I was on stage, alone, at a packed Alexandra theatre in Birmingham with no clear idea what to do or say for the best. And then I woke up. Except I didn’t because, to my horror, it was actually happening. This was the stage show of the television series Inside No 9. And for one night only I was in it. Yes, I thought, this is a nightmare. But I had to concede this was wholly appropriate for a show that has a nightmarish quality written through it like a stick of rock.
Inside No 9 ran on BBC Two for nine series over 10 years. It seems to me that the viewing public falls into two categories with this show. They either – like me, until a month ago – haven’t come across it. Or they know every line of all 55 episodes. This evening’s audience consisted entirely of the latter, and here I was standing before them, performing – if standing around looking frightened constitutes a performance – my cameo.
