Regular readers will know how much I love the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield - I've posted about it and done nails here, as well as having done snooker nails here. Last night though, I got a very exciting opportunity which deserved its own nails!
Every Christmas, the Crucible does a classic musical. This year's is Annie Get Your Gun, which I'm very excited about because OMG! Cowboys! Chaps! Saloons and comedy shooting competitions? What's not to love? It opens on Friday and runs to the end of January, and I've got tickets for a week on Saturday. But yesterday I was lucky enough to be part of a group of twitter fans who got to have an exclusive backstage tour, and it was SO MUCH FUN! We met the musical director, who took us to the remote orchestra pit under the stage and gave us some sneak peeks at the music secrets. We went to the wardrobe and costume department and chatted to the staff, and tried on lots of hats (and oohed and aahed at Kenneth Branagh's Richard III costume). We ate pizza, we chatted panto and musicals and theatre, and we got to watch some of the technical rehearsal for AGYG itself. There's a TRAIN! And hats! And chaps!
The nails are inspired by the production artwork, which is gorgeous!
You can read all about Annie Get Your Gun (including lots of photos and cute video trailers) here.
Anyway, on to the nails! I started with a base of Barry M Mustard, and sponged a mix of Barry M Satsuma, Full Throttle and Models Own Sarong Wrap to make the blended background.
I really liked how these looked, and wore these for two days as they were.
Tonight I added the bullet holes, using Konad Black sponged on and then Konad White dotted on over the top. I then mattified everything using Barry M Matte Topcoat. Then, because I never know when to leave well enough alone, I added a fringe to the ring nail, using nail glue and some edges from a fringe on an old scarf, as well as an accent stud. Because every cowboy mani needs fringes!
The fringe wasn't massively successful to be honest, but I suppose it's quite fun. It was too short to have any weight though, so it wouldn't swing very well.
I'll let you know what I make of the show when I go - I really can't wait!
I've posted before about how much I love the Crucible Theatre (see here for my previous nails) and I was there on Thursday night for Artistic Director Daniel Evans' leaving do, so I decided it was the perfect time to redo my Crucible nails.
I love the Crucible so much! It's my far my favourite theatre ever, and I go often (although not often enough for my liking!)
These are just a straightforward chevron skittle. I used nail vinyls from What's Up Nails to make these. The base colours are Barry M Blue Grape, Essence Flashy Pumpkin, Barry M Blood Orange, Illamasqua Prosperity and Barry M Key Lime. The black top colour is OPI 4 In the Morning.
I'm happy with how these came out. They're much tidier than my previous effort, and the colours are clearer.
I am lucky enough to live within a 20 minute drive of Sheffield's wonderful Crucible Theatre. I've been going there since I first lived in Sheffield in the mid 1990s, and even though I don't live in Sheffield any more, I'm close enough that it's easy to get there.
I have spent many MANY hours watching snooker at the Crucible (it's an absolutely wonderful snooker venue!) but probably almost as many there for plays. I have been a keen theatre goer since the early 80s - I have so many fabulous memories!
The Crucible is a very special theatre. It's 40 years old this year, and has had a major revamp over the last few years. As a venue for plays, the auditorium is wonderful - there is no bad seat in the house. The thrust stage means that nobody is ever more than 20 metres away from the actors. It's a very intimate and powerful place. I absolutely love the energy you can feel when you walk in.
I've seen so many wonderful productions there over the years. I think the very first was a production of David Copperfield (the Dickens novel, not the magician!) where the auditorium was completely transformed with boats everywhere. I've seen many wonderful Shakespeare productions (Kenneth Branagh on a rack in Richard III, camp sailors dancing in Twelfth Night, Sam Troughton with painted toenails in As You Like It, a Russian production of Winter's Tale, complete with surtitles...) I loved Marlowe's Edward II with Joe Fiennes, Moliere's Don Juan with tiny and lovely Tom Hollander... Last year I loved the production of Company, starring the Crucible's wonderful artistic director, Daniel Evans (not to mention one of my favourite theatre moments in recent years, Samantha Spiro singing the fastest song I have EVER heard and yet being entirely understandable - and funny - at every point).
Last night I went to see Pinter's Betrayal, with John Simm. It was magnificent; not the most jolly of plays, although there were some funny moments, but truly excellent. The whole cast were excellent, but I especially loved Ruth Gemmell, she was really moving.
The Crucible is wonderful. The staff are great - many have been there for years, and they're always so helpful, friendly and human. The bar is nice. There are lots of ladies' toilets (with recycled wellies as a splashback behind the sinks, no less) which is unusual for a theatre. There is a jazzy carpet. The prices are good (none of this London £50-a-ticket malarkey!) and the restaurant is fabulous.
ANYWAY, this is meant to be a nail blog, so here are the nails! If you've been to the Crucible, you will recognise these as the entry doors from the bar area to the auditorium. If not, then this is a skittle chevron tape mani. I used Barry M Cobalt, Bright Purple and Bright Green, OPI Roll in the Hague, Orly Ma Cherie and Rimmel Black Out. I swear that the bleeding on the colours isn't visible in real life. Either that, or I'm going blind!
