Live music on the wind. The sound of laughter through the window behind me. The people of Luton have come up to their Henge for this festival. And we are dressed in thick black Jacobean clothes trying to work out how best to disguise our radio mics. Showtime, for one night only. Another of the uncountable number of temporary groups that we have all been part of in this game. We are getting ready. I thought I’d write a little down before we start.
Adrenaline will kick in before long and I’ll start walking in circles and popping and obsessively checking my presets. But… for now there’s space in my head to write some words to you oh constant reader. I haven’t really been making time for this of late, I’m dashing them off at the end of the day (waheyy) frequently tired and becatted. So I thought I’d start it pre-show, here in Marsh Farm House, in the downstairs “History Room” – allocated as our Green Room, as we all put on our thick black clothes in the evening sun.
Another great costume I didn’t know I had until recently. The boots I’ve always had but the rest was in Canterbury.
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At this point a huge choir of people bundled into the Green Room and my dream of a contemplative moment was dashed. So we all went and changed with Bergman. He’s been pulling his weight as a dressing room / cast transport / shed this weekend.
We all performed this powerful unusual needed piece of theatre together in a stone circle at the height of this exposing stark summer. Now I’m home and the full moon is smiling down through promising looking clouds. A smattering of skywater wouldn’t go amiss. What a few months this has been.
How many times have we all come together in small groups to make magic and then disippated again? It’s a great community to be part of, theatre folk. Going for a 0% drink with my agent last week helped me key into that – there’s a consistency through the generations. We all care about this strange thing, for all the multiplicity of reasons we have, and it is at its best when we get to do it and pay the bills at the same time.
Next week I’m tearing things apart. Happy to go into that from this, to remind me what’s possible with work and belief so I can have that head on when I assess what to throw and what to keep. There are so many factors at play with theatre. I’ve got the community bit sewn up. But… which stories do I want to tell? And what do I need to tell them how I need to tell them? That’s my question for next week.
