Eclipse...

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They seem to come round quicker each year but the local performances of our Connections shows are definitely a highlight of the YTYT calendar.  Sunday and Monday saw a company of 25 brilliant young people perform Eclipse by Simon Armitage.  Their performances were all exceptional and the pleasure I got from watching each and everyone of them succeed in such a challenging and poetically abstract piece was second to none.

There is so much I could talk about in terms of the individual and collective achievements of the cast…they have all become better actors as a result of their journey from audition to performance.  They have all learnt a great deal about themselves and have been pushed as people and actors.  During rehearsals they were continually challenged to delve deeper, understand more and achieve greater clarity.  Their vocal and physical skills have improved significantly in the process of reaching to tell the story of Eclipse as eloquently as possible.  In short they have been stretched as far as they could go.  Consequently the result when we performed at Unity Works this week, was a company working at their greatest potential sharing with family, friends and supporters a thoroughly engaging piece of theatre.

I also enjoyed the fact that the piece challenged the audience.  In amongst the large amounts of praise and compliments there were a lot of questions…not least of which was “What did happen to Lucy Lime?”  I was proud to have had a part in creating a piece of theatre that challenged the audience to unwrap the mystery of the story and in fact the mystery of the text. 

And so now the cast get a well deserved break to spend a little while basking in the glory of all their achievements – while I plot and plan for the next version – oh yes…we don’t stand still her…the regional production of Eclipse we take to Kendal is a going to be a whole new adventure…


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