| But
80s pop star Toyah Willcox had to deal with a
real-life calamity while she was on stage during
the musical’s opening night in the Capital.
As she leapt about the stage of the Festival
Theatre, cracking her whip and belting out the
musical’s popular numbers, the 44-year-old
actress dislocated her knee. But thoughts of limping off,
disappointing the packed audience, never entered
her head. With a show of machismo that the
buckskin cowgirl herself would have been proud
of, she soldiered on. Giving a pre-arranged
signal to the rest of the cast, Ms Willcox - who
has had a weakness in her knee for years - was
promptly whisked off stage.
There in the wings, her knee
was clicked back into place. Then, with the
audience still unaware of the backstage drama,
the crowd watched their sharp-shooting heroine
return gamely to the stage.
The ex-pop star’s Calamity
Jane-style spirit has won her a whole new set of
fans among the theatre’s staff. A
spokeswoman for the Festival Theatre said: "I
was watching the performance myself and I didn’t
know it had happened.
"Toyah went off and had
her knee popped back into place, as she usually
does, and the audience had no idea."
She added: "I understand
it is an old injury she carries and it happens on
occasion, but it doesn’t stop her
performing, or disrupt the performance. She just
gets it popped back in.
"It’s her knee that’s
the problem. I think her childhood problems may
be a factor, but I really couldn’t say."
It is understood that backstage
staff at the theatre, who are mostly first-aid
qualified, have been briefed on what to do in the
event of her dislocating a joint. In the show,
Calamity is flung around, hoisted up to dangle
from assorted bits of scenery, tripped up, shot
at and jumped on.
Ms Willcox had to spend months
learning how to use the bullwhip for the role.
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But
the rigours of the part never left the former
chart-topper flagging behind her supporting cast,
despite being on average 22 years older than the
rest of the performers. Ms Willcox has spoken in
the past of her childhood problems, and the fact
she was born with one leg shorter than the other.
"My shortened leg is something I have to
live with," she told one interviewer. "When I was a kid, my mum was very
determined - she pushed me into things like ice-skating,
because I was born with curvature of the spine.
"I haven’t got a
complete hip socket - and have refused to have an
operation to correct the problem. All I do is
wear a lift in my left shoe to make the leg the
same length as my good one.
"I don’t want the
operations that are necessary to build hip
sockets - three major ones and a year off.
"A specialist told me I
could still expect a normal physical life and the
only thing I wouldn't be able to do was go
jogging.
"I often get a dull ache
in my leg, but I’m very lucky to have a
marvellous GP who is a firm believer in
complementary medicine."
And she added philosophically:
"It just means I creak a lot."
Ms Willcox first came into the
public eye with her performance in punk film
Jubilee in 1977 and went on to release hit
records I Wanna Be Free and It’s a Mystery
with her band in the early 80s.
Calamity Jane ’s run at
the Festival Theatre ends tomorrow . It is part
of a UK tour which ends in Liverpool in March.
Edinburgh
Evening News - 31st January 2003
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