Our humble little theatre has had its own exciting moment of being 'In the Spotlite' recently. Back in July we hosted a film crew who wanted to use our beautiful space for some scenes in their movie. Low and behold this film crew were from the very reputable and well known Number 9 Films, who have produced films such as: 'The Interview With The Vampire' 1995, 'Made In Dagenham' 2010, 'Great Expectations' 2012, 'The Limehouse Golem' 2017, to name a few. So as you can imagine, we were pretty excited at this wondrous prospect of working with them.
Allowing this company to turn our theatre into a film set was an experience we will not forget for a long time to come! We were given a front row seat in the way the other half works. Production crew filled every corner of our building with technology, equipment and talent everywhere around.
Bill Nighy (from Love Actually and The Limehouse Golem), Aimee Lou Wood (from Netflix – Sex Education) and Alex Sharp (from The Hustle) were amongst the cast that spent the day filming at our home in Chatham.
These three actors are known for more than just their work on the big screen; Aimee Lou Wood who won a BAFTA for her performance in Sex Education was recently treading the boards in Chekov’s 'Uncle Vanya', Alex Sharp won a Tony for his performance in 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' on broadway and Bill Nighy won an Olivier Award for his performance in 'Blue/Orange' in 2000. It is not a rare occurrence to find film actors dipping their toes into the world of theatre, and it is even more common for them to have come from theatrical beginnings.
It was all the more a pleasant experience to have had the chance to speak with all three actors, and receive their positivity towards the work we do here at Spotlites. When speaking with Alex in particular, he was very on board with the work we do and said "without places like Spotlites I would never have become an actor". We spoke about what advice Alex has for our members; his reply was just one word "Perseverance!" this is a notion that we at Spotlites defiantly echo.
Now we just have to endure the wait for the release of 'Living', the film that has made all this happen, and once you get to see it, keep your eyes peeled for our humble home.
Until the next exciting event!
Spotlites.
