As the Met Office issue a Level 2 heatwave alert throughout Southern
and Eastern England, temperatures in London are set to climb during
this week to over 30°C.
But if we are finding it difficult to work in this temperature,
spare a thought for our West End actors out there who are struggling
with the burgeoning heatwave under a bank of lights, often wearing
heavy costumes, wigs and thick make up.
We popped into Her Majesty’s Theatre, to find out how the cast of
the Phantom of the Opera are coping. Although the public areas of the
theatre benefit from an air cooling system, on stage it is a very
different temperature.
The London Phantom, Ramin Karimloo, has discovered a couple of
tactics to help him cope. First he shaved his head - a rather drastic
measure we don't necessarily advise! - but a slightly more practical
tip is that drinking Sport drinks such as Lucozade help to replace the
vital electolytes lost by perspiring under the lights.
Although he mentions that he struggles a bit through Masquerade -
“that Red Death costume weighs a ton”, generally Ramin doesn’t have too
difficult a time, “I personally love the heat, the hotter the better
for me, but what I can’t cope with is the variations in temperature. I
don’t mind being really hot on stage, but I can cope if it’s constant.
I have a problem with going from the hot stage to the cooler dressing
room and then back again”, he waves his arm to demonstrate the space
around him. “But I shouldn't complain, I am very lucky because my
dressing room is large enough to have lots of windows which I can open”
Gina Beck, as Christine, is also blessed with a sizeable dressing
room, equipped with fans – of the electronic rather than the Phanatic
kind. But the heat generated by the two sets of dressing room lights
is quite punishing. “It’s not possible to control them individually,
and the room is quite dark, so we need to have all of them on, but they
are turned off as soon as I leave the room in an attempt to keep it a
bit cooler”.
It’s not just on stage where the temperature soars. Gina adds, “the
worst thing is that there is no respite from the minute you leave the
dressing room. The wings are just as hot”.
Gina also has to cope with some very heavy costumes. Some are so
heavy they are difficult to lift, let alone move around in onstage.
She has found a quick fix, “"I have a new method involving spraying
myself with magicool water spray and then using my battery fan before
every scene to cool down. But sadly as soon as the lights hit me it
all evaporates and the sweat starts rolling down my face… Eugh!”
It’s an unpleasant subject, but sweat has to be dealt with! Ramin
explains that the sweat gets trapped underneath the bald cap. “If it
gets too bad I have to make a small hole”, he pokes his head with his
finger “to release it!”
This sweating plays havoc with the make up. The Phantom’s
prosthetics are fine as long as they are applied to a dry face
(although the Vaseline has to be kept in the fridge as it is otherwise
liquid), but they move around, or completely slide off, once the face
gets wet. Tanya Noor (make up artist) is busier than usual, following
Ramin around backstage reapplying stray pieces and touching up patches.
Gina finds she has to frequently reapply her melting make up in her
dressing room and also has to cope with the long heavy wig. “It gets
so hot that the wigs drop and the curls fall out, so in this weather
they have to be re-set in the interval using “hot sticks” which
maintain the tight curls in the fringe”.
The heatwave is not all bad news though. Ramin has found that the
current heat brings distinct advantages. “Peter Karrie (a former
Phantom) told me that he found during a tour of Hong Kong and Singapore
the humidity was great for the voice. Now I know exactly what he
meant!”
1 Avoid alcohol and tea or coffee as they can dehydrate the body quicker.
2 drink a lot of soft drinks but not fizzy.
3 fruit flavoured drinks are better than just water on its own as water stays in the stomach longer and is not quickly absorbed, where as the fruit juice and fruit flavoured drinks are absorbed quicker due to the ingredients.
4 drink bottled water as they do not contain some of the chemicals added to the tap water. Also in hot weather drinking tap water might cause tummy upsets.
5 Buy rehydration sachets (usually used for diarrhoea) as the sachets contain all the right things the body needs to stop dehydrating. They are available in different flavours too. Buy them from supermarkets and chemists.
6 Suck a barley sugar or a boiled fruit sweet about half to one hour before the show and again in the interval as sucking them stimulates the saliva glands thus making the throat not get so dry (like a car needs oil to keep the engine lubricated.) if you have diabetes then sugar free ones are just as good.
7 Try to avoid ice cold drinks as you need to keep the voice ‘warm’. Drinking ice drinks especially fizzy ones cools the voice and is like putting water onto a fire.
8 This one might be a little unpopular... Ramin and Nic could take it in turns to perform. For example Nic does the Tuesday or Saturday matinee and Ramin the Tuesday or Saturday night or vice versa the same with the Christine’s.
9 suck or chew glucose or lucazade tablets or sweets if you need more energy as they work faster than drinking glucose or lucazade drinks and work longer.
10 if your dressing room is hot put bowls of water in different places in the dressing room as it will add moisture to the air and so the air won't be as dry.
Perhaps the cast can let us know if they tried any of the above tips and if they worked. Although at present it’s pouring down with rain... nothing like a good British summer!!