Being a duel Citizen of both the United Kingdom and the United States has certainly opened up doors for me, given me a great number of choices as well as also introducing me to all sorts of bizarre but interesting experiences.
I trained as an Actor and found much to my disgust that while most companies claim to want to find new and fresh talent all they really want at the end of the day is just a performer. By performer, I mean someone who will just rehash what the last artist before them did.
Some days I think that it is a miracle that at the age of 48 (thirtyish as I tell people) that I am still ‘Thesping it’ and have had a glorious though not glittering career of 26 years. I am at the age when the mid-life crisis is desperately trying to kick in and intrude on my life; to all intents and purposes it is succeeding.
And so I am back in London, back to my London Thespian life with a bang! Back down to Ground Zero! The life of an actor is a tough life. A hard life, a boring life, a cold life, a monotonous life and an endlessly weary life.
Dear readers, the meat of this story is in the title. As I sit here writing this article I am only eight days away from leaving the United Kingdom and beginning a new chapter of my life in the United States. You may be aware by now that I will shortly be giving my all on stage at the Hollywood Fringe Theatre Festival in a stage play which I wrote with my American colleague, the highly talented Byron Tidwell.
And so I had finished my theatrical touring contract in Vermont a week ago. The following day I was driven to New York where myself and my fellow Actors hugged, cried and departed to where ever home was. New York, France, London etc. Twelve hours later I was in England wrapping my teeth tastefully around an egg and sausage muffin. Mmm, Heaven!
I have two weeks before I leave the United Kingdom for good and re-start or kick start my life again in the United States. And so I am busily trying to close up my life here in England while learning fifty pages of text for a one-man stage play that I will shortly be doing at the Hollywood Fringe Festival.
Touring the Bard in America.
There are not many days when I feel blessed to be either me or an Actor but today seems to be the exception. Let me explain.
I remember sitting in the green room by myself between shows during my time at The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil. Every time Lincoln Hudson would spot me he would ask politely if he could join me.
Where do I begin? I first met Lincoln Hudson back in 2011 or so. He was playing the part of Mr Piggy for the Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil and dating my daughter Nichole. I will never forget his love for his family, friends and life.
Lincoln Hudson and I were friends from the age of six when I moved to the small United Kingdom town of Ware and started attending Christ Church School.
In my mind, Lincoln Hudson is somewhere out there grumbling about the unfortunate timing of his death and commenting on all the unnecessary reactions (while being secretly flattered) from those who love him. Never one to let a bad situation get him down, he’s probably planning to stage Ronnie Braxton in heaven for the esteemed list of celebrities that left us in 2016. At least that’s what I’d like to think.
There was a reason for our season and within it, a unique love shared during our years together.
Lincoln Hudson and I met in Les Miserables. I was 18 and Lincoln was 30. We always had chats backstage where Lincoln took me under his wing. He always listened and gave me fab advice. He was always right.
Lincoln Hudson was one of the most impressive actors that I had ever met. We met in 2006 when I was hired as a performance medicine therapist at The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil. Every single day, before starting his “Mr Piggy” makeup (which could take a couple hours), Lincoln would come to the physiotherapy room to greet all of the athletic trainers, massage therapists, physical therapists and Pilates instructors. He was such a kind and loving man.
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