Rehearsal photos. Hard to know if anyone gets anything from them except the director. Unless they feature Benedict Cumberbatch, for example. 

I was debating posting some more (which don't) here but with a cast of three, does the novelty wear off? I see the sophisticated and hard won nuances in the performance across the photos. Or I see a moment that made us laugh. Or a moment that didn't and didn't and didn't work - and then did.   

But you, I suppose, see 'there they all are again, still plodding away. Not had any cast drop outs yet, then?' Which is an achievement in itself, of course. But the onlooker rarely appreciates that. 

 
So maybe today I'll settle for this. Paulina pretending to be in bed slash sleeping - before she readies herself to Strike. Without giving anything away.

They're complete stars. I've been away for a fortnight like a bad bad mother. I gave them a key but I didn't even lead them any snacks. Just a copious list of instructions of what they were to do in my absence. 

Assistant Director Liz has been an angel, sending me comforting updates telling me how brilliantly they were doing. Scripts shed, limping through (hundreds and hundreds of) lines with the help of Emma and Siobhan. (I've been known to court my lines in a play to assess the size of my part. Does everyone do this? But no point in this one. It would be like counting sheep.) So I've had Sauron's Eye on them from afar. 

And I gather that while I was away, they volunteered themselves for An Extra Rehearsal. This almost never happens. At last night's rehearsal, one of them said "we were speaking about this last night". There was no rehearsal that last night. I wanted to whoop and holler and war dance that they are giving this little slice of storytelling so much time and headspace. (Not that this translated into much demonstration of their homework last night - but still. I'd rather have words learnt and characters finessed.) 

My conclusion? I should go away more often. If my panic dream filled holidays can stand it.