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When I first saw this page I wanted to add something of my own PQ experiences, but I realised that I can't really pick out one favourite moment, so I'd like to tell you about all the wonderful little Philip moments which have made me smile. Like so many others I first saw Philip on the TAC, which I bought because I'd seen Les Mis once and thought it my duty to buy the video. I was disappointed when it was a concert and not a recording of the actual show, and didn't watch it again for quite a while. When I did, probably because I had nothing better to do, I quickly got hooked. I loved the music, and grew to love the story, and then the characters, and then of course Javert. I still adore Javert no matter who plays him, but I was so impressed with the way that at every single moment there is something going on on Philip's face, he's never standing there idly, you can read what Javert is feeling at every turn of events without him being melodramatic. It's subtle but it's powerful, that was the quality that stood Philip out from everyone else.
I wanted to know what else Philip had done out of nosiness and curiosity as to whether he played his other parts as well, what he had done with them, the sort of people he created. Maybe I would like them as much as Javert. I found a lady who sells old theatre programmes and asked her if she had any Philip articles. In her reply she said that she had a Secret Garden poster: I'd heard that Secret Garden was coming to London but hadn't paid much attention, I was overjoyed when I then realised that Philip was in it. The timing was really fortuitous, that a few months after I discovered him he was going to be in London.
If I'm honest I booked my first SG ticket to see Javert. I thought it was him that I liked and that if I was lucky Philip wouldn't be very good and would play all his characters the same, and Javert would be there. Then I found this site, and looked around, and saw that perhaps Javert wouldn't be there but there would be someone new and interesting to meet. I got inpatient and got another ticket at short notice for the second week at the Aldwych, not a very good one at the back of the stalls. My first time seeing Philip live, right in front of me, in the same space and time as me... I had to wait half an hour, and then when he came on, even though it was dark and I couldn't see his face, I knew it was him. My heart was electric - if you're reading this you know how it feels! That was very special, I was a long way from the stage, sitting against a wall, but it was great, I think I held my breath the whole time. Javert wasn't there and I didn't care, I was so impressed with how whole Archie was, how detailed and real, again, at every moment his face and body conveyed his emotions and thoughts. Such incredible talent, or commitment and determination and hard work.
I loved the show, and it helped that the character of Archie appealed to me, but I came away thinking that I've never before or since been lucky enough to see someone on a stage in front of me of such quality. Every aspect of Philip's performance - singing, acting, movement, the silences, the expressions, the interpretation - was of such a sky-high calibre, and stayed at that level for every show I saw. I do like seeing Philip at the stage door, because he's softly spoken and interesting and polite, but most of all I love him on stage because that's when he's brilliant.
It's been lovely to see South Pacific so many times and to get to know the National Theatre, which I very much like. Especially an almost drunken evening with Eli, Sheila and Karla, which is a fantastic memory.
But if I had to pick out one favourite moment....... yes, it would be the moment at the Albany Theatre in Deptford, in the Songs from the West End concert, when Sophie the MC said Philip's name, and I saw him stand up, and I heard the first bar of Stars..... I had been hoping and preying that he would be singing the song since Nick Holder had suggested he might at the Stage Door of South Pacific, and I slapped my fist into my palm and squealed "Bribe him! Bribe him to do it!!". Until that moment at the Albany we didn't know whether he was going to or not, and even when Sophie introduced the Les Mis medley, I didn't allow myself to believe that Philip might do 'Stars'. It's something I've yearned to see for so long, and in that intimate theatre it was magic. When he was singing it, it was half over, that's why I love best of all the bit before he started, because it was all still to come, and it was the second my dream came true. I was just a big grin sitting in a chair, a lump of smile! You know when happiness rises up in you and makes your eyes water? It really was a great evening, even sitting on a deserted, cold, filthy, dark Deptford Station platform which apparently isn't served by trains - truly the most beautiful station in the world! How lucky I am, to have so many favourite moments I can hardly choose!
