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Our 4th Christmas blog is from Tom - obviously he left YTYT in September to pursue his training as an actor at Manchester School of Theatre -  but on account of the fact he lives with the director he can't really escape it altogether...as you can see from this blog thankfully he doesn't see that as a bad thing...

There’s a number of ways I could’ve taken this blog. A look back at 2018 in a personal sense, or a list of Yew Tree's achievements (of which there have been several) but instead I’d like to incorporate both of those things into a collection of 5 things that made 2018 a brilliant year. So here goes…
1.    The National: now this was always going to make the list, its something that has played on the mind of everybody who has taken part in any Connection’s festival. And it was everything I could have hoped my experience of performing at one of the coolest theatres in the world could be. But the main thing I took away from it was the cast. It was stacked to the rafters with talent, and generosity and honour and all those wonderful features. And 2 people that I'd like to mention specifically is Violet Gledhill and Heidi Mersini. Despite being the 2 youngest members of the cast, and never having done a full length play before to the best of my knowledge, they walked onto that stage like they owned the place. And that can only be described as impressive.
2.     Remember Where You Came From: if you’ve seen anything on Yew Tree’s social media in the past, I don’t know, 3-4 years? You’re aware that we enjoy a good play about mining. But this was something a little different. This was the words and songs from Alan Wood, lifted from the page and onto the stage, in a way that amazed me. I was incredibly glad I got to take part in something so moving, and that I got to witness a group of young people connect with their roots. 
3.    Comet: we turned a full length play round in 4 weeks. Enough said 
4.    Lamda exams. From Grade 8 trailblazers to public speakers, first timers to old hands, the amount of people who have taken on the daunting task of learning one or more speeches, memorising answers to questions and overcoming the fear of being one on one with an examiner, is so impressive. Shout out again to Violet, the girl's in year 8 and her speeches were impeccable, it makes me very pleased that I never have to compete with her for parts. Watch out for her name folks.
5.    The Christmas shows: and finally, I sat and watched the tech rehearsals for the first set of Christmas shows I wasn’t in, and it made me both sad, and very hopeful. Sad because I was gutted that I couldn’t perform, and that I couldn’t be on stage with Yew Tree members past and present. But hopeful because Yew Tree is in very, very good hands.

So that is my list, and I hope it’s made you think of some happy memories from the past year. There are plenty to choose from, and I encourage you all to take a second to think of them and try and better them in the opportunities granted in the year to come.

Merry Christmas, and the happiest of New Year’s, to all of you wonderful folks


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