These recent times have been some of the hardest challenges we've faced and as a community, it hit us pretty hard. However during these difficult times, here at Pocket Size Theatre, we wanted to spread a little positivity and share some peoples experiences because we are all in this together. Each day we'll be speaking to our friends in the industry to share their experiences with you all so take a read and see how people are getting through these hard times.
Let's stick together, share the love and get through this as a community!
Mark Dugdale is currently playing Kevin T, Gareth and Others in the London production of Come From Away having previously been part of the original London cast as a swing. His other credits include Jersey Boys (Piccadilly Theatre); The Commitments (Palace Theatre); We Will Rock You (Dominion); Les Misérables (Queens Theatre); Chicago (Cambridge Theatre); Jesus Christ Superstar (Regent’s Park Open Air); Jest End (Leicester Square Theatre); Have a Nice Life (Union Theatre); The Threepenny Opera (Opera Northern Ireland); Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (UK Tour) and The Boy Friend (UK Tour).
Let's stick together, share the love and get through this as a community!
*Some information mentioned in this article may be out of date due to the progress of the current situation. Please keep that in mind when reading*
Mark Dugdale is currently playing Kevin T, Gareth and Others in the London production of Come From Away having previously been part of the original London cast as a swing. His other credits include Jersey Boys (Piccadilly Theatre); The Commitments (Palace Theatre); We Will Rock You (Dominion); Les Misérables (Queens Theatre); Chicago (Cambridge Theatre); Jesus Christ Superstar (Regent’s Park Open Air); Jest End (Leicester Square Theatre); Have a Nice Life (Union Theatre); The Threepenny Opera (Opera Northern Ireland); Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (UK Tour) and The Boy Friend (UK Tour).
On Monday 16th March 2020, The Society of London Theatre announced the closure of all Theatres in London. This followed suit with regional venues. Where were you when you found out and what was your initial reaction?
I remember walking to work that evening and the West End of London feeling so empty, it was a Monday evening at 5 and normally it's buzzing, I didn't even have to queue at the Tescos Metro. I phoned Rachel Tucker because I knew she had flown back to the UK after the Broadway shut down, we both felt like it was inevitable that the West End would follow suit, we just didn't know when. I think The Prime Minister was advising the public not to go to the theatre as I was on that phone call. As far as we (the cast and company on Come From Away) were concerned it was business as usual, so we started warm-up at 6.15pm and at about 6.30pm the entire company were on the stage and our producer John broke the news to us. My reaction was shock and disbelief, others were crying, it really was surreal. The confusion of not knowing if that was the end of our journey with this wonderful show was really the scary part. I think its important in life to get closure and say goodbye to something and my heart goes out to all my fellow actors who didn't get that chance to say goodbye to something that will have, no doubt, been a massive part of their life.
Can you tell us anything productive you’ve been doing?
Well I am massively into fitness, I go to the gym 5 or 6 times a week. I work it into my routine so I feel like my body is warm and has been physical before I get to work. So the gyms closing down has been a huge shift for me. I managed to get a couple of bits, a pull-up bar and some resistance bands before the sports shops closed down, so I have created a really small makeshift gym in my bedroom. I have found a lot of things online, zoom classes and fitness experts running class on Instagram so I am doing a lot of working out. I miss the weights but I feel that if I can manage to come out of this healthier than I went in, I will be thrilled.
