Ive been contacted by people ascociated with Paul, and he told me a couple of interesting things re the Orla production.
Apparently,they gave him 3 days notice that they needed him to do something magical that lasted a whole 15 seconds..... during those days he wasnt only rehearsing for the show, but was also running up and down the country for the last of the Variety shows.
As somebody who has been in many, many non magical shows, i can tell you that it's common for the director to say " and we thought it would be fun if you could do a little magic at that point" 2 hours before curtain up.
one other thing that was pointed out was, Paul wasnt the only person to have a gimmick as part of their routine. Matt Baker had binoculars at the start, and then went into a series of back flips. He's on country file, and was a gymnast.
And Anne Widdicombe used her gimmick, which is being Anne Widdicombe.
celebs are put on this show, because of who they are and what they are known for. In Pauls Case, it's magic.
incidently if you saw the saturday show, he looked absolutly shattered. My parents phoned me last night to ask if he was all right.
you're like Yoda.you dont say much, but what you do say is worth listening to....
Greg Wilson about.... Me.