Hey Everyone,
Happy Thursday. Hope you're all doing well. I've been up for hours already preparing my flat for utter mayhem which begins tomorrow morning. My brother in law and his dad arrive tonight to start work on ripping out my bathroom and completely replacing it and revamping it which is gonna be a nightmare (for them not me) but it also means that I am homeless for a week.
I can't wait for it to be finished and I'm thrilled I have two perfectionists working on it for me because it's gonna look a treat. So long bath, hello MASSIVE shower!
Anyway, I'm gonna head in to do two shows in a little while. There's not much to say about what I've been up to this week as I was signed off from Thursday through to Saturday and so all I did was rest and that is dull for me let alone for you if I were to write about it.
So…… I have decided to write about some suggestions that people tweeted me last night.
First topic:
TELL US ABOUT YOUR SHANGHAI TRIP AFTER GHOST!?
Okay, so it's called Ultimate Broadway. I'm one of the four principals, the others being Ria Jones, Kerry Ellis and Josh Young. There is a British ensemble of 10 singer/dancers, a Chinese ensemble of 25 and a 45 piece orchestra.
It's at the amazing Shanghai Culture Square Theatre which is one of the most stunning theatres on the planet. The principals are there for a week and a half of rehearsals before doing 13 performances.
I've been given my song list and I can't wait to perform such a variety of songs. One of which might just be a duet from Ghost!
So I finish Ghost on October 6th, I head to Cardiff on october 7th for a big concert titled 'A Night At The Musicals' and then fly to Shanghai first thing on Monday the 8th of October for three weeks.
While I'm on the subject, Facebook & Twitter are not permitted in Shanghai therefore I probably won't be writing my blog weekly while I'm there but will certainly write one when I'm back on October 30th
Right next topic:
SHARE SOME OF YOUR FAVOURITE MEMORIES OF MATT BEADLE WHO PASSED AWAY LAST WEEK.
Matt was an incredible guy who I trained with at college about 8 years ago. He sadly died just over a week ago aged 32, whilst on a stag holiday with his friends in Las Vegas. It's such a tragic loss to the world, he was one of the most genuinely down to earth, kind and fun guys I had the pleasure of knowing. A wise, mature soul with the biggest smile I've ever seen.
I have many fond memories of him from our college days, the most prominent was that we were in the same singing lessons in our first ever term in college. Three of us, every Thursday morning - I remember him having such a loud voice that the windows would almost shake. He was singing the song 'Alive' in our very first lesson and I thought 'shit, this college has good singers, I need to up my game'. He inspired me, encouraged me and we just enjoyed each other's company. I don't profess to have been one of his closest friends but I am so very sad to hear the news of his death and my deepest sympathy goes to his family and friends. I hope they find the strength to deal with the shock and their grief.
It certainly proved to me and other people who knew Matt just how precious life is. Take each day and cherish it folks as we only have one chance at this life!
Last topic:
TWO YEARS OF BLOGGING!!!
Ok so this topic wasn't tweeted to me, I just remembered that it has been two years this week since my first ever blog, which I posted from my digs in Cheltenham whilst touring with Oklahoma. So much has changed since that job and that part of my life - So…
I thought I would suggest that if any of you, my wonderful loyal readers, remember a specific blog post that you enjoyed reading about then please tweet/Facebook me the link to it once you've found it amongst my previous posts and tell me why you enjoyed it - it'll be a different way of me having a trip down memory lane!
The reason I started my blog was to give people an insight into the every day life of a leading actor in theatre and TV. The response I get from all of you who read it is amazing and I'm glad so many of you enjoy reading them, (I'm not far off 100,000 blog views!) feel inspired by them and can a lot of the time relate to them and hopefully feel uplifted by my positivity. I don't profess to be the happiest person on earth, and there have been plenty of times were I too have been in a dark place and found certain things in life to be very difficult but to dwell on those moments and not celebrate life is just a waste and I have the memory of Matt Beadle, a wonderful man to remind me to do what I want in life and enjoy every minute.
This Blog is dedicated to the memory of Matt Beadle!
Keep Believing, Thanks for reading (that rhymes) and above all……
SH-BOOM!!!
Mark
PS Two weeks Saturday is the last ever show of Ghost in the West End (October 6th), if you've not seen it, I urge you to buy tickets asap and come over the next fortnight!
