Jack and Victor are live and kicking up a storm!
MORE than 20,000 fans packed the Hydro yesterday for Still Game – and the show’s stars revealed they are in fighting fit shape.
Greg Hemphill and Ford Kiernan told The Sunday Post they have been working out in preparation for the strength-sapping run of 15 performances over the next two weeks.
And they vowed they would need to be near death before cancelling one of the highly-anticipated shows.
“You have to prepare for a performance this size,” Ford said. “Greg’s been walking a lot to get in shape and I’ve been dieting and have lost weight.
“The last thing we want to do is come down with something.”
Greg continued: “Let’s say Ford fell and broke his leg. The next night he would come out in a wheelchair and we would need to reference it.
“We would be sitting in the hospital writing new lines to deal with it. This isn’t like a West End show that runs for months, so we would have to be close to dying to miss a performance.”
Gavin Mitchell, who plays Boaby, broke ribs just weeks before the show’s last run at the Hydro in 2014 but fought through the pain each night.
It’s a long day for the cast, especially on days when they have a matinee, so Greg and Ford are quick off the mark afterwards.
“We arrive at the venue at 10am,” Ford explained. “Make up doesn’t take as long as on TV, as there’s no latex involved, but we still have three girls working like crazy on us.
“Then we have microphone fittings, wardrobe and we might run some lines. Between shows we only have a little over an hour to relax, so there’s not much point in leaving.
“Aftewards, I can get from the Hydro to my house in seven minutes.”
Greg continued: “I remember during the last run at the Hydro it was my wedding anniversary.
“I was home in 10 minutes and had my feet up and my dressing gown on while people were still leaving the venue, which was a weird feeling.”
One of the biggest crowds in Scotland yesterday was at the Hydro.
Fans braved wind and rain as they queued up for the show.
And they were rewarded when they found their programmes came complete with a pair of fake teeth to replicate those of character Methadone Mick.
The show’s creators said it’s all a far cry from Still Game’s early days.“It’s amazing when you think back to those first shows at the Fringe,” Greg said.
“We were on a ticket split with Paul Riley (Winston) and there were eight people there to see it at £7.50 a time and we would be trying to work out if we’d made enough to buy dinner.”
Unlike the last live show – when more than 200,000 people packed out the Hydro following the show’s seven-year absence – this one won’t be recorded, as the duo believe being there adds to the experience.
Ford added: “There’s nothing like a Glasgow crowd and although people come from all over come to see the show, once they’re inside they become that Glasgow crowd.
“We owe the fans for being so faithful all the way through, so we’re throwing everything we can at this show.”
Still Game 2 – Bon Voyage is at the Hydro, Glasgow until February 16.
Last night, happy fans said they’d loved every minute of the new live show which many thought was better than the last.