New Passion for the Planet project gathers steam
Following two years of community theatre activity in Gateshead, the production which started it all is due in the Mole Valley. Reimagined for the new site, the Friends Meeting House in Dorking, and with fresh creative input from Mole Valley schools and the wider community, Passion for the Planet will be part of Mole Valley […]
What a mess
When my children were small we had a book by the late, great, Frank Muir about an Afghan puppy who was always a mess, to the extent that he thought his name was What-a-Mess. It struck me that the same could now be applied to the planet, and what we have done and are doing […]
Reasons to be cheerful
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by uncertainty at the moment; by fear of infection; by a craving for closeness with family and friends who have become images on a computer screen. The fact that we simply don’t know how long this pandemic will last, the worry about a second wave, all compounded by a dawning […]
Virtual Theatre is a hit
When Damn Cheek teamed up with Brighton Beam for a co production of Maria MacAteer’s ‘On a Wicklow Hill’, we expected a normal run of small venues, a normal approach to ticketing and marketing, normal performances with an audience seated in front of or around the stage. As it turned out, that’s not normal at […]
Still more news…
Précis Journalists are trained, taught from the beginning, to précis, never to use 100 words where 10 will do, and yet here they are, every morning, filling page after page with coronavirus news, analysis, the latest pet theories, words to reassure or just to pile on worries, anxieties, anguish, doubts with no possibility, or so […]
Cancellations and opportunities
This feels like day one of a new regime. Lots of new rules to observe, even if they’re presented as advice. Cut out social interaction, avoid the pub, no gatherings, self isolate where symptoms present. And more still for the over 70s and those with health problems. So where do we go from here? Yesterday […]
Pointing the way
A month in and it still feels like a new year. Partly because of politics, although that also feels like the same old stuff. Partly because of pure busyness. Every January is the same. A few days of idleness followed by everything kicking off at once. So this feels like a good time to look […]
Happy Christmas
The Good Ship Christmas The good ship, Christmas, docks once a year. In the chart room is found much cheer; peace among the sails and stays and, at the tiller, love so tender. The port turns out to greet the berth with tales and food and songs of praise and mirth among the fenders, while […]
What can I say?
The photo says it in a way. The future is shrouded in mist, the difference being that the mist is rather attractive while the future looks less so. Why? Because we’re faced with a climate emergency and we’ve spent the last few years with a governing party which seems increasingly complacent. Because we’re faced with […]
A tale of two theatres
Two very different theatrical experiences over the weekend. In the first I knew what to expect, in the second less so. The first was a performance of my play, ‘The Door’ at the Keynes Library, Birkbeck’s School of Arts before a full, and enthusiastic, house. Naturally, I know the play intimately and also this production […]