Breaking legs

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My play/musical about Lewis Carroll and Isa Bowman, the actress who played Alice in Wonderland on stage in the 1880s, opened at the Assembly Rooms in George Street on Friday. Michael Maloney plays Lewis Carroll beautifully.

In true theatrical tradition, I sent him a good luck card for the first performance. I said “Michael - Break a leg!” And, yes, you've guessed…

As the lights came up on Michael's opening dance and he swung round to face his audience, he lurched forward and doubled up in agony. His leg was gone - a torn muscle, it transpired. Later, at A&E, he told me, "I always take notes from the author seriously." Anyway, he limped heroically through the rest of the show and he has been packed in ice ever since and all's well (we have modified some of the choreography!), but it made me wonder about the origin of the theatrical expression "Break a leg"? Does anyone out there in the blogosphere know?

Maloney is a genius actor best known, I suppose, as the other fellow in Truly, Madly, Deeply, but for me he is the Hamlet of his generation. I saw him do it twice and I have never seen anything like it. Michael told me the story of the young actor playing Hamlet for the first time who is worried about his interpretation of the part and especially about Hamlet's relationship with Ophelia. The young actor goes to one of the older members of the company to talk about it and asks the elderly actor (now playing Polonius): "How close do you think Hamlet and Ophelia are? Does Hamlet sleep with Ophelia?" The old actor replies: "I don't know about the West End, laddie, but we always did on tour."

Best Edinburgh meal to date: beetroot soufflé at the David Mann veggie restaurant in St Mary's Street. Worst Edinburgh moment so far: being caught in a torrential downpour without an umbrella two minutes after putting on my new suit! We all like the slightly crumpled look, but come on.

Surprise audience member of the week: Jeffrey Archer at Pleasance One for the first preview of my One to One standup set. Delightful, but a tad disconcerting. That's the joy of the Fringe. There's something unexpected around every corner.