Final rehearsals at Bridiers

With just a few days remaining, the final rehearsals are scheduled before the first night opens on Friday
1st August.
Tonight is the first dress rehearsal and Thursday sees a full live production with sound and light plus the explosions of the battlefields. I imagine each night's performance will be quite exhausting; we must be on set from 8.00pm until midnight and are not expected to leave until at least 2.00am!
















The audience seating area as it looked before the set
builders moved in.
 



 The wardrobe department with helmets at the ready!










My son who plays Raoul Villain, the assassin of Jean Jaurès, left wing French politician, a pacifist totally opposed to the imminent war- here on the right.
Villain shot him in a Paris café a few days before the outbreak of WWI. 

The hill and ruined chateau where the battle scenes will take place before packed audiences during next weekend... a fitting tribute to the millions who gave their lives during The Great War.

Diary Extract 15 Years ago:

 Saturday 22^nd May

Watched United stuff the Geordies at Wembley, said goodbye to the lads from Wales…see you in Barcelona! Jumped into the car after match, drove to Dover, caught the midnight ferry to Calais…slept in car in northern France.

Sunday 23^rd May

Crossed France, stayed overnight at Etap hotel in Narbonne.

Monday 24 May

Arrived Barcelona. Checked in hotel off Catalunya square. Night on Ramblas with United supporters.

Tuesday 25 May

Spent whole day & night on & around Ramblas with thousands of United supporters. NO ROOM for the Germans! Daughter joined us after flying in from UK.

Wednesday 26 May

More eating, drinking & sightseeing. Late afternoon, took Metro to the stadium. By chance, met the guys from Wales again (our mates in the Stretford end). Watched the most amazing match ever. German supporters left stadium in tears! Spent ALL NIGHT drinking our way back to city centre.

‘Who put the ball in the German’s net? Ole Gunnar Solskjaer!’ WE WON THE TREBLE!!!!

Thursday  27 May

 

Breakfast outside Dunkin’ Donuts and slept in hotel until lunchtime. Took daughter to airport before driving to south of France for a further weeks holiday, camping in the Camargue.

Bridiers - Fresque Historique

First meeting yesterday of Coulisse 4 in the

shadow of Bridier's XIVc chateau. An interesting
afternoon spent inspecting the site where over 400
volunteers will be performing and assisting in the
Fresque Historique during the first weekend of
August to commemorate 100 years since The Great War.
There was the opportunity to meet fellow players for the first time and to hear of roles that had been  assigned to various individuals. I discovered that I would be a French soldier in many scenes and, for the scene depicting the assassination of Jean Jaurès, a member of the press interviewing him at that fateful moment. My son is also a French soldier (we must grow our moustaches to conform to the visual images of the poilus, the infantrymen involved in the war). He is also doubling as the assassin.

There will be several rehearsals, culminating in a full dress rehearsal on 31st July. It promises to be an impressive spectacular, requiring great energy and choreography to ensure a successful production. Accompanied by music, light shows and special effects, the Fresque will run over four nights, 1,2,3 and 4 August, commencing each evening at 10.00pm. Below are some images of yesterday's on-site meeting:

Bridiers: the ruins of XIVc chateau

The first meeting of Coulisse 4

A briefing 'centre stage' to the 'German soldiers'

 
 

Spectator seating area

 

      

Une Semaine de Dédicaces

After recovering from last week's ordeal of a radio interview on Radio Pays de Guéret, this week is dedicated to book signing events.

My latest novel, 'Something Old, Something New is finally spreading its wings!

I spent this morning at Vera Laine Cadeaux in Le Dorat, Haute Vienne talking more about the time I spend on research as opposed to the novel itself. It never ceases to amaze me when I chat to readers that they show so much interest in the time I devote to unearthing the anecdotes and real stories, which add authenticity to my historical fiction novels.
I believe I am fortunate to live in a region rich in memorials and sites where the disruptive activities of the French Résistance and the courageous support of the many agents sent over during WWII by the Special Operations Executive are still evident. Sadly, some of the repercussions from that era still exist amongst families whose ancestors suffered during France's dark years. 'Something Old, Something New' sets out to explore the ongoing effects of such traumatic experiences.   

Back to Front

My personal challenge.

I have a craving to do something different. Having written seven novels to formats based on the regurgitated advice of all those who purport to provide the 'ten best' or the 'greatest' publishing tips and resources to become a successful writer, I have finally 'flipped'.

This time, I have the title and the book cover...but, as yet, no plot and no characters. I have merely planted a seed in the incubator of my imagination. Watch this space to see what develops as winter gives way to spring...with the promise of new shoots.

New Day, New Month, New Novel

For this latest HF novel, I spent 8 months on research

( including traveling 300 kilometers across France to visit a town where I stayed in a hotel featured in the novel in order to ascertain how it appeared during WWII ). 

I also relied heavily on the wealth of information I gleaned from authoritative history books about the period, combined with visits to museums and numerous sites of historical value. I spent the next 4 months writing the first draft of the manuscript.

I must admit that the fact-finding missions were far more inspiring than sitting at a keyboard tapping out my prose, but gained great satisfaction from knowing that the facts were accurate.

Now the hard work really starts...attending book-signing events amidst an on-going  publicity campaign.

http://jamesvanceauthor.wix.com/awesomefiction/

Something Old, Something New 2014