Made Up North - The Life of a Northern Actor - or the Diary of a Showbiz Dad?

POSTED ON OLD BLOG 20th MAY 2013

Made Up North - The Life of a Northern Actor - or the Diary of a Showbiz Dad? Well I suppose that kind of sums this whole thing up? So, in the words of Jean Valjean... 'who am I?' Neil, aged 32 (almost), northern, balding, overweight (bordering obese), career currently 'resting', love machine? (maybe not!) but above all Husband and Father.

My wife is awesome, you may think your wife is the most awesome wife in the world... but you're wrong, mine is! I met Emily in 2005. I was booked to appear in a tacky seaside summer show, hardly the glitz and the glamour I expected when entering the crazy world of showbiz but hey a gigs a gig. Sorry I digress, you'll get used to that. Emily was working there as an usherette and our eyes met over a 90% empty auditorium. She rolled her eyes at me, so I picked them up and rolled them back. Before Emily came along my life was devoted to making a name for myself in musical theatre, variety, television. I lived to work. But when I met Emily I realised that in actual fact I didn't want to live to work, I wanted to work to live and I wanted to spend that time living with her. Katie was born in 2008 followed by Aimee in 2011, with a wedding wedged in between the two visits to the maternity unit.

So there I was, gorgeous wife, two beautiful daughters.... and then it dawned on me. "You need to provide for these women now Neil, the messing around at the career has to stop, you have to start making some money" My career in recent years worked in such a manner. Pantomime - Cabaret - Easter Tour - Cabaret - Summer Season - Cabaret - Pantomime. No problems, thats the way it's always been, what could possibly change? Little was I expecting the whole bottom to fall out of the world of live entertainment.

I was used to easily getting £250 a night on the cabaret circuit and could always guarantee a summer season at one resort or another, but then suddenly I was lucky to bring in £150 a night for cabaret 'the clubs don't have the money anymore', X Factor wannabe's prepared to gig for less and less without any idea of professionalism. The resorts were no longer bringing in the crowds like previous years, people were daytrippers, leaving before the shows started. People who were staying at the resorts had hotel provided entertainment so why would they come to the theatre to watch a show when they have one for free in the hotel. The showbusiness that I carved my career in was very quickly disappearing.

In summer 2012 Emily was offered a job in Bradford, closer to where we both grew up, so up we got and back over to West Yorkshire we headed. Kirkhamgate to be precise, just between Leeds and Wakefield. No summer seasons here, less and less club and hotel cabaret work.... now what?? Well thats what's going to be documented here in, so if you're mildy interested about the life of a jobbing actor, strangely curious about the scrounging a living in the arts or just nosey about what a panto comic does for the other 11 months of the year then this is a blog you might want to follow.