Final KlezNut: the cloud-capp'd towers

Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Ye all which it inherit, shall dissolve
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind.

We did our final show today. Our final two shows, really - 11 & 1. The 1pm show was so sold out that not only were kids sitting on laps, they were sitting in the aisle, where Solomon, Sheba & I, who all made entrances down it, did our best not to step on them.

I knew it was going to be hard to say good-bye to the cast, the crew, and the whole experience. And it was. As soon as the audience had gone, we actually broke down the entire set, taking down lights & curtains & the big painted backdrop; putting away costumes & props, . . . and I stayed to the bitter end, when nothing was left, and the people who'd been patiently waiting - lighting & set plots in hand - to start setting up the next show ("The Princess of Riverside Drive" - I kid you not!) were told, "We're done. It's all yours!"

In a way, I needed to be there to hear that.

I really hadn't wanted to take my silly big grey cloak off, either. And when I did, I insisted that Delia stand by to receive it, while I recited what I could remember of Prospero's speech from Tempest (above) - not much, unfortunately; I wish I'd written it down beforehand! but of course, I hadn't even thought of it til then - and although she said, "You're a nut," she patiently listened, and folded the cloak, and took it away I know not where.

Now my charms are all o'erthrown,
And what strength I have's mine own....


And so, farewell. A new year dawns for us all.