Ashley's Encounter (not sure of date)
The Play: After mising The Talking Cure, and finding out that I would miss the Haymarket date by about two weeks, I decided to take the train out to Stratford from London and see Ralph in Brand. Our seats were excellent - 4th row to the right of the stage - and from where we sat, we also had a clear view of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, who attended the show that night!! The performance was amazing... it was just SO Ralph. Being that The English Patient is my favorite movie of his, I loved when I could catch little glimpses in Brand that were so similar to his acting in TEP - particularly the ANGRY onfiltered=) It was so intense, really a brilliant experience to see him on the stage just as clear as we can on the screen.
The Stage Door - My first of two encounters at the stage door of the Swan Theatre happened on an insanely crowded Friday night, after the performance I saw. My friend and I waited for around 40 minutes in the freezing cold, until Ralph finally emerged. He was bombarded by a group of German tourists, and I had to run around them and ask for his quick signature as he was running around the other side of them. While it was really cool, it couldn't compare to the second time. I caught the train once more the following Tuesday and made it to the stage door with barely a minute to spare. Ralph came out in sweatpants and his blue Nikes, holding dry cleaning and the brown briefcase. I gave him a bouquet of flowers, to which he said "oh, thank you - that's very nice of you." I also got him to sign my ticket and agree to stand for a picture... naturally, the camera didn't take, and he had moved on to the two other fans who had been waiting. After he was done, I went up one more time and said "I know you're going to love this [right, at this point he probably cursed my existence], but the camera didn't take and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind standing just once more" while also rambling out apologies and thank yous. He nodded (at this point I was trying to stare down those DELICIOUS green eyes for my own sake), and I got the shot. I thanked him profusely and wished him luck with the rest, to which he thanked me and smiled, and went on his way... he seemed dazed, and just kind of waiting to be pointed in some direction. He was very kind though, and although quiet, he flashed some beautiful smiles... that is one face and one pair of eyes that I am NEVER going to forget looking into =) ~ ashley =)
Photos on the photo page...Sabsi's First Ralph Encounter- June 07, 2003
Hello everybody, its me. A very happy lady. At first : I haven t seen the Play. My Brand day is on Monday evening. but Maxine went with me , to stage-door. we waited for him, and I was sure I don t go to him for an autograph . I m normally to shy . But he cames and i was in Heaven. And Max said : COME , COME . And he looked at me and he smiled at me . Ladies at me !!!! In my eyes!!!! I m sure I m a big Ralph fan now. It was a wunderful day!!! Peter (Max-Husband) , showed me london, he is really nice. A wunderful family. on this way I say thank you to Family Santer!!!!! they look after me, they help me. THANK YOU!!! And thank you Ralph Fiennes for a great smile. Daddy was very proud , that was the first time after Daddy died, that I cried because of Luck and Happiness!!!! Thanks Max, Thanks Peter and Thanks Ralph . A big kiss for all Members LOVE SABSIMaxine's Brand Review- June 07, 2003
"There's plenty of tat in the West End right now
If you want some challenging, epic drama, Brand is the ticket. "Basically ladies i cannot add any more to this statement........I don't know where to begin.......because i have lost 5 family members in my life in the last two years....this play is so poignant for me. For me personally you understand Ralph Shone brighter than any play i have seen with him......I was absolutley totally and untterly bowled over [as Oscar hopkins would say] Do not go expecting to see a matinee idol doing his thing....Ralph, from where i was sitting, is different. A total chamellian. I came out shaking and a lady who followed me was crying her heart out. I could not even convey for a few moments to Sabsi who has lots to tell you. She actually sees the play on Monday! Ladies if you have the Q&A evening .......you lucky lucky things!!!!!![i hope i do not come across as pretentious]
He looked gorgeous btw.
God BlessLove from MAxinexxxxxxxJust one more thing to add. If i could express myself as well as this reviewer...i would feel relieved!
"His swansong production of Ibsen's Brand is a glorious occasion: daring, deeply felt, powerfully affecting and blessed with a truly tremendous performance from Ralph Fiennes in the title role that those who see it will never forget. It is a mark of the RSC's troubles that the show has had to be entirely backed by commercial producers, but even here there is cause for hope. "we did hang around for an autograph...he looks absoltley gorgeous!!!
SABRINA....got a wonderful smile from him and boy...was she happy!!!! LOL We waited for a good 45 minutes...and then suddenly..walking up the road ....i spotted the FAMOUS GORGEOUS ONE...."Look sabsi over there!!!" RALPH walks toward the stage door from the outside!....Oh be still our beating hearts!! Ok Sabsi...come on come on open your programme now give it to him [quietly i said this of course] ....Sabsi did this and recieved a beautiful smile too! His skin is gorgeous his eyes!!! OOOhhh BBOOYY! Elena he is lovley.June 8, 2003
Here is my account of my day.
I was sitting at front row number A..a very good seat too i might add. For much of the play i had Ralph hovering above me like an angel [hee hee]. I could see every detail of him. He has not ONE grey hair btw and his skin is almost translucent to look at...well what can i tell you about his eyes.....it was just a reminder of how they go on forever and the beauty...wow.
In one particular seen candles are lit and Ralph is sitting right near them...i have to say this was just so beautiful to see although the scene wrenched my heart out.
Ralph does pull many faces in his agonies as Brand....and his body he makes so sorrowful in it's stance. As i said in my first review dont go expecting the big Ralph you see in Movies....Sabrina was shocked at how fragile looking he was even thoguh i did warn her. However because of his talent his presence on stage was enormous and you could see that the other actors "Bounced off him" They were all excellent in their parts and shouldbe soo proud of themselves. I felt proud for them. The passion that has gone into this play....well without it being a musical i do no think it could have moved me more.
Really i am shocked at it's power and this sounds sooo pretentious of me! The story and script is very easy once the play starts flowing.If there is anything else you can think of to ask me please do,,,,
Oh yes at the stage door were only a few people which was great for us ....He seemed very happy and relaxed after the performance..and meeting people. Yet again he can spot "pushiness at a fifity mile radius but everybody respected him. When i say pushy i mean rude pushy. I always clam up when i see him but i enjoy it more now because i don't feel so hysterical...[old married lady of 40..hee hee]
It was just a tonic even though the subject matter is very very close to home for me right now. [in many ways it is close to home for everybody]
Ok That's it for now..Josefina at the Q & A- June 11, 2003
Hi, sorry for not reporting back sooner! I was at the Q&A, which turned out to be very popular (no surprise!), the stalls area was nearly full. Ralph sat on a chair to the front of the empty stage, and had a lady standing to his side to help "monitor" the questions. He was wearing a dark red shirt and beige trousers, and was holding a drink (looked like whiskey). Most of the questions were about how he researched and prepared for the part, but a lot of this has also been covered in recent press articles. A lady asked if there was a lot of difference performing at the Swan to the Haymarket, and he replied that he was a bit scared of the Haymarket, as the layout of the seating is different, with the audience more in front of you, rather than "around" you like at the Swan. Then the same lady proceeded to say that he looked taller at the Haymarket! Everyone laughed and Ralph said that he liked that, and when she asked how tall he was, he jokingly said 6ft 1'' even though he's not. (I don't know why fans are always acting a he is short or something, I think he is a perfectly good height, 5ft 11" is NOT short is it?). Another question was how did he manage to "relax" after playing such an intense role, and he pointed to his drink. He also said that he was usually quite hyped up for a few hours afterwards, and it takes nearly a day to "go back to normal". He also said he found it difficult getting up in the morning as well !! Another reply he gave which was funny, was how he felt that even though the character of Brand was very relentless in his constantly pushing, and pushing of his ideas etc, he actually "gets off on it" (I'll leave you to analyze that one!!). All in all he seemed in a very good mood, and made people laugh with some of his answers. Maybe someone else that was there can remember some of the other answers, so we can all enjoy them! Sigh.....
In reply to Linda's question, no other actors took part, maybe as it was quite late, there wasn't enough time. Anyway who's complainin'.... Ralphs our man!! Only joking - Oh, and no one asked about the lack of scenery, but as they ended up having to limit the number of questions, who knows what other ones would have been asked.... I'm sure there would have been many more. I wonder what's happened to Sabsi? Maybe she is still "ecstatic" and is trying to recover, hence her lack of contact!!!
I did go to the stage door, but as there were over 20 people I just watched from the opposite side. I think I saw Sabsi, she was the last person to get an autograph, I did hear Ralph saying "are you going to come again?" but could not hear the rest before that. Lots of people were rudely taking pictures, the flashes were going off a lot, and a couple of people (one male) had a photo done with Ralph beside them. He had a private car hire with driver waiting in front.
Sabsi's Q&A Report- June 11,2003
He talked about Mother-son relationship in the play, and you could see , he thought on JINI! Very emotional. After the play and session I would go , but in my minds I talked with Daddy. And he said : Go again to stage door . Many people on door , he cames and I waited .... I was the last , and yes he smelled fantastic !!! Absolutly SOFT!!!! REALLY RALPH !!! I said: SIR , may I .... Oh yes, he said. He signed my Programm (again) and I said: It was amazing, it was the first play i saw. He looked at me ( BIG BLUE EYES) your first ? he said. In your life? I said : Yes, Mr. Fiennes, the first in my life. And you come to me ?he said. Yes. He looked with a lovely smile and said: I m glad you come. Girls I looked sure very stupid. And he said : Really ! thank you very much Sir. I said.I told him , that i was at Jykell and hyde, two weeks before, and he said : Oh thats good. And now Brand , he said. I hope it was allright? he said. And I : ohhhh yes. Good , than I hope you come , again. he said . I answer: I M SURE!!!! thank you. A last smile and he wafes a hand . THATS it. A great evening for all , and for me . A outstanding performance. And a perfect actor. I m so sorry , but my back hurting me very much . I hope the pics allright. Im two weeks I will do more. I hope I can do !!!! Please Ralph !!! Best wishes to Simone, I write reply tomorow. Thanks my dear! And GIGI: You are in London thid Summer? PLEASE , PLEASE let me know!!!! Much love to all members, I was really happy , I found Ralph and this wunderful Forum!!! We all a little Family here, and I m sure : I M A BIG FAN, NOW!!! Much love SABSI
Emjoy's Ralph Report June 19, 2003
It makes me sad I didn't take more pictures of him. I made a conscious decision at the time I would take pictures on friday, shake his lovely hand on saturday (warm and soft-delightful!) and then get him to sign a poster on Monday after the Q&A, so even though I had my camera with me, I never took more pictures. I saw lots of people taking them and he even posed with people and was very polite, but I just thought it would be greedy to try to do it all every night when some people would only be able to see him that one night-I didn't want to infringe. In hindsight-how silly of me. If I hadn't been alone, I might have taken more.
Ah, to be there again... I swear the play got better each night I saw it. I wish I could see it again but there's that little 8 hour flight issue...
Gosh there's so many things I have forgotten to mention (see post re:Joel Schumacher visiting backstage in Sabsi's pics thread) and now I just remembered the nicest thing I saw Ralph do-on Saturday night June 7th (the night that will forever be remembered as the night I touched Ralph Fiennes after 10 years of fandom and many transatlantic trips...) Ralph came out of the stage door and saw a large crowd of people waiting for him. He smiled and set his bag down and I thought he was going to approach everyone to sign as he did the previous night, but first he turned to the woman who works at the door-who collects keys etc. from the cast and crew, and said something about 'did you manage to get anything?' I couldn't see her face but she must have said 'no' because Ralph pulled out his wallet handed her a 20 pound note (about $36) and said 'well have one on me then'. I was starring at his open wallet (it's brown leather by the way) and could see blue credit cards in it-and I had this hillarious thought of snatching his wallet and running off with it. Why I don't know because I'm not a theif but of course the idea of running through the streets looking at his credit cards and his personal items while being pursued by a dozen angered fans was just a flash of amusement. I giggled a bit and Ralph turned and looked over the crowd again and said, 'let me put this bag in my car and then I'll sign for you all'. Which he did, every night I was there he signed for every person waiting. On this particular night, since I wasn't holding anything to get him to sign I stepped back and let him sign for about 20 people before thanking him and reaching out to shake his hand. He seemed bemused-wondering if I had anything for him to sign, but was very gracious about shaking my hand -even though it sparked a frenzy and several others shoved their hands out to him. Ralph was so warm and friendly to everyone, it reminded me of Gainborough in 2000 when he would come out to the bar and have drinks and chat with people.As it always is when I meet him after a performance it's so emotional I have a tendency to forget very important aspects of it. I get very fluttery and have trouble looking him in the eye-holding on to that lovely eye contact without blushing and looking away, I feel like a Jane Austen heroine (unfortunately not Elizabeth Bennett from
Pride & Predjudice, she certainly would have held his gaze longer).
When I spoke to him the first time in June 2000 at the Gainsborough I actually broke down and cried immediately after. I had to step outside to avoid looking like a fool.One more memory, on June 6th Ralph was signing for the crowd of about 25 people and one of the girls must have given him flowers earlier or sent them backstage because I overheard him say, 'oh you sent me the blue flowers? Thank you, you came from
Poland right?' In my experience, he has always been very appreciative of gifts and has actually read the cards that people enclose with gifts-just lovely of him. That boy was 'raised right'.