Under the Eye of the Clock by Christopher Nolan

Author:Christopher Nolan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published: 2013-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

MY BOYHOOD EPIPHANY

NOT able to share his hopes or worries with others meant that school was separate from his research at home. In fairness though, there was more than enough going on in school to keep his mind occupied. Each year Mount Temple staged a musical. Colin Mackenzie produced it while his wife Patricia supported him by not alone being the pianist, but she worked mightily coaching and teaching the students about voice projection and acting. The whole staff joined in towards the end and between them all, they managed to shape awkward students into beautiful strolling players.

Joseph Meehan had never been on a stage in his life, after all who could feel that a dumb cripple could possibly want the experience, or who could be imaginative enough to invite frescoed dumbness to share the vocal arena of the very normal. But that is what happened in great-hearted Mount Temple.

‘Will you be able to take part in our musical?’ asked Mr Mackenzie. ‘You can be in the chorus Joseph, and there’ll be lots to keep you company. I’ll leave it to yourself,’ he said, ‘but I think you should, you’d love it.’ Joseph’s heart done a somersault and looking into his teacher’s eyes he smiled and glanced up to heaven, giving him his affirmative signal over and over again.

At around one o’clock every day Mr Medlycott came on the air to announce: ‘Will all students taking part in the musical please report to the gym at two o’clock for rehearsals.’ As though responding to the call of the Pied Piper, at two o’clock students could be seen pouring from different doors, all heading in dribs and drabs for the singing practice. The students were for the most part familiar with the music from Joseph And His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, but now they had to learn the lyrics. Each day though brought decided familiarity, as pupils sang the numbers over and over again. Practice would go on all afternoon and well into the evening, but with each passing day came sureness and confidence. Joseph sat and watched, he pitied his friends as they had to go through the forge, being shaped as they were for the roles of Joseph, Jacob and Pharaoh. The dancers were screened so that nobody would distract them or mock their efforts, but great guffaws could be heard as folk with two left feet were turned into Pharaoh’s skilful dancers.

By the first dress rehearsal the cast had now become almost professional. The costumes seemed to give confidence to the members. Joseph fretted for his friends; he knew their lines, he knew their songs, but he knew not their nerves. He watched as Peter Nicholson put showers of talcum powder into his fair hair, thereby adding the years for his part as Jacob. Tony Mullins wound a white sheet sarong-fashion around him, while Joseph Meehan’s white robe hung over himself as well as his wheelchair and on his head he wore a large white kerchief which was held in place by a red ‘iqal’.

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