CINDERELLA IN EGYPT!

Guess who's back? Back again?

HELLO EVERYONE! I have returned! (Not that you knew I had gone anywhere considering I am super rubbish at blogging...) I have a special post for you today that involves Disney Princesses, camels and pyramids!

Let's get started!

If you guys have read a previous blog post of mine called SNOW WHITE IN DUBAI, then you probably know what this post is going to consist of...if you haven't read that post...go do that now, and then come back. 

...

...Are you back?

YAY!

Right, so, we returned back to Cairo, Egypt to perform yet another classic fairytale to the locals, and this time I didn't need to wear a wig! It began with just myself and a photographer back in June.

I was told originally that the only person cast in the show was myself...as Cinderella. I was able to return to the same venue to play Cinders because for Snow White, I had to wear a very itchy black wig (which changed my face completely, by the way!) so the locals wouldn't recognise me with my natural hair colour, which thankfully, was the same colour as the cartoon Cinderella that all of the locals know and love!

So, to begin the journey, a photoshoot had to take place! A top secret photoshoot where I had the privilege of wearing a very expensive ballgown and tiara. Little did I know that the photographs taken would be placed on posters, buses and billboards all over Cairo!

A mahoosive billboard in Cairo with my face on it!

A few months passed by, and our cast and crew finally got together for the first time! October the 1st, in a very cold village hall in East Sussex, and rehearsals began. 

Of course, it was a little rocky at first, what show isn't? And I'm going to throw it out there: pantomime ISN'T EASY. As some of our cast who have never performed a pantomime in their life grew to understand; it isn't like TV or film where everything is subtle and more emotional. To be honest, most people call "pantomime acting" over the top and, well, not "real acting". To them, I say "POPPYCOCK!" If anything, pantomime acting is harder than any other type of acting! Everything needs to be big, loud, exaggerated and flamboyant. As the audience is mainly children, you need the comic timing and ability to keep their short attention span on you at all times! Heck, my solo ballad in the show was only 1 minute long, and kids still screamed and fidgeted throughout it. 

Rehearsals got better and much more fun as the cast grew closer, and as we only had three days of rehearsals in the UK before flying out to Egypt, we were pretty stressed out. So, it was time to pack our bags, and head to Cairo before we even knew anything about Act 2!

Arriving at Heathrow!

Waiting at our gate...for ages...

Once we arrived in Cairo, the pressure increased. Our lovely Choreographer/Fairy Godmother, who resides in Dubai, wasn't able to fly to the UK and teach us the dance routines, so of course, they were the main priority when we arrived. (And her Fairy G scenes, of course!)

You'd think, as we were staying at a beautiful 4* hotel, that we would be given a lovely ballroom or dance studio to rehearse in. But boy, could you be more wrong. For the first 3 days of rehearsals in Egypt, the only available space to rehearse was the downstairs nightclub. The sign outside said "No singles or underage allowed"...awks for me.

(By the way, some of the photo's in this post were taken on a disposable camera that I took with me. Well, I actually took 2 with me, but one got lost... So if the pictures look really old, no, they weren't taken on a potato, but on a good old fashioned disposable camera...)

Cinders and Buttons tapping away!

Jimmy (our Buttons!) loving life!

The Wicked Stepmother and Ugly Sisters rehearsing their number.

Gorgeous Tahys loving life!

Full cast rehearsal!

So yes, in a dark and dingy nightclub that smelt like cigarette smoke and bad decisions, we rehearsed our children's pantomime. Imagine, 10am till 5pm with barely any light or oxygen...I'd say we coped well.

Randomly, on the 4th day of rehearsal, we were moved from the nightclub to another room in the hotel. The ballroom.

Myself, Princey and our Choreographer rehearsing our duet!

We were thinking: "Great!" "Fabulous" "More room to dance!"...what they failed to mention to us was the only reason they moved us was because a man with a very large camera with a VERY bright light on it was filming our rehearsals, as well as filming our first show in two days time. 

We all kind of wished we were back in the nightclub. 

BUT, we kept calm and carried on, and continued rehearsing despite the blinding light in our faces and the rude man behind it (who didn't understand English...or personal space...)

Here's a little sneak peek!

The following day was our first afternoon at the theatre, but whilst the rest of the cast were rehearsing, myself, Buttons and Prince Charming had to head off to various malls and clubs for public appearances.

Originally, we were told that we were heading to one shopping mall for half an hour to meet some kids and take some pictures...5 hours later, and we had visited 2 shopping malls and a kids club. Plus, our bus driver who didn't speak English had no idea where he was going; taking us to all of the wrong places in the wrong order. For example, we got into costume at the theatre, got into the bus, drove around for half an hour, and then he took us BACK TO THE THEATRE. Of course, Mr Bus Driver, I totally got into my very expensive ballgown just to drive around Cairo. Idiot.

Still! We got to see the whole of Cairo on our little tour, and met a lot of lovely kids. Although, one child kept screaming "ELSA! FROZEN! ELSAAAA!" when I walked into the kids club. Very sweet of you child, but incorrect.

Shopping Mall appearance NO.1!

Shopping Mall appearance NO.2!

The following day was filled with stress, as it was time for our tech and dress rehearsals. We arrived at the theatre at 10am, and got straight on with the tech run. Funnily enough, Cinderella was not the most challenging techy show, so it took us 10-1 to tech Act 1, where the most challenging part was my dress transformation. Then we headed to McDonald's for lunch (which, by the way, was AMAZING! The portions were huge!), and then got back to the theatre to tech Act 2 which took us until 5pm. Then, it was time for our dress rehearsal at 7pm.

Chilling in the dressing room during Tech!

Teching our (inflatable) carraige!

Quick Tech selfie!

Before we knew it, it was time for the show to start! 10am in the morning; we were knackered! And, to our dismay, it was the show in which they were filming. Great.

Overall, the run was phenomenal! So much banter, so much fun! And I couldn't have asked for a better bunch to work with.

Rather than explain to you all of the fun we had, I'll show you some more pictures!

Looking very tired and sweaty at a meet & greet after the show!

(Some of the images above I stole from some audience members Instagram accounts...and pics they sent us on Facebook...)

Once the show was over, we had one final day to explore the wonderful city that we had entertained! And of course, when you visit Egypt, where is the one place you simply HAVE to visit?

THAT'S RIGHT! The Pyramids!

(Btw, the Sphinx is a lot smaller in real life!)

Being cavewomen in a Pyramid with the lovely Kate!

Megan and I stuck in a pyramid!

HELP I'M STUCK!

Holding up the Pyramid! ;)

CAMEL SELFIE!

The Sphinx looks GREAT in my shades!

The gang at The Sphinx

Climbing into an actual tomb with Katie!

On Bob Marley the Camel with Jimmy!

The "Goldmans Gang"!

The gorgeous view of Cairo!

I know I became incredibly lazy for the last little section of this post, but to be honest, a picture says 1000 words! And this trip was one of the most incredible trips of my life!

Let me know if you enjoyed this post you guys! And comment down below if you yourself have been to Egypt! Or, you know what, comment down below a place that you would love to visit! I'd love to know! (And I'll check out your awesome blogs! ;))

Thanks guys! And Happy November!

Fawce
xoxo