(JEREMY ?!?! Poor Jamie
is now mistaken for a murderer! ....)
Theatre-goer Beth Callaway set a new record when she became the longest
long-distance traveler to attend a Bristol Old Vic production.
Over a weekend she made the round trip from Pine Mountain, Georgia, to see the company's
production of Henry IV, Part One - and hopes to be back in November to see the second part
as well.
The dramatic motivation for all this was Beth's adoration of the production's star, a
certain Mr Jeremy Bamber.
But I'm now told that this astonishing theatre travel record is already under threat.
Apparently, Beth has confided in Phil Gibby, the Old Vic's development manager, saying:
"I was talking to someone in Seattle today about the production . . . and I
understand that they'll be booking this week."
Gibby, shell-shocked by this global adulation for their production's star, tells me these
audience jauntings don't stop there.
"When booking opened for the show, we had a call from someone in Belgium within the
first couple of days and we were quite impressed by that.
"But we've now had six bookings from the United States alone on the strength of the
Jamie Bamber phenomenon. I suppose we'll be getting calls from Guatemala any day
now."
11:00 - 23 October 2002
Bristol Evening Post