A couple of days in the Ste Dode Sauna
(a personal view from a relieved but happy participant)
Last week, in full canicule, I was regularly looking at the weather forecast and rejoicing that the temperatures for the next few days were supposed to be no more than a refreshing 30C. But, as is usually the case with weather forecasts, it was wrong, wasn’t it?
So on Friday morning I turned up at the Salle des Fêtes in Ste Dode to find that most of the set for An Evening With ETC had already been built and that the crew were happily working away. That rapidly changed as the day warmed up and, as the hall did not have air-conditioning, it wasn’t long before we were mopping our brows, tee-shirts clinging to our bodies and droplets of sweat dripping from our faces at the slightest effort. By mid afternoon the temperature was 35C but we soldiered on having been reliably informed by Meteo France that it was supposed to cool down later. Ha – ha! I’m sure I saw a couple of pigs flying past but maybe I was just hallucinating with dehydration by that point.
Then, guess what? We had our dress rehearsal. About a dozen or so sweaty bodies all tried to perform as we hoped to do on the morrow. Not a chance in that heat. Modesty was forgotten as everybody had to prevail upon others, male or female, to peel their sweaty, sodden clothing off in order to redress for their next appearance. Speaking personally, I managed to perform my two pieces reasonably well, dressed for a typical Scottish summer in kilt outfit. Don’t ask! But for my stint as backstage crew dressed in a boiler suit it wasn’t long before said boiler suit earned its name. I was boiled to the point of passing out. So, much to the dismay of some of the cast who were relying on me to set the stage for their turns to perform, I called it a day and went home before I literally became a medical emergency.
The next morning, Saturday, The Big Day, I arrived at the Salle des Fêtes to find Nick up on the roof fitting black plastic sheeting over the skylights to keep the light out (and the heat in). But I had a job to do – set out 120 chairs and around 40 tables before the ladies came to do the decorations. As the morning progressed more and more of the crew turned up to get their tasks organised. By that time I’d knocked off again and gone home for a couple of hours rest in air- conditioned bliss.
When I returned at 4pm I was encouraged to see that the cast and crew hadn’t quite melted into a few greasy stains on the floor and were all busy getting their props and costumes ready whilst wondering if the audience would actually turn up to be baked and boiled alive and then fed curry to top off their experience in The Ste Dode Sauna.
Then, at 6pm, hallelujah, they did! They turned up. We were ready to put on one of the most challenging shows that we have performed. Several of our planned scenes and sketches had to be deleted due to the impossibility of being able to change out of and into sweat soaked costumes sufficiently quickly. But in the ETC when push comes to shove we shove. And didn’t we half shove! My God, we shoved! And heaved, and pushed and shoved again! And carried on shoving!
And Wow! What an evening! In the end everything worked – I think, everything went to plan – I think, nobody really forgot their lines – I think and with a wonderfully appreciative audience who cried and laughed when they were supposed to we had a fantastic celebration of the ETCs first 10 years of productions. Everybody enjoyed themselves tremendously and it was great to be at floor level to interact with our audience rather than being up on a stage. I, for one, loved it and I can’t wait until we maybe do the same again. Even the curry was delicious.
After all, it’s not every day that I’m asked to pour a bucket of water over the Secretary’s head and fill her welly boots with water. Twice!