Slings & Arrows: Fanfic: Every Height Has A Drop

[clarasteam]

Title: Every Height Has A Drop
Fandom: Slings & Arrows
Length: 100
Characters: Geoffrey Tennant; mentions of others; an unnamed actor
Rating: G
Content notes: no warnings apply
Author note: title from Stephen Sondheim, Follies
Summary: It’s hard to watch, this onstage breakdown.



It’s hard to watch, this onstage breakdown. A man falling apart in the middle of his big number. The audience shifts uneasily, uncertain whether the actor’s really forgotten his lines or whether it’s all part of the show.

Geoffrey’s not stupid enough to think you can only act what you’ve experienced. Kate is as sane as a biscuit, and her Ophelia was true in a way that Claire-with-the-hair could never reach. But there’s an edge to this performance that he recognizes. It’s not his madness, but it’s uncomfortably close. He grips the armrest and tries to remember how to breathe.

Comments

[desireearmfeldt]

Had to take a second to mentally flip through lyrics to figure out what Geoffrey's watching (not helped by having Charles Trenet playing in the background at the moment) but...huh, yes, that's an interesting juxtaposition.

[clarasteam]

thank you! yes, I wondered what he'd make of that - I imagine he's pretty immune to most versions of stage madness.

did you see the NTLive broadcast of Follies?

[desireearmfeldt]

No, I didn't see that...anything particularly interesting about it (good or bad)? :)

[clarasteam]

I loved that production immeasurably - if you get a chance to see the broadcast it is worth it, though not as magical as being there (obvs). reasons to love it include (but are not limited to) definitive performances from Janie Dee as Phyllis and Peter Forbes as Buddy, the wonderful Di Botcher knocking it out of the park in Broadway Baby, ACTUAL DIVA JOSEPHINE BARSTOW doing One More Kiss, brilliant orchestra, gorgeous design (Vicki Mortimer) and lighting (Paule Constable), hugely intelligent direction from Dominic Cooke (he'd never done a musical before, though he'd done opera, and I still find this astonishing), great performances from the younger quartet especially Alex Young as Young Sally...

trailer here: https://youtu.be/yZrs8DlHPLY