The Sun Has Set

The final performance of Californian Lives came to an end shortly after nine on Sunday evening. Robin Holden ate his last burger in the Los Feliz diner, John Vernon drained his last drink in the shadow of Ben and Joe's and Carolyn Lyster watched her last Sunset. Half an hour later, cast, director and writer / producer, plus family and friends, were all ensconced in Strada on Upper Street.

We're all justifiably proud of ourselves. We had a great show, with great reviews and truly appreciative audiences. The only fly in the ointment was that the theatre was never full. Part of that was my responsibility; as producer I should have worked harder to get audiences in, but as producer my talents lie far more in organising behind the scenes than in promoting whatever I'm involved in. Yes, I used social media and paid publicity, and yes I paid for a P R person and yes, I lobbied the King's Head to become more involved in promoting a show that was taking place on their premises, but we could all have done more or been more efficient. But that's in the past and I should spend  time now searching for a co-producer whose primary talent is getting out there and promoting whichever production we have to hand.

Will the sun rise again on Californian Lives? We've all told each other what a great show we have and the actors all say that they have only started to get into their characters and they want to bring them to more and bigger audiences. But as always happens at the end of a production, individuals go off on their separate tangents and without confirmed dates - or even with them - other, better, offers may appear - a West End role, a Hollywood part. So that by the time we book another theatre, this or that player may not be available and director Emma King-Farlow has already said that she won't have time to direct a replacement, although she may allow for an assistant director to follow her lead. Which means that the odds of this production being revived are considerably less than one in two.

There I go again, with my native Scottish pessimism. But that won't stop me looking for other venues (we have a half-promise of somewhere later in the year) and even if this production falls apart the show could definitely be resurrected with other actors and other directors and more than once. Watch this space . . .