Oh what fabulous glorious fun (as well as hard work) playing Davina is in The Wedding Party Immersive Dining Experience. This time, Davina went with pink hair (temporary hair putty – fabulous wash out stuff) – and honestly, this was the best ever. It’s probably 80% improv and there is nothing quite like the thrill of not knowing what people are going to say to you, and responding in character. The amount of work we all have to do to build our characters behind the scenes is insane – stuff that never gets seen really, except to become the character like a second skin.
I love Davina and I love playing her. I love that she’s looking for at least one date at her daughter’s wedding, constantly on Tinder, thinks her daughters are the best people in the universe and would do anything for them – see there, that’s the only thing we actually have in common! She is so very far away from me and yet I adore playing her, the permission I get from everyone in the room to be as outrageous and larger than life as I can. It’s not unlike that one time I dyed my hair blonde and got away with so much – because people expected it. For that six months in my life, I had the best time – and I can assure you, blondes definitely have more fun.
The feedback we got this time was out of this world. We had 5 birthdays, and one 38 year wedding anniversary – we made a point of singing happy birthday to them and congratulating the couple. We always make a fuss of special occasions. A man celebrating his 65th birthday said it was the best night he can remember in years, and one of his favourite things was us all going round the tables to talk to people – I adore this part of it myself. It makes them feel involved, valued – not just as audience, but as participants. Talking with them and engaging them is so special – I always talk about the “hen night” that the ladies on the tables were on, talk about falling out of the taxi… I make up the most outrageous hen night that I can think of and they all join in, add stuff, and always always laugh. Love it.
Here’s some dressing room shots for your delectation!
