Erasure • Features • Private Ear
Ear To The Ground #2 : Tamsin Manvell and Isobel Work - Frocks & Shocks!
Armed with a notebook and a few spare cotton reels, we invaded the wardrobe area backstage at Hammersmith, hoping to discover the secrets of those lightning costume changes and to check if Dean's creations were in fact 'taking the strain'.
Tamsin Manvell and Isobel Work appeared from behind racks of multi- coloured cut-aways, enveloped in steam. They had started preparing for the evening's performance in the early afternoon and would finish around midnight, leaving the costumes to soak overnight after Tamsin has given them her famous 'sniff test'. Every item is washed, ironed or steamed into shape daily.
We looked at the day's running repairs: Annick's "Abba" shoes needed to be stuck back together after coming apart: Annick gave a still-elegant one-legged performance - the broken windscreen had been fixed for STOP! and 'Saturn' still needed a mend - a welding job as it turned out.
Besides jammed and broken zips (Andy was ripped out of his flying suit one night to get down to his undies for the next scene), flyaway wigs had a hair-raising habit of refusing to stay on, especially Heavon's during the first few nights in Manchester.
Vince is poured nightly into his Mae West outfit, and although he has few costume changes he can sometimes be spotted in the truck wearing a very odd assortment of bits and pieces. The dancers' petticoats have occasionally slipped their elastic during the cowboy scene, the girls stylishly retrieving the situation by using them as props.
The costumes have stood up pretty well, damaged dancers not quite so well. Basic first aid skills from Tamsin and Isobel were more than useful as dancers, struck down with colds, dislocated shoulders and burns, needed emergency treatment. Only near the end of the Hammersmith concerts were the original team of dancers back together.
Isobel & Tamsin thought that the UK tour had been fairly straight forward for them, but in Europe their schedule would be all day and every day. They were a little anxious over the Eastern European facilities, envisaging a 'no plugs in the sinks and brown running water' scenario.
After 35 concerts, Tamsin, Isobel & most of the crew know the songs & choreography off by heart - a glimpse backstage would reveal everyone dancing along with the show! If the cast become victims of Toronto Tummy or the Berlin Bug in the coming weeks, Vince and Andy can relax knowing the show could (almost) still go on!
Production Manager Lee Charteris - Stand By Your Oil Can!
Like other members of the Tour's crew, Production Manager Lee Charteris can reel off a breathtaking CV of bands and singers he has worked with professionally, including the more recent Freddie Mercury memorial concert.
Birmingham-bred Lee told us that the Erasure tour had been a real challenge and he readily acknowledged its 'testing, different, but exciting qualities". The theatrical nature of the sets stretched him and he was "keen to become more involved in this area of stage management".
Sometimes the tour sets developed a mind of their own. The hot-air balloon was especially prone to weird behaviour. The whole stunt often depended on Andy's legendary agility, and all Lee and his boys could do was quietly bite their nails backstage. Out came the trusty oil can and the hydraulic workings were stripped out to be replaced by a fresh motorised system. Vince's truck ambled around the stage, quite the thing, not appearing to do too much damage to the surface or exceeding the speed limit.
Lee praised his crew for their, "open-minded approach and ability to muck in", considering himself to be a 'Dad' figure to them (we wonder whether the crew would agree with that description!).
Towards the end of the UK tour, Lee had already begun his forward planning for Europe and the USA. How to dissect the set to fit in the trucks was among the most crucial decisions he had to make.
Lee was obviously pleased to be going, 'on the road' again with new problems to overcome each day, leaving old ones where they should be - forgotten! Never short on optimism, Lee forestalls any panic from his colleagues with the constant soothing reassurance of "It'll be fine!" and of course it is.