At 10am, having fuelled themselves with a hearty, al fresco, breakfast, the chequered flag will be lowered and they will be on their way. However they will not be alone. A group of police motorbike outriders will accompany them, out of London to the A11.
Stars of the stage and screen, including West end actress Liz Robertson, James Fleet and a host of others, will be waving them off.
Rob Barnard, head of technical resources at The National Theatre says, "I am delighted to be involved with such a fabulous event. I will be doing the ride for the second year running. Last year was great fun and we raised an impressive £12,000 for a very worthy charity. This year I hope we will do the same and visit some exciting venues and places along the way."
"It's important that we value the help charities like The Theatrical Guild provide," continues organiser David Edelstein. "TTG is the only charity in the UK available to anyone who works, or has worked in theatre - backstage or front of house. The TTG is there for anyone from this industry and who is facing financial difficulty or who wants to re-train to develop their careers. Today TTG's work is more vital than ever. With the current extreme rise in university fees, increasing amounts of people will be turning to other qualifications to realise their dreams. TTG helps people in this situation, which is why its such a worthy cause for the First Night Riders."
One of the many examples of people who have had their life turned around thanks to The Theatrical Guild is Jessica Brettle. Jessica worked in wardrobe for 20 years where she developed a desire to create designs herself, with TTG's help, she retrained and subsequently became an award winning theatre designer. Jessica says, "without TTGs support, this would not have been possible for me. I will be forever grateful to them and value their help for making this happen."
President of The Theatrical Guild, Phyllida Law says, "We love the first night riders and their passion for raising money for our charity, its vital that people from our profession make sure that those colleagues who may become vulnerable can be protected and supported."
First Night Riders is already generously supported by a number of industry associations and companies including: ABTT, Blitz, Triple E Ltd, Set Up, MRL, The Fifth Estate Ltd, Flints Theatrical Chandlers, The Mackintosh Foundation, Total Solutions Group, AVW Controls LTD, BJ Design, Plasa 2011, ARUP, Metool Reels, Oval Motorcycle Centre, Charcoalblue, The National Theatre, The Glengower Hotel, Rose Brand and J&C Joel Limited - however this is not an exclusive club and there's always room for more.
Taking to the road this year are: Rob Barnard, David Edelstein, Brenda Edelstein, Charles Haines, Chris Higgs, Simon Nicholls, Al Parkinson, Michael Powell, Simon Harper, Steve Pennington, Derek Smith, Jack Tilbury and in the chase car - Robert Hamilton and Wes Jenkins. All riders work within the entertainment industry, except Michael Powell who is a neurosurgeon.
You can sponsor any one of the participants by following the links on the FNRs website.
(Jim Evans)
