Bitter Sweet Whirlwinds...

What a whirlwind of a week – finished Remember the Oaks on Sunday on Monday dived into The Hepworth Job.  Which meant I and my lovely cast spent a whole week immersing ourselves in a ridiculous romp where a group of teenagers attempt (unsuccessfully) to steal a priceless piece of art from The Hepworth Gallery.  I enjoyed every minute of it for a myriad of reasons…

To start with, what a cast!  Each one a joy…each one entirely committed! Each one of them wonderfully talented and prepared to be bold and brave.  More importantly each one fully engaged in the business of working together and fully aware that magic is made in the relationships within a company and between characters…

Another reason is site specific work is my favourite form of making work…to be able to make something that fits in the place where it is performed is such creative happiness.  It gives it an immediacy and an energy that is entirely unique.

As a flippant thing but none the less a joy the absence of rain between the hours of 6 and 8pm and indeed the sun coming out during the performance after a day of miserable weather was another joy…the sky cleared and the world became brighter as the performed went on and we all felt proverbially righteous – it’s the sort of thing you can’t control – and because of that it feels even better when it happens.

The only bitter sweetness was that it was a goodbye performance – 4 actors came to the end of the YTYT chapter in their lives as they prepare to start university in September.  With their departure we lose some very precious things.  Bailey’s brilliant creative mind and the laughter he is so often the catalyst for, Lottie’s directness, wonderful talent and loyalty, Georgia’s commitment, intelligence and all round gorgeousness and of course my very own Amy who I will miss for a million reasons but YTYT will miss for her bravery, her integrity and her general joyousness.  Look for their farewell blogs in the next few weeks

The whirlwind continues as I write this from Warwick university having already started a week long summer school with a new company of creative minds who already have shown themselves full of energy, creativity and greatness…more of that in next week’s blog!