Neil Grainger talks Teesside, toughness and trains during the second week of Jump! rehearsals.

It’s my second week in Newcastle. Embarrassingly, I'm only from down the road in Middlesbrough, but having moved to London at the age of 18, I've spent so little time in the ‘Toon’ it's criminal. Also, as some of my fellow cast members keep telling me, I'm a little bit posh for a smoggy. Nonsense I tell you! Tally Ho!

I'm loving it here. The Quayside is just a beautiful sight to behold and it's great walking past it to work every day. It beats the pants off the lifeless and desolate Tees (although the Transporter Bridge is iconic and our footie team is so much better!).

Rehearsals have been gentle and a lot more fun than surely they are supposed to be whilst still being paid. Our Director and Chief, Max Roberts seems happy with the pace I am discovering my character at, though I am aware that the tech rehearsals creep up on you out of nowhere, so I'm going to do some serious swatting over this coming weekend. I've been working hard to try and find the harder side of my character, Pearce. He is a lonely, troubled figure who has clearly struggled with some sort of addiction. I strive to find the danger.

Today I sampled the Metro for the first time. Again, I hang my head with shame, that as a Northerner I know so little of this place (up to now the only time I’ve said “WHY AYE” is when spelling “YIELD”).

I went down to Northern Stage to see a performance of The Three Musketeers in French (ooh la la- get me!) and not relishing the 40 minute walk home, decided on trying out the Metro. How hard can it be? I live in London, I get the tube everyday and I've sampled both Paris and New York Metro systems, so I can do Newcastles no problem. For a kick off, it was empty. I felt like I was in a French film as I hadn't heard anyone speak English for a few hours. As I sauntered alone down the escalator I started smouldering to myself, talking incredibly basic French in my head and humming the theme of the Stella Artois adverts.

Ooh, look, proper TV screens above the escalators. We don't have them in London. This is so much better then the bloody Tube. And so much cheaper. Ok, so Haymarket to Chillingham Road. What? 24 stops? Are you kidding?!
I realise now, having applied my commuter head to the situation, that the train I was looking at was going the opposite direction to the one I needed to go, but I couldn't see this because there are “NO METRO MAPS ON THE PLATFORM!!!” If it was not for helpful strangers pointing me in the direction of Monument I would have gone home via Whitley Bay, though I suppose the scenery might have been nice.

I do like the trains though. Although they are a little dirty and look like they are sponsored by Morrisons, “THEY WORK “ and that is pretty much all I care about. My general blood pressure would be much lower if the London Underground was efficient and dirty, rather than sparkling clean and so erratic that you want to kick your own head in. My personal favourite part of the journey though was the no nonsense approach to train safety, and in particular the fact that you can open the doors before the train fully comes to a stop. I don't need to wait. I laugh in the face of gravity. I am a man with no fear. Perhaps I have found the danger that I have been searching for....or maybe not.

Until next time,

Neil