Proud

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The first blog of May is always a bit of a special one because invariably we’re in Kendal just about to perform our Connections play or celebrating our performance.  This year it’s the latter and I write this waiting for the cast to wake up, listening to the rain in a Youth Hostel room looking out over the grounds of the arts centre feeling entirely content. 

Last night saw my company of 17 very talented young people reach the pinnacle of this year’s Connections experience.   It’s been quite the journey – choosing the play in September, casting in November, rehearsals until the first performance in February, a brief rest and then rehearsals for this performance.  In this time they’ve grafted, dealt with frustrations, enjoyed victories, learnt a little more about the world and themselves and made something entirely excellent.  Hacktivists is a tough play that explores complex issues – there was a lot to get to grips with in order to make it come alive and the cast can be proud of the fact that they did just that.

The other thing that made me proud was the amount of nice things that were said about the company…obviously there were lots of compliments for their performance but in addition during the day I was frequently told how great they were.  Their professionalism, hard work, generosity, sense of playfulness was remarked upon again and again by the professionals at the arts centre, by the director from the National Theatre and by other youth theatres.  They were a credit to themselves and there’s no doubt about it a weekend away with YTYT is a pleasure indeed.


I watched them perform last night with such a sense of pride and fulfillment knowing a little about the journey each one of them had taken and also knowing there was so much more than I could ever know invested in every performance.  There was so much heart and energy in every word that was spoken, so much investment meaning the play was brought to life vividly and with integrity.  Hacktivists is something that the company can be truly proud of.

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