CHAPTER FIVE - 01:50am to 02:40am

At around 1:50am the set is ready for the next piece of action, which is to be played out on the pavement in front of the theatre.

First up, Johnny's stand-in takes position on the pavement as the lighting, distances and camera angles are checked, and then finally JD steps up into place, swinging and twirling his cane while he's waiting for the crew to finish their checks. It's around this point that Johnny does his brilliant 'Top Hat' pose.

Suddenly there's lots of 'street action' happening, as the horse-drawn carriages and ancient motorcars that have been parked up all night are brought into play.

Johnny retires back up to the top of the theatre steps as the little street becomes busy with the passing traffic and people strolling along. One particular horse-drawn fly [a vehicle with just two very large wheels and a little front-opening cabin for the passenger] approaches from the left and draws up in front of the theatre. The boy we've seen earlier climbs out and pays the driver. 'Barrie' notices his arrival, walks down the steps to meet him, and bends over and exchanges some words with the boy. Then the boy goes in to the theatre leaving 'Barrie' standing contemplating on the pavement next to the fly.

This scene is rehearsed and filmed over and over, before they move on to the next little section of the scene. By this stage there are only 4 spectators left: me, the two people from Richmond Green, and a young woman in her early 20s. She's been sitting quietly by herself and one of the security guards has taken quite a shine to her! He brings her some coffee and sits on the grass chatting with her, while the other woman and I have a laugh about why we weren't offered anything to drink. In the meantime, the William Blake fan is writing a long note for Johnny's P.A, asking for an interview. I hope for his sake that he's got the name of the film right this time...

Eventually the scene with the boy is done, and now Johnny turns to the cab driver, says a few words to him, then climbs into the cab of the fly. It moves off down the street to our right, out of camera range. After a lot of navigation the fly comes back up the street into position again. This scene is clearly going to take a little while to get right, so I decide that now would be a good time to take a quick break. I head off for my hotel and the Richmond Green woman decides that she's going home to get warm.

2:40am: I return about 20 minutes later, hurrying back so I don't miss too much. And when I reach the Little Green my heart almost stops.

All of the barrier tape has been taken down; the carriages and cars have gone; there are no spectators left; and the crew are packing gear and street props into the lorries parked around the corner. I get a cold feeling around my mouth and my feet feel like clay as I hurry onto the green… Have I missed meeting Johnny?