No more set painting - sorry!

Over the past few years I've painted a hell of a lot of stage sets, far more than just those for productions I've also acted in. It's what I did for a living for many years until serious illness and bodily wear and tear obliged me to stop doing it and go onto a disability pension. That, I'm sure, will come as a surprise to many because I rarely, if ever, talk about the illness that still plagues me from time to time. On the wear and tear side of things, I have four damaged vertebrae right at the top of my spine where it becomes my neck, which causes constant pain that radiates up into the base of my skull, across my shoulders and down both my arms. It hasn't been a lot of fun, but I've learned to live with it and, I think, I've managed rather well in spite of it. Those who have seen me in action must surely have a pretty good idea of the physical exertion I subject myself to, from balancing like a ballet dancer on top of a rickety step-ladder, brush in one hand and tin of paint in the other, to reach hard-to-get-to parts of a set that are well above head-height, to crouching down and painting details at the bottom of flats or on the floor itself. Even just holding up a straight-edge so I can paint straight lines is physically demanding and, ultimately, excruciatingly painful. Those who haven't seen what I do . . . haven't got the slightest clue. I've never missed a deadline and I've never let anybody down . . . until recently. The last production I was involved with (The Trial of Wild Gil Hiccup) was extremely hard work, given the two and a half days we had in which to bump out the previous show's set ( thanks a million for THAT . . . Hal), build, paint and dress our own set AND fit in three full-run rehearsals. Playing the part of 'Hyatt Twerp' required a very high level of energy and it was just as well we had a three-day break halfway through the run because I may very well have not made it through to the end otherwise. The upshot of it all is that I aggravated my spinal problem even further and, several weeks later, it is painfully apparent that it is NOT going to get any better. In fact, I have not been at all well since Wild Gil finished. I don't want it to be this way, but I now have little option other than to retire permanently from set painting and concentrate solely on my acting instead. I don't want to end up permanently crippled by doing something that I don't even get paid for. So, to those two directors who I've disappointed in recent weeks, I offer my profound apologies. At least one of you knows me well enough to understand that I don't let people down unless there is a very good reason for it. To those other directors who may be hoping to secure my services in the future - please don't ask me, because you all know how difficult it is for me to say 'no'. The sad truth is that I just cannot do it any more.