A burlesque – dances, lies, laughs, sings even cries its way to a hideously funny conclusion!!

Murray Lachlan Young’s hilarious new verse play – on tour Autumn 2012.

A full moon rises over a windswept cottage in the middle of Cornwall

The children are in bed, the wine is breathing nicely and the dinner is in the oven

It’s Gordon and Celia’s wedding anniversary.  They wanted to ask their oldest and best friends Zach and Jane down from London.  The only problem is that Zach and Jane aren’t Zach and Jane anymore.  Jane has gone and Julia has taken her place.  Julia is: twenty five, French and a burlesque performer – annoyingly bright and disgustingly gorgeous.

As the wine  flows  the food reaches dizzying new heights of culinary distinction – but each course seems to bring a new revelation.  Until we become aware that no one seems to be telling the truth to anyone about anything.

We watch the characters slowly stripped of all pretensions and secrets.  Savaged in the glorious downward spiral of an evening that will leave them with no option but to take a good hard look at just about everything.

The process so far

With the support of a small Arts Council GFA and £5,000 of crowd sourced funding Exeter based Director Paul Jepson and Cornwall based  poet Murray Lachlan Young began working on a scenario for a play in January of this year.  During a residency at Beaford Arts in North Devon they developed the scenario into a series of scenes with the help of the actors Mary Woodvine and Rory Wilton (both from Cornwall).   This was followed by a second residency in April at Dartington where the company grew to include the actors Jerome Wright and Kirsty Osmon.  In between the two residencies Murray wrote first a prose draft and then a verse draft in response to the initial improvisations.

Following further work on the verse draft a final residency took place at London’s Drill Hall prior to a reading to an invited audience to rave reviews.  Now the play is going into  full production – heading to the Edinburgh Festival over summer before embarking on a national tour.

Table 1  The English Regions (see note 2)

On first look it’s a depressing read – no one ever likes to be bottom.  Dig deeper though into the report and a much more complex picture begins to emerge.

Mind the gap – its closing

Firstly the gap between Greater London and all the regions (not just the East) is closing.  Over the three years of the first #ArtIndex) Greater London has dropped sixty six points whilst the East has ‘grown’ by 18points.  Evidence – the report suggests – not of a policy to redistribute funds (although undoubtedly this must have had an impact) but more recession hitting Greater London sooner (Greater London saw significant ‘drops’ in business contributions, trust and foundation income and individual giving as well as employment).

The Big Movers – How many index points gained / lost over period 2007-2010) – see note 3

Where the East excels

Secondly its important to note where the East does score well in comparison to other regions.  The report itself notes that the East has one of the best arts engagement rates (second only to the South East) and perhaps surprisingly it also has a high index score for the number of adults digitally engaged with arts practice.

Adult arts participation – by region (see note 4)

Adults digitally engaged in the Arts – by region (see note 5)

(*the East had the lowest % growth rate of all the regions suggesting its high position might not be maintained)

Its also interesting to note the growth in this area from 2008/9 to 2009/10 (the years for which data was available) – average out at 39%.  It’s a growth which is surely set to continue with the continued success of art screenings at Cinemas, the new initiative launched by ACE & the BBC (SPACE) and as more and more companies find ways of distributing their work in different formats.

The East also scores well against other regions in the ‘adults attending an arts activity as a percentage of the population’  – once again coming second only by the South East region.

Adults attending an arts activity as a percentage of the population (see note 6)

Like several regions the East saw a steady increase in employment (up 17 points).  No where near the biggest mover – the East Midlands with a whopping great increase of 141 points (surely not all of them are working at CURVE, Nottingham Contemporary, New Art Exchange and the other recently opened EM lottery new builds!).

Private income

With a Catalyst bid looming for Eastern Angles I was particularly interested in the regional breakdown of the private income figures (taken from the Arts and Business Benchmarking tool) for the East.  The first thing of immediate and significant note is the huge gulf in individual giving in Greater London compared to – well compared to anywhere in the regions.  In 2009/10 Greater London achieved an index score of 580 which compares to the next most successful region (the South East) which achieved 17.  The East scored 10 – so set against that context Eastern Angles Copperfield programme is even more successful than I first thought.

It’s a discrepancy which is reflected in both trust and foundation and business contributions too.  Dan Jarvis MP has gone on record (and there is evidence of cross party support) in wanting to at least try and reverse some of this huge gap.  In relation to the stat that the wealthiest 10% give 1% of their income compared to the bottom 10% who give 3% NCA trustee Sam West said ‘I don’t mind people being rich – I do mind them being mean’.  He could have added ‘and London biased’.  Anything politicians can do to incentivise more private income – from whatever source – in the regions should be welcomed.

Which does rather beg the question (and yes I realise this is with the benefit of hindsight – but as A&B have been quick to point out these figures are ‘old’) why the Catalyst programme does not have different income targets for London and regional organisations.  An income target of £120K for a regional arts org is clearly a far harder task and a much harder challenge than for a Greater London organisation.

Private Investment in the Arts (see note 7)

(the ranking here is based on how a region ranks across all three areas.  Thus greater London which was ranked first in all three areas scored ‘3’ whilst the East scored 22 (9^th,7^th and 6^th).  The region with the lowest score ranked first and so on)

Although not the weakest region overall (that falls to the Midlands) the East struggles in terms of private income.  It comes 9^th (last) in terms of business contributions, 7^th in terms of trusts and foundations and 6^th in terms of private giving

Quality Experience?

Given the relatively high levels of attendance and participation (see above) its perhaps not surprising that in the East there is a reasonable satisfaction with local arts provision.   Curiously its Greater London which is the least satisfied.   However in terms of the adults reporting a ‘high quality’ experience the region does not score so well – coming bottom of the rankings .   There are likely to be a number of reasons behind this – the rural nature of the region with (relatively) few urban conurbations, poor transport links, lack of a strong touring circuit within the region and fewer arts organisations and artists living and working in the region.  Still this figure is slightly surprising with the East – boasting amongst others – world class institutions like Aldeburgh and the Norwich and Norfolk Festival.  It will be interesting to see if recent capital developments (like first site), investment in ‘cold spots’ like Peterborough and incoming organisations like METAL and the Robert Pacitti company together with initiatives like HOUSE make a difference in future years.  Initiatives too like Escalator are significantly encouraging and nurturing the next generation of artists.

Adults Reporting Satisfaction with local arts provision (see note

Adults reporting ‘High Quality’ Experience (see note 9)

Overall

So clearly it’s a mixed picture for the East region.   Mixed rather than all bad news.  The number of adults engaged in the arts as attenders, participants and through digital means is something worth shouting about and indeed building upon.  Certainly it seems to be the experience at Eastern Angles where a loyal audience is very definitely engaged in many different ways!

Like all the other regions we are going to need considerable help from policy makers in playing catch up  with Greater London in terms of private income.

Then comes the endless chicken and egg question – is the lack of high quality experiences as a result of the comparably low investment in the region?

What is certainly true in the East and elsewhere is that in future years the Index will undoubtedly reflect the triple squeeze of 15% cuts to ACE England funding, a 28% fall in local authority funding and recession hit audience numbers.   New money will come on stream from the National Lottery  ( DCMS have already indicated that the proportion of lottery funds devoted to the arts will go up to 20% by April 2012 and Ed Vaizey at the launch intimated it might be more than was first anticipated) which will partially offset the ‘pain’.  In the East it will be both exciting and interesting to see how that is used to continue to close the gap by developing the undoubted talent and high quality artists and organisations we have in the region, developing the infrastructure and attracting more high quality work and artists to the region.   In 2009 / 2010 the East had the lowest contribution from the Lottery (at £1.15 per person) – lets hope when the figures for 2012/3 are reviewed that situation has changed…..

Notes

1. All the data in this post has been extracted from the NCA’s Arts Index – a summary of which can be found here.  I take full responsibility for errors contained within.  Where I share ‘ranked’ tables I show the top four places and the lowest placed region together with Greater London and the East if they are outside those positions.  The full data can be obtained by joining the NCA
2. Data ‘lifted’ from the NCA publication – UK ARTS INDEX (headline pamphlet)
3. Data extracted from the information contained within Fig 35 – regional index scores for each year.  P47 of the Arts Index.
4. Extracted from figs 40-48 – regional graphs by indicator. PP57-65 of the Arts Index.  The data on which the Arts Index draws for this indicator comes from the DCMS Taking Part survey
5. Extracted from figs 40-48 – regional graphs by indicator. PP57-65 of the Arts Index.  The data on which the Arts Index draws for this indicator comes from the DCMS Taking Part survey
6. Extracted from figs 40-48 – regional graphs by indicator. PP57-65 of the Arts Index.  The data on which the Arts Index draws for this indicator comes from the http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/research_and_statistics/4828.aspx
7. Extracted from figs 40-48 – regional graphs by indicator. PP57-65 of the Arts Index.  The data on which the Arts Index draws for this indicator comes from Arts & Business Benchmarking tool.
8. Extracted from figs 40-48 – regional graphs by indicator. PP57-65 of the Arts Index.  The data on which the Arts Index draws for this indicator comes from the Best Value Performance Indicator Surveys (2007-8) and Place Survey (2008-9)
9. Extracted from figs 40-48 – regional graphs by indicator. PP57-65 of the Arts Index.  The data on which the Arts Index draws for this indicator comes from DCMS Taking Part survey.

Gideon Parfitt (with his wife Dot) - Copperfield supporters of Eastern Angles talked about why they donate time and money to the arts

To the Houses of Parliament  for the launch of #artsindex – (an annual measure of the vitality of Arts and Culture in the UK) – a report by the National Campaign for the Arts.  Caused much amusement at the security gate – excuse me can you show me where the strangers ballroom is –(I asked).  Ooh sir (came the reply) theres NONE of that here.

( You can hear actor / director Sam West talking about the launch with the BBC’s Arts Editor Will Gompertz on @BBCR4today here.  His full speech to launch the index is here and the related evening standard piece is here.  The more considered piece by Mark Brown in the Guardian is here and the exec summary of the report is here.

Sam West announcing 'the patient is well' as he introduces the index

Now I should admit at this point it has long been a bug bear of mine that arts organisations are routinely asked to trap crate loads of data about their activities – which although useful in its own right at local level – is seemingly impossible to translate into a national picture.  So needless to say I’m going to be warm to a document that claims to be an ‘annual health check’ of the UK’s arts scene.

The index uses twenty indicators from a number of publically available sources to show how things have change (data sources including DCMS, UK National Statistics, ACE, Arts & Business, Higher Education Statistics Authority and SoLT).   It takes some time to get your head around what an index is (‘a measure of the value of a variable relative to its value at some base date or state’ ) but once you have the story the research tells (and the potential stories and uses in the future) become compelling.

Gideon Parfitt (with his wife Dot) - Copperfield supporters of Eastern Angles talked about why they donate time and money to the arts

Overall in the first three years of the Index (2007-2010) the index remained constant (despite the UK’s fall into recession in 2008) sign as the report suggests of sustained investment and confidence in the sector or – as colleagues and I have been discussing of a delayed impact.  The report also found a sustained decline in private sector support (by 17% and 13% in 07/8 and 08/9).  Business contributions and individual giving are key planks in Ed Vaizey / Jeremy Hunt’s plan for the arts (see catalyst) and this will be an indicator closely watched.

Ed Vaizey MP - 'we have astonishing success in the arts here in the uk - world leaders'

The report also found that public funding and adult attendance remained stable, employment figures went down whilst levels of public satisfaction rose.  What I found perhaps the most shocking (if not surprising) were the regional differences.  There is an enormous (but gradually closing) gap between the lowest ranked region (my own – the East) and Greater London.

Most people dont live in London - the regions arts scenes are essential too - Dan Jarvis MP

Three immediate thoughts.

Firstly – it seems to me – there is a need for arts organisations up and down the county to recognise the Arts Index as a useful and helpful barometer of progress and change.  Frankly if the three Ministers are all welcoming the Index (as they unequivocally did at the launch)– and intend to use it to make the case (and the odd political point)– we should sit up and take note.

Second – if that is the case we need to ensure a joined up approach to data collection.  So for example how do NPO KPI’s reflect and contribute to the index.  There is a key role here for bodies like Arts Council England, SOLT and A&B in recognising, supporting and using the Index

Thirdly one of the key strengths of the index is its readability.  Theres an opportunity here for the Index to be used to give our audience and participants information about the value of the arts sector.  A page on organisations web sites, articles in programmes and newsletters and the such like.

An animated Don Foster MP saying 'We have good things to look forward to'

There is of course always the argument that statistics are nothing but lies and can be shown to prove anything (though its worth reading the latest piece from Dr Dave O Brien on the Guardian Blog).  You can also read his paper for DCMS on Measuring the Value of Culture here.

John Nickson (Tate) - The 10% of wealthiest people give away only 1% of their wealth every year compared with more than 3% of annual income by the poorest 10%

And its true that the Index is only one part of the story.  In fact THE story is the work that goes on up and down the country – the work that makes it possible for Ed Vaizey to call the industry world leaders. What the index can do is back it up in a form that a wide range of stakeholders can and will understand (the politicians certainly did).  If one Arts Minister and Two arts spokespeople are saying they will take note – we should too.

It makes absolute sense for the Arts Index to be compiled by a body independent of government, the arts council and indeed individual arts organisation.  So bravo to the National Campaign for the Arts in picking up the baton and running with it. And if this marks the start of a rejuvenated, re energised National Campaign for the Arts so much the better.

…so I thought before I get stuck on that though I’d post and see how other people are using tablets in similar situations, whether people are already using them in similar ways or indeed have similar ideas.

Here’s how we’ve been thinking a tablet might be used:-

Pre show

- provides a ready made rolling front of house display

- people can access show related ‘content’  - podcasts, trailers, additional information.

Interval

- as above plus sign up for the Copperfield programme (our newest donation scheme for audiences)

- sign up to the mailing list

- method of booking tickets for future Eastern Angles shows

Post show

- evaluation mode (trapping data, 5 question survey from an audience sample)

During the show itself

- use the tablet instead of sur titles (which are often impractical in terms of rural touring).  So instead of reading a sur title the text gets ‘sent’ to the tablet via a network which is then read by the audience member on a low glare / reveresed out( white on black screen).

But the questions we find ourselves asking are:-

- Is anyone else using tablets in this way – who we could learn from?

- Are tablets the most effective way of achieving these things – if not what are other people using – if yes – android or galaxy

- how else are people using them?

- who would people recommend to help us ‘build’ the right software solution

Then there is the million dollar question – will we be able to afford it?

*****

From Michaael Rosen / Quentin Blake's SAD BOOK (see below)

A few years ago I read Dr Tim Cantopher’s book ‘depressive illness – the curse of the strong’.  As early as pages 6-7 Cantopher argues that clinical depression ‘nearly always’ happens to one type of person.  A person who is strong, reliable, diligent, responsible and always there for others.  Its strikes you precisely because you are too strong.  Because you cant say no – you keep delivering, you keep going until the fuse blows. ‘This person’ he argues ‘ is the sort to whom you would turn if you had a problem…s/he is a safe pair of hands…indeed this person is usually admired, though often somewhat taken for granted..the last person you would expect to have a breakdown’ ‘You have got it (he argues) because you are too strong…this is the afflication of the good and the great ‘ Great people like Cromwell, Lincoln, Newton, Allen Poel, Beethoven, Van Gogh, Churchill, Waugh, Hemmingway, Hancock and Milligan.

******

As I write this I’m listening to Paul Simon’s Hearts and Bones album (which concludes with a haunting Philip Glass extract) .  In the song Train in the Distance he sings

‘The thought that life could be better

Is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains’

The truth immediately dawns on me –  that lyric is for sufferers of chronic depression no longer true – and whatever our perception  – their own view – that there is no hope – that the ‘black dog’ (Churchill) has descended – is their reality, their horror.  Cries of ‘Pull your socks up’ & ‘s/he’ll get over it’ appear like empty platitudes.  Silence is potentially worse. (It’s why I believe that organisations like Action for Happiness are so important right now.  The arts – the business I work in – are key here too.  We need to fundamentally change our societies drivers) Later in Cantopher’s book comes a sentence the gist of which I’ve never forgotten:- ‘A sad fact is that the commonest time for a person to take his/her life is not when in the pitts of depression, but at the point when he/she is beginning to get better.  One reason for this is that, when you have a really good day, the bad that follows is thrown into sharp relief..the other is that if you happen to be someone for whom energy and violation come back before mood improves, there is a risk of you carrying through self destructive thoughts that you have had for some time, but not had the energy to act upon’

*****

I have no idea what led to Gary Speed’s death but right now my thoughts go out to his family, friends and colleagues – but at the same time to everyone who is suffering from chronic depression  (and those that are close to them)- possibly the most mis understood, most ignored disease. And I raise a glass to a society which is driven more by happiness and a concern for others than by individual success.  And if nothing else a greater understanding of a killer disease.

For what its worth heres a list of books I’ve found useful:-

Depressive Illness – the curse of the strong – Dr Tim Cantopher

Depression and how to survive it – Spike Milligan and Anthony Clare

Marcus Trescothick – Coming Back to Me

Michael Rosen (with Quentin Blake) – Sad Book

Sally Brampton – Shoot the Damm Dog

Paul Gilbert – Overcoming Depression

Gwyneth Lewis – Sunbathing in the Rain (I’ve not read this one yet – but it comes recommended)

(Tony Ramsay added ‘Malignant Sadness’ – Lewis Wolpert to the list)

(all the reviews in wordle format – click on the image if you like to see it large!!)

Wayne Savage of the Evening Star kicked off with a great Christmas wish ‘Dear Santa – for Christmas I want every festive show to be this good’. Glen Pearce’s Theatre Blog agrees – saying the show ‘set[s] the bar extremely high for other festive shows that follow’

[The Evening Star Review as a wordle]

[Glen's review...in wordle!]

An evening of great entertainment and merriment said the East Anglian Daily Times ‘the performances are splendid…the steampunk set is a delight to behold’.

[East Anglian Daily Times review...you've guessed it as a Wordle]

According to the Stage Round the Twist ‘bounds along from one hilarious encounter’ ‘providing an entertaining alternative to more traditional Christmas fare and a welcome break from national doom and gloom’. But the last word must go to Ipswich 24 who called it ‘Another masterpiece from one of the country’s finest, and possibly smallest, theatre companies’.

[The Ipswich 24 review in wordle format]

Bah humbug….

A cobweb laden bride

Gone clearly are the days of waiting for the reviews to come in. In fact the twitteratti didn’t even wait to the end of the show. #intervaltweets started coming in at half time as the audience stood in a somber line for a glass of gruel. ‘Dickens will never be the same again’ tweeted @glenpearce1 to which @wendyfizzwig added ‘I have no idea what’s happening but it’s great’

It was though after the show that the flood gates opened. ‘Quite simply ‘brilliant’ tweeted @markfizzwig, ‘Brilliantly funny alternative parody show. Don’t miss!’’ was @paul_couch ‘s take. Taking his lead from the show @Fridaywhitey said ‘Compelled to write a ‘glowing testimonial’ for #roundthetwist. Just been to the first night…fantastic..well done to all’. Running with the Dickens theme @maddogcaddabs added ‘Really enjoyed #roundthetwist last night. Very funny and great cast. Please sir, may I have some more’

Not to be out done members of the press were joining in too. ‘thoroughly enjoyed Round the Twist @easternangles Xmas offering laugh out loud funny go see it’ was the view of @ipswich24mag. Public reviews @glenpearce 1 (who had to endure interviewing me here) tweeted ‘Round The Twist totally insane but sets bar high for other festive shows’ (@glenpearce1). BBC Radio Suffolk’s Lesley Dolphin had this to say ‘My Christmas has just started – Round the Twist with Eastern Angles. Totally mad but very funny’ whilst her colleague @markglennmurphy ‘Don’t ask me to explain it, you have to see for yourself! Well done guys, amazing performance!’

No wonder @angelaaallman tweeted ‘You must have been good tonight @easternangles – you’re filling up my timeline;-))’.

Big thank you to all the audience who made last night such a hoot (and not just the twitter folk!) – and an even bigger hurrah for the cast and crew behind #RoundtheTwist. Suspect one Charles Dickens would have been chortling away into his beard all the way through the show. But for now its time to switch focus to our other project running concurrently with #Roundthetwist – Joel Horwood’s #IheartPeterborough.

Two extremes certainly – but all in a days work at @easternangles!

Joel Sams and Gabby Douglas in Round the Twist (rehearsal shot)

Zach Lee and Joel Sams - rehearsal shot

Strange I know to be quoting Clement Clarke Moore’s famous poem in November but for Eastern Angles 22nd November is in effect the night before Christmas as Round the Twist opens tomorrow night (ed erm well today now!). And its certainly not true that nobody has been stirring in the run up….

…over the last few days the theatre has been a hive of frenetic activity. At various times the foyer has been filled with last minute props, cases of wine and orange juice. At the last minute the Christmas tree arrives.

The EA Foyer - the chaos before the calm!!

Back in the theatre a horse race is replayed over and over again (those dam fillies just won’t arrive in the order you tell them). The coffee pot has been on continuous supply mode as the creative team stutter through the tech then drive through the dress. Sugar intake has been high. Everyone is walking around with a slightly dazed look – broken by regular and frenetic laughter and the oacasional pizza. Were a certain Mr Dickens to wonder in from Gateacre Rd right now he’d certainly have plenty to write about.

You can read about what Ivan Cutting (director) had to said of the show here – and my bumbling attempt at capturing the show for Ipswich Community Radio can be heard here:-

The Guardian’s @lyngardner put it much more succinctly when she listed us as one of her tips of the week (with nice mentions for NIE Hansel and Gretel & @Pilot_Theatre’s Blackbird (which I remember enthralling me in the West End) at the @Mercurytheatre)

(On a side note there is a rather quaint connection between one of #Roundthetwist actors and Pilot theatre’s artistic director @marcusromer…)

It seems like only yesterday that the company gathered for the first time to read through a script by one Oliver Nicklefield (nothing like a bit of mystery before you even start!). Here’s what Joel Sams (who plays said Mr Nicklefield) had to say on day one….

Round the Twist video blog 2 – Joel Sams from matthewlinley on Vimeo.

On the same day here’s our designer Ian Teague:-

Untitled from matthewlinley on Vimeo.

[bizarrely the Aged P himself has been on quite a journey – from actor to puppet to cut entirely back to actor]

During week two of rehearsals I caught up with Gabby Douglas – the juvenile lead!!

And here to bring us up to date towards the end of Act week 3 is Zach Lee who finds himself with the joyous task of playing the Dickensian villan.

So now its all hands to the deck to be ready and able (as Dickens would put it) for opening night. But even already we’ve had our first review – dress rehearsal photographer (and responsible for the rehearsal pics shown here) @mikekwasniak tweeted:-

‘Saw Oliver Nicklefield’s glowing testimonials last night! Thank you @easternangles #roundthetwist – totally hilarious dress rehearsal. Go see!’

Can’t think of a better note to end on – now off in search of the Bah Humbug!

It’s always difficult to say what the birthing point of a new play is. In the case of ‘I heart Peterborough’ was it early observations whilst growing up in a small East Anglian town?. Was it walking around Peterborough with Eastern Angles artistic director Ivan Cutting discussing this commission?. Was it the point Joel started to put pen to paper or today when those words get first breath?. Or is it Thursday week when it first goes in front of an audience?

Whatever the answer (and the truth is its probably all – and more – of the above) its exhilarating to be here at the read through. From what was effectively a standing start Alex Beckett , Joe Arkley and Rebecca Oldfield breath real life into the finely drawn characters of Gary, Tiger and Polly

Regularly through the read through the company burst into laughter. Though the subject matter is dark Joel’s text at times is incredibly funny. He has a great ear for life’s natural humour and that same humour serves to sharpen the tragedy of the piece.

The rehearsal room mood soon changes though when director Michael Longhurst (who will be going straight into directing Rafe Spall in Constellations for the Royal Court after this workshop) invites the company to watch Swansea Love Story – a grim depiction of the life of heroin addicts. ‘That is the saddest, bleakest thing I’ve ever seen’ says one performer.

Lunch was dominated by a discussion of the art of the understudy. Alex regaled us of tales of ‘going on’ at 25 minutes notice in the recent West End production of Measure for Measure ( a performance which was prefaced by Catherine Tate announcing the change and introducing him as – potentially – the next Catherine Zeta Jones!). Joe talked of the weirdness of understudying Mercutio when your playing Tybalt – finding yourself sword fighting your ‘own’ character when you go on.

After lunch the process of dissecting the text really begins. Who is the onstage musician played by Arthur Darvill (and whose also writing the music) and why is he wearing animal slippers. How and when did Stig die? Who went clean when?. When was the world cup in Japan? Tiny detail building up gradually to create a compelling back story. It’s a reminder that theatre is a truly collaborative art – as the company – rather than just Joel – took responsibility for finding the answers.

Rebecca, Joel, Alex, Joe and Mike at work on I heart Peterborough

The day ends with a brief meeting about ‘what happens next’ for what has already been described as Joel’s ‘funny crazy druggie beautiful new play’. It seems slightly strange – at this early, fragile stage to be talking about what the play will do in its mature life – but that’s the reality of this business. And the strength of Joel’s text makes it much easier to plan the future for this enfant terrible.

[This post originally appeared on the Eastern Angles blog]