Up Against the Wall - An interview with Felix Cross

A Shaft (courtesy of Special Auto) - see what I did there?

Imagine my delight this morning when paying a visit to Stage Door, I heard the strains of Shaft coming from the BNT. So exciting and it is sounding marvellous. Our old office used to be next the the rehearsal room so you could listen to them rehearse the musical numbers which was great if you loved the music and if you didn't know the songs beforehand you sure did after hearing them on loop for a few weeks. The only time when this was a little odd was when they were rehearsing Absurd Person Singular which, of course, is based around Christmas so hearing Christmas carols throughout the Spring was a little disorientating!

Anyway, I digress. So I was walking down the corridor towards Stage Door and once I heard the first few notes of Shaft, I don't know what happened to me. Seemingly without me even being conscious of it I was soon strutting, nay dancing, down the corridor. My 'moves' attracted bemused looks from a couple of colleagues and even that didn't stop me.

It was like being taken over by mind (or body) controlling funk aliens...as often happens, after the fact I felt a little foolish (when I dance I look like a baby giraffe taking its first steps... on ice), but having read this lovely interview with writer and Nitro Artistic Director Felix Cross, I can now tell those that saw me acting oddly that it is due to, and I quote, 'songs simply so funky you physically couldn’t sit still when listening – you had to dance – it was scientifically and medically proved; those twitches in your legs were chemical reactions to the interconnected contrapuntal rhythms of funk.'

So as you can see, it wasn't just Friday exurberance (or my own complete lack of self-awareness) driving this behaviour but science that made me act that way. Honest...you can read Felix's interview in full by clicking here.