looked like a lot better than me, and so you can refer to her description of it here!

It wasn't too long before the play started, although it was a few minutes late in starting. I got into the performance straightaway and my ears immediately pricked up when Lady Montague asked where Romeo is...I knew that his first scene wasn't too far away! And, sure enough, I soon spotted Bruno to my right, gradually making his way into the performance area. One of the best things about the performance is that you're able to watch the various actor's walking behind the stand's as they prepared to make their entrance's on stage. And so I saw Bruno, appearing from behind the stand's, and keeping in character as Romeo even though most of the audience were concentrating on what was happening ON the stage, not what was happening OFF stage!! I was very impressed with how Bruno kept in character- even when he slipped over in the grass at the end of the first part (just before the interval), he just got up and carried on, remaining in character the whole time!

Bruno really was absolutely fantastic as Romeo, and didn't muck up any of his lines. I was particularly impressed at how good he was, despite never having performed in a professional theatre production before. He was really throwing himself in at the deep end too as, if you have studied Shakespeare at school, then you'll know how hard it is to learn and to understand. It was especially fantastic to see Bruno portraying such a wide range of emotions- from anger to sadness, from laughing to crying. There was also a bit in the show where Romeo, Mercutio and Benvolio have a little song and dance as they tease the nurse, so we kind of got to see Bruno do a bit of singing and dancing too! As well as some sword fighting along the way! I really enjoyed watching the Angry Romeo scene's as Bruno put so much passion into these scene's- they reminded me of some of the scene's he portrayed during his turn as Todd in Corrie, like his final episode, for example. When all the anger, hurt and upset came spilling out about Angieon sleeping with Sarah- the anger was portrayed similarly here. A particularly strong scene was when Romeo killed Tybalt- the scene's following this were full of angst and emotion from Bruno, especially during the scene when Romeo lay sobbing on the floor. You could really feel his angst and pain at that moment especially.

Above all else, he really made the role believeable and you really felt sorry for Romeo the more you watched him and the deeper he got himself into trouble. The death scene at the end was particularly sad, with Bruno's acting being particularly strong as Romeo died in Juliet's arms. After Juliet killed herself too, some sad music started up and I found myself unable to hold the tears back any longer, the soppy thing I am!

Scarlett Johnson was also very good as Juliet- and I wasn't expecting her to be, having seen her performances in Eastenders. Having gathered from what Scarlett said on GMTV this week though, it would seem that she wasn't entirely happy there and so this probably accounts for her sometime's not very good performances on the soap. She was infinitely better here, and put in a fantastic performance as well.

Bruno and Scarlett shared some really wonderful chemistry on stage and work really well together. They were totally convincing as the star-crossed lover's. You can tell that they get on so well and have a great off screen rapport, and this enhanced their on stage relationship even further. The chemistry was particularly obvious during the balcony scene, where they professed their love for one another, and also during the bed scene, where they slept together...not literally though, mind! I was very impressed how they did the bed scene actually- it came across as very beautiful and romantic, and took place with some beautiful music. I was surprised at how much snogging they get to do during the play- lucky Scarlett! But all that nervous giggling and stolen kisses here, there and everywhere were a joy to watch and very sweet.

Rachel Bell is also fantastic as the nurse- she really dominates the stage when she appears, with her outgoing personality and over the top accent! She was very funny and entertaining to watch and ensured that there were plenty of laughs on the way, as well as the obvious tragic elements of the play.

There was a fantastic supporting cast too and I really can't fault anyone's performance- they were all fantastic and all worked really well together. I've seen a few Romeo & Juliet's over the years and this was definitely the best I have ever seen and, no, not just because Bruno is in it!

I had a fantastic view from the fourth row, especially as Bruno had to look in my direction a few time's throughout the play. To my shock, he actually made eye contact with me and looked straight into my eyes- I don't know how I managed to hold it together! All I do know, however, is that I managed to hold his gaze without coyly looking away. He made eye contact with me again a few minutes later, and a couple of brief time's after that. I felt so lucky and it felt like I was being singled out- although, he probably makes eye contact with whoever is sitting in my seat during every performance! On Tuesday evening though, it was me who was the lucky one :)

Once the performance had finished, the cast came back on stage to take a bow. Bruno and Scarlett were the last cast member's to come back on stage and as they stood in the middle of the stage, holding hands, with the rest of the cast all stood around them, they had massive grin's on their face's as the audience gave them the biggest cheer of the evening; they looked a million miles away from the soap's they have left behind and it made me even more certain that both made the right decision to leave Corrie and Eastenders when they did. When Bruno ran back onto stage, he did stick his tongue out at a couple of people he seemed to know in the audience and so I wondered whether he had some friend's or relative's in the house that evening.

After the cast took their bow's to all three side's of the audience, they left the stage- Bruno and Scarlett with their arm's wrapped around each other, and obviously euphorious after another highly successful performance.

I was very sad that the evening had come to an end, although I cheered up considerably as were were leaving when I happened to catch a glimpse of a topless Bruno getting changed in his trailer! This was purely by accident, of course- I was just looking around, reflecting on the evening, and there he was!

As we prepared to walk back down to the hill and back to our normal everyday lives, we soon discovered that the day wasn't over yet as, once more, we spotted Bruno! By now it was pitch black outside but we could see Bruno's unmistakeable figure approaching. He skipped along the grass, stretching his arms as he went, and quickly disappeared inside the beer tent, so obviously full of the joys of spring (or should that be summer!). I do so hope that he had a nice cold beverage waiting for him inside the tent as he jolly well deserved it after wowing everyone with a truly stunning performance!

Seeing Bruno in Romeo & Juliet really was a once in a lifetime opportunity for any Bruno fan and I feel so lucky that I was able to take up this opportunity, although I feel sad that it's over now- I want to go again!!! I will certainly be treasuring the memory of Tuesday forever though as it really was such a brilliant day. I feel so privileged that we had the opportunity to not only see Bruno in character as Romeo, but to also see a bit of him as himself. It really was an absolutely wonderful evening, and I feel so very proud of Bruno- he really was fantastic and I'm sure that he has got a long and successful career ahead of him as no doubt Scarlett has too.

Photos...


Stafford Castle


Me outside the Gatehouse Theatre

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