Henry Mancini

Henry Mancini and James Galway is a two for one. I was hired to direct Galway Plays Mancini at the Barbican in London. The day started badly when the OB truck turned out to be too high to get to the backstage which was down a fairly steep ramp.
This was overcome by a bright techie who let the air out of the tyres and we could get in. I think I was hired because of my history of working with music greats on film and maybe because I could read a music score and orchestral arrangements and make the camera calls in real time. I’m probably not that sharp anymore but believe it or not I was. As a dress rehearsal we nailed down all our camera positions and moves until they were smoother than a cashmere codpiece.
All was well until about ten minutes before curtain up when the pixie like James Galway and the more sardonic Henry Mancini charmingly informed me that they had decided to change the entire running order, almost every cue and one or two of the tunes.
They clearly thought it was pretty funny but I was horrified. Somehow or other we got it done and the show and the film turned out fine and of course their music and it’s performance was outstanding.