13 September 2013 - Passion, tea and biscuits

So, how did my lodgings in Roath, hitherto an all-gay abode, suddenly become on this Friday the 13th a place of hot heterosexual passion and violence?? Perhaps I had better explain...

As she did with Glorious! director Juliet Lake wanted for her production of The Thrill of Love some projected images that would need videoing off set. It was envisioned that inserts of footage featuring Ruth interacting with her doomed lover David Blakely could be incorporated at certain key moments in the play. They already had the actors - Louise who is playing Ruth on stage and her real-life husband Felix who would stand in for Blakely - all they needed was a location.

I immediately thought of the house where I lodge on Albany Road; a large Victorian terrace building with a spacious hallway and a suitable staircase. And even more fortuitous, I had the place to myself for two weeks, the landlord being away in Scotland for his bi-annual fishing trip. So the location was set as was the videoing date - Friday the 13th of September at 7pm.

And so they arrived and I clicked into host mode, organising tea and biscuits while discussing camera angles with Jules and shadow director and stills photographer Fred, and allowing the actors to get into costume. Moments later Louise stepped into the kitchen, a vision in a white and red polka-dot 50s style dress and red headscarf covering her Monroe wig; she looked fantastic. That and with Felix suitably suited as David, we were ready to roll. Those two in particular...

It was a rather unusual evening I must admit, what with me videoing Felix chucking Louise down the stairs and punching her in the stomach one minute, then capturing them getting hot and heavy on the leather sofa in the front room the next. I must add here that it was all simulated, apart from one face slapping incident when Felix accidentally clipped Louise across the nose! No harm done though. All the same it felt very voyeuristic...

Despite this, the evening went extremely well and - despite the uncomfortable violence! - was fun to do and resulted in a lot of usable material. Fred also captured the most amazing photograph of Louise in character, smoking outside the front door, which would make a fantastic publicity image.

The house on Albany Road has now been restored to normality with all trace of any such hetero happenings erased. Just as well; I don't think my landlord would have been too happy about what had transpired here that evening!