I suppose I should tell you that last week I saw Nye and got to meet Michael Sheen at the Stage Door.
First off - yes, he is a literal angel. I can see why Neil Gaiman has said this and casted him the way he did. Does he have to do Stage Door, night after night? No. But he does, and with so much kindness.
For example, after he had spoken with each and every one of us, given each person the full light of his attention (there were about 30-40 people there that night) he scanned the crowd to be truly sure everyone had had their moment before walking off into the street.
But the moment I want to tell you about is this. After being mortified by a friend telling MS about my Aziraphale cosplay (the cosplay wasn't that great and I was trying to play it cool about the GO obsession geeeeez), I watched as MS lifted his hand and lightly touched the beige blazer I was wearing.
"Well this is a very Aziraphale colour," he said to me he said.
I still haven't recovered.
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I MET MICHAEL SHEEN.
16/03/24, National Theatre
So, if you've read my post about booking tickets to see Michael, you know all about my what-ifs. But the day was finally here.
I arrived at the National Theatre, followed all the Nye signs and here's the Olivier Theatre. I made my sister buy me the show's programme, hoping I would be able to get it signed.
I find my seat, I'm not in the centre but the stage still feels very close and you can see everything (amphitheatres are always the best).
Lights out. The audience is in religious silence.
Can't believe I'm actually here, this is happening.
[skip this part in smaller font, if you want to avoid spoilers]
In the words of Staged, he really loses himself in his roles.
First of all, it's great to hear him speak in a Welsh accent.
But then we also see him turning back into a child, and you can totally believe he's young and innocent again. His stutter feels so real, his struggle and sadness too. The entire ensamble is great during the classroom scene, where they all help Nye against their bullying teacher (using those big canes to make him look scary really works). Hearing young Nye confessing that at times he thinks he 'shouldn't exist' because of who he is was a gut punch; Michael's delivery of that whole part is incredible, in that moment he really becomes a little boy that allows himself to feel vulnerable and says something dark to a friend. The way he jumps while saying "I can visualise and enunciate!" made me wanna jump too, he was ready to give up and then he found the solution through books, it's the joy and relief you feel when you realise that there is another way and your life is not over.
Now, I've watched musicals all my life and let me tell you that man is meant to be in one. He opened his mouth and all I could see was someone that had been waiting a long time for the occasion to show his talent, truly showstopping. He was so free and happy and confident, singing and dancing spectacularly. I couldn't stop smiling and giggling, we all clapped.
It's clear he means every word he says, and when he points and shouts his political arguments at the audience, those who feel called out must be shaking; I thought 'This is how people in Ancient Greece must have felt everytime they went to the theatre'. His Nye is inspiring, passionate, someone you'd want to follow, he stands up for what he believes in and lets nothing get in his way.
We get to watch him flirt, on all fours, waggling his 'tail'; everytime we think we've seen all he's capable of, he does something like this and surprises us.
But most of all, we see him being scared, first of having to do something, and then of not being able to do enough for all of us. At one point everyone has requests for Nye and I was expecting him to shout "Heal yourselves!" like Jesus in JCS, it totally conveyed what it must have been like to be in his role at the time, overwhelmed with daunting responsibilities.
In general, I appreciated the fact that it wasn't a linear biography, they chose life moments that have universal situations everyone can relate too, like they do in bio-musicals. I loved the staging. The colour palette is so recognisable; the curtains and the beds are used in many different ways so everything is explored at its full potential.
He is on stage basically all the time for more than two hours (sometimes twice a day, can you imagine?). Also barefoot and in his pajamas from start to finish, he looks like a teddy bear you just want to hug and protect.
He bows, looks at Nye's achievements, then leaves the stage.
Standing ovation, applause.
I go back to the theatre lobby, I was supposed to wait for my sister, but she's late. Meanwhile, a fan asks me how to get to the Stage Door. I start too fear that I'm going to miss my chance if I keep waiting inside, so I decide to go on my own. After no more than 5 minutes, he's outside with us. Forget Nye, I am living my fever dream.
He has just finished his second show of the day and yet he's smiling and listening to each and every one, signing and taking pictures. I know many have said this, but he really is an angel.
My sister arrives, and as soon as I'm sure she has the camera ready, I make my way to him. The two girls next to me who were speaking to him needed a pen and I lent them my sharpie, so I got my chance to look generous in front of him.
And suddently it was my turn.
This is as much as my scrambled mind allows me to remember: I tell him I'm Francesca and I'm from Italy, he asks me how long I am going to stay, I confess that I had arrived that morning and just to see him, that I would be leaving already the following morning. I can't even focus while he's signing my programme, I just want to find the right words. I manage to say how I enjoyed seeing his passion, all these different sides of him and how watching him sing and dance has been the highlight of my evening. We take a picture together, I feel his hand on my shoulder and I realise my arm is around the waist of this person I love. I had to thank him again, telling him that he only deserves good things and that we are so lucky to have him. He wishes me a safe trip home, and I melt.
I leave and I can't stop trembling. On my way back to the hotel I hold on tight to my signed programme and the sharpie that was in his hands just moments earlier. Only later I will realise that he's also written 'Ciao!', 'love' and 'X', without me asking for it or anything!
Seeing him act live was a big gift already, but what followed outside was beyond my dreams. I can't look at the photos without blushing, the way he looks at me in the video and then also strokes my arm for a moment, I mean pinch me now.
The more I think about it, the more I can't believe it happened.
I want to thank everyone that under my first post pushed me and encouraged me to see the pros of doing this, I share this beautiful moment of my life with all of you. <3
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"The play 'Nye' is currently being shown at the National Theatre, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. I even doodled two of my favourite parts. Michael Sheen, who is known for his role in Good Omens, is a brilliant actor who listens to his fans, and I am glad to have had the chance to see him perform."
As a non-English native speaker, I prepared a script, because I was too nervous before that. Sound stupid but he still listened to what I said, and I'm really grateful.
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So yeah, this happened Saturday...
... i'll do my usual London post later but I wanted to share these already!
We had planned on 'stalking' stage door as the play was sold out weeks ago. We managed to get tickets after all (it's a crazy story for later) - that man's a force of nature on stage - if you can, go and see NYE at the National; you're in for a treat too!!! *mumbles '[spoilers] and [redacted]' under breath*
And OF COURSE he was an absolute sweetheart afterwards!!!
Even though Anna was waiting for him, he really took his time, made sure to talk to everyone, gave autographs and took pictures although he was tired!!!
(And no, I have NO idea what's going on in the middle picture, I just noticed that he's staring RIGHT INTO MY SOUL!)
I LOVE London - city of all the opportunities!!
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