Beverley Graham Interview: Meet the Cast Nights & Meeting David Suchet
Title
Beverley Graham Interview: Meet the Cast Nights & Meeting David Suchet
Date
26 July 2018
Description
Oral history interview with Beverley Graham, a keen amateur dancer, and also a long-time supporter, valued audience member and active participant of the Theatre Royal.
What's the story?
Beverley Graham was born in 1953 in Kirkby-in Ashfield in Nottinghamshire.
From having attended dance schools from an early age, Beverley has always had a passion for theatre and performing. This has developed into a genuine love for the Theatre Royal, which shines through in her interview.
She has attended numerous shows over the years, more so since becoming a Premium Member of the Theatre Royal in 2013. She is also a regular participant in the venue’s dance classes and has even performed on the stage.
In this interview Beverley describes the Meet the Cast nights, where Theatre Royal Members have an opportunity to stay behind on opening nights to meet and greet the stars. Beverley gives special mention to actor David Suchet, who she met in 2013 when he came to the Theatre Royal for a special event to promote his book Poirot and Me:
I just love Meet the Cast. It’s not for every performance, obviously. It’s just selected shows that agree to Meet the Cast and the Theatre always say that although all the cast are actually invited, they can’t guarantee that they will be there. We’ve seen Flavia and Vincent twice at the Theatre Royal and both times there was a Meet the Cast. Both times, Vincent came: we never saw Flavia. She wouldn’t come on. Her choice, but we have met some lovely people and they are so gracious and will actually stand and talk to you and answer questions, which, although I know that’s the point of it, some actors perhaps might find it irritating to have to answer the same questions over and over again, but they have some really, really lovely people.
The most gracious person I have ever met at the Meet the Cast was David Suchet. He’s a most wonderful person and very gracious and when you are talking to him, he would talk to you. You felt that he was listening to you, that all his attention was on you. Forgetting everybody else, he wasn’t trying to rush you because he’d got other people to meet. He was absolutely lovely. And there was one particular occasion where he was doing a book launch for his book about Poirot and they had a question and answer session on stage which people listened to. And then he agreed to sign books in the foyer. The Theatre Royal foyer was full of people and there was just like a snake queue all filling the whole of the foyer and he’d signed every single book. Luckily he’d got a table and chairs. Nobody complained about the wait. Everybody was willing to wait, just to have their book signed by him because he was so nice, and, again, he talked to you when you had the book signed. It wasn’t a case of “Hurry up, I’ve got loads of people to see, I’ve got to get off”. He was absolutely lovely.
From having attended dance schools from an early age, Beverley has always had a passion for theatre and performing. This has developed into a genuine love for the Theatre Royal, which shines through in her interview.
She has attended numerous shows over the years, more so since becoming a Premium Member of the Theatre Royal in 2013. She is also a regular participant in the venue’s dance classes and has even performed on the stage.
In this interview Beverley describes the Meet the Cast nights, where Theatre Royal Members have an opportunity to stay behind on opening nights to meet and greet the stars. Beverley gives special mention to actor David Suchet, who she met in 2013 when he came to the Theatre Royal for a special event to promote his book Poirot and Me:
I just love Meet the Cast. It’s not for every performance, obviously. It’s just selected shows that agree to Meet the Cast and the Theatre always say that although all the cast are actually invited, they can’t guarantee that they will be there. We’ve seen Flavia and Vincent twice at the Theatre Royal and both times there was a Meet the Cast. Both times, Vincent came: we never saw Flavia. She wouldn’t come on. Her choice, but we have met some lovely people and they are so gracious and will actually stand and talk to you and answer questions, which, although I know that’s the point of it, some actors perhaps might find it irritating to have to answer the same questions over and over again, but they have some really, really lovely people.
The most gracious person I have ever met at the Meet the Cast was David Suchet. He’s a most wonderful person and very gracious and when you are talking to him, he would talk to you. You felt that he was listening to you, that all his attention was on you. Forgetting everybody else, he wasn’t trying to rush you because he’d got other people to meet. He was absolutely lovely. And there was one particular occasion where he was doing a book launch for his book about Poirot and they had a question and answer session on stage which people listened to. And then he agreed to sign books in the foyer. The Theatre Royal foyer was full of people and there was just like a snake queue all filling the whole of the foyer and he’d signed every single book. Luckily he’d got a table and chairs. Nobody complained about the wait. Everybody was willing to wait, just to have their book signed by him because he was so nice, and, again, he talked to you when you had the book signed. It wasn’t a case of “Hurry up, I’ve got loads of people to see, I’ve got to get off”. He was absolutely lovely.
Type
Oral Interview
Location of item
Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham
Rights
Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham
Contributor
Interviewers: Sue Threakall & Julia Holmes
Transcriber: David Chilton
Transcriber: David Chilton
