click on each image below to see a larger pic
When we arrived at the NT, I was thinking : perhaps Nicola is here already. The great moment is approaching! I collected the tickets at the theatre and then went looking for the Stage Door to hand in my red envelope. I recognized the place thanks to all the pictures I had seen from other fans on the internet. The woman who was there told me she would make sure that Nicola would get my note and put it in a kind of pigeonhole which was allocated to Nicola.
Then we took the time to have a drink by the Thames : the weather was so good for this time of year and the atmosphere was so fantastic : a lot of people there seemed to be happy to be here as well. There was music, the sun, in all, a perfect day. We were happy… at least I was happy.
We went back to the hotel to get ready for the play. A band was playing music for guests in the lobby and in the restaurant. It was just so nice and perfect. I wanted to stay there forever, in one of the cosy armchairs! But Nicola wouldn’t wait for us and I wanted to be pretty for the occasion. To go back to the NT, this time we walked over the Hungerford Bridge near Charing Cross station. It was so nice from here. The London Eye was illuminated in blue and the NT was lit in several different colours. Around us, people were rushing so as not to be late to one of the NT performances.
When we arrived at the Cottelsoe Theatre, a lot of people were there already so we went inside immediately. A nice young woman helped us to find our seats and when she showed us where we were supposed to be, I knew the performance would be amazing and I’d be the happiest woman in the world. We were in the front row! My feet could touch the edge of the illuminated scene (which was really beautiful by the way). And then the play began.
For those who have seen it, there’s no need for me to say how good it was. We were amazed by the performance of Luke Treadaway. It was so realistic, so powerful …
And then Nicola arrived on stage and my heart stopped. She was so great. And her voice! I thought I would hear Ruth Evershed, but it wasn’t her because the vocabulary used by Nicola in the play is different from the vocabulary used by Ruth. It felt so weird to see Nicola so close, to hear her voice live. Two scenes took my breath away : when she “reads” the last letter in which she explains why she did what she did, I almost cried. If it had lasted 10 more seconds, I would have for sure. Even my husband told me his eyes were wet! I was so proud of Nicola for that, for showing him her talent, her genius… And then there was the scene when she finds out that Christopher’s dad had said that she died and she breaks down and starts crying. It just reminded me of that scene in Spooks in episode 8.1. I was so sad at that moment with all these images from the episode in my head. At one moment, she was so close to us, I could see her eyes were completely wet : she was living her role, again, even if she’d be playing it for more than two months. At that moment, I felt so much respect for her, as an actress. Than she sat on the edge of the scene just in front of my husband. She was just there, so close… ! Of course when the play ended, we gave a standing ovation. Not everyone in the audience stood up but I did, for Nicola and for all the other actors who had been just perfect.
After the play, we went out and waited by the Stage Door. I was so nervous. My husband checked the settings of the camera : it wasn’t the time to have a problem with it, not now. I checked I had everything ready : pen, picture… My husband asked me if I knew what I was about to tell her. Of course I had some many things to tell her and to ask as well but I knew it would be impossible because when she’d be here, I’d lose my ability to speak.
Some of the actors went out very quickly by the Stage Door and after waiting for 10 minutes, I saw Nicola in the reception area of the Stage Door. She was there and she was coming out! She came towards me saying, “I’m looking for Ruth!” That was so surreal, to hear Nicola speaking with her Ruth Evershed voice “looking for Ruth”! Actually Ruth was another fan who had left a note the previous day and Nicola knew she should come out to meet her. So I waited until she finished her conversation with Ruth.
When Nicola finished speaking with Ruth, she turned to go back inside because she said that she had some friends/family were waiting for her. I panicked. I couldn’t possibly let her go without having a chance to tell her how much I admired her. So I called her by her first name and she stopped and turned back towards me with a smile on her face. I asked her if she had received my note and she asked, “What note?”. I explained that I had left a postcard for her during the afternoon around 3pm. She said that she was already in the theatre by then so she hadn’t gotten the postcard yet but she would look for it after our meeting.
So I’ve watched again this Spooks episod with Lucas and Ros at St Pancras in season 7 (s7.6) and the lift I’ve taken into picture is really the one we can see at the end of the episod!!!
I laughed, I cried, I laughed again! Such a great review/report of your trip to London & Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time! Thank you for sharing with other fans!
I’m soooo glad you liked it! I’m really happy that you felt all these emotions reading the report : it means that I managed to describe all the emotions I felt when I was there so that other fans can feel the same! I was so thrilled when I read other fans’ reports that I wanted to share my experience with others!
What a great write-up! But too bad you don’t look happy at ALL! LOL! I’m so happy for you. And good for you for calling out her name and getting her to come back and meet you! I’m so jealous she kissed you on the cheek! She did the same to my husband but no to me 🙁 You expressed so well exactly the way I felt when I met her. I was floating on air and I was so happy even after meeting her for the third time. So you have a lot to look forward to the next time you meet her! Wow, Claridge’s, can’t top that!
I still don’t know where I found the courage to call her by her name. If I had waited 2 more seconds, she’d been away… When she turned back to me, I was so surprised and I didn’t know what to say for a few seconds! That’s why I talked about the note! To give me time to realise Nicola was there in front of me and I was talking to her! I can’t believe you’ve met her 3 times! You’re so lucky! I can’t wait for the next time. I hope I won’t have to wait too long! If there’s a next time, I’ll make a list of the things I wanna ask/say not to forget as it happened when I met her! The Claridge’s was a great experience! It’s going to be hard to do better! Perhaps a suite next time! I should start saving money right now!
Even if I have 2 pictures and an autograph, it’s still hard for me to really believe I’ve met Nicola Walker! She was sooo fantastic, nice, great,beautiful, gorgeous, etc…!!! Indeed, it’s going to be hard to do better than the Claridge’s! The Savoy? LOL
Brilliant report, Virginie. So pleased you got to meet Nicola. The Claridge’s, eh? How are the rest of us Nicola fans ever going to top that when we go to London next time?!