Stage alcohol

maybe flat sparkling wine/grape juice (white variety)?

Faced with a red wine gag running through a 50 minute one-actor last year, I opted for a no alcohol wine (actually about 0.5% from memory). I gagged at the thought of drinking grape juice or black current juice: too sweet. I found a brand in Coles (again, me memory's going, but I think the brand was Billabong). Anyway you can find it in the supermarket shelves. It cost about $7.50 a bottle and we went through about half a bottle a performance! And, it looked the real thing! There was the night, though, that some interfering good-hearted soul, who should never have been backstage anyway, topped up the wine left from the previous performance with strong black tea from another of the props - a bottle, which we had never intended to open. We nearly did gag on stage and were bilious for the rest of the night. I had a series of rapid costume changes: on another night the same soul moved my carefully hung and ordered clothes. You can imagine that I was in full flight after the show..... I wasn't impressed!!!! Jim

You can buy non alcoholic wines (used for childrens parties mainly) in red and white. They taste alright and are very handy if an actor doesn't like any look alike alternatives. plus it's just fizzy water with flavouring so it shouldn't have that much of an effect on the digestive system. ~ Tari The Writer is a child forever listening at the keyhole of the adult world.

That's great, thank you all. The director in question is a bit of cheapskate (don't really blame him) so any other "budget" suggestions will be welcome! BTW Jim...I hope you hunted down the kind soul and were a little anti-social towards them? Nothing like the horrible cold feeling in the pit of your stomach when you race off stage for a quick change, head for your spot and ...nothing, nada, nyiet. Rapunzel "Papa, where is Mama? They tell me she has gone away, where is she?"