BABOLIN THEATRE FIGHT ON...

Edinburgh Ramblings

Home and dry.

Never have I been so wet, so cold and so tired in Edinburgh as in the first week of this festival. The rain was relentless, the wind howled and the theatre just kept coming. I love it.

As ever we managed to convince audiences to spend a little time with us for both ‘Vertigo’ and ‘To avoid precipice cling to rock’. Both casts fought hard to avoid small houses, believe me, flyering in the rain is not fun for anyone. Tom and Philippa received a great five star review from ‘What’s On Stage’ (who I think really know their stuff), so that helped a lot and the Babolin Theatre girls just became an unstoppable force of nature. Defying the weather, they battled up and down the royal for hours talking to people about what excites them about their show, engaging with audience members like seasoned professionals. They even sold out on the last performance (selling 90 tickets), that’s not easy at a festival which has an average audience of under 10…

Overall though, this years festival felt a little bit like the rain had dampened it down. I found it very hard to get excited about lots of the work that I saw. I only saw a couple of really stand out pieces.

I think that maybe, MAYBE the fringe is losing its way a little bit. There is a lot of the same and not a lot of really exciting work going on. This is great for the likes of RashDash theatre, who I am a long term fan of. They are able to turn up, be brilliant, sell out from day one, get five stars in the Scotsman and win a Fringe First. They stand out a mile because of the bravery, quality and power of their work and I applaud them for that, but where is everyone else? Where are the other options? A great fringe would feature 30 RashDashs for me. I miss the days of the Aurora Nova, I miss the days when the Traverse sold tickets for under £10 so you could afford to see more of their excellent program, I miss the days when Little Bulb just showed up in a tiny hotel room in an unknown venue with a gem like ‘Crocosmia’ and wowed everyone.

What’s more, the best shows that I did see were all shows connected to my region, I could have just stayed in Cambridge or gone to Pulse in Ipswich to catch some of the best work in the country, I’m not complaining, I’m bloody proud, we are very lucky to have so much talent in and around the east of England, that’s worth highlighting, brilliant work like ‘The oh F—K moment’ (supported by East to Edinburgh), ‘2401 Objects’ by Analogue (upported by the New Wolsey), ‘The Alchemystorium’ by Gomito (ex- Cambridge), ‘7 Day Drunk’ by the wonderful Bryonny Kimmings (Junction Associate), ‘Scary Gorgeous’ by Rashdash (Helen from Cambridge, scratch here regularly- now leeds), ‘The quiet act of destruction’ by the inspired New Art Club (about a cambridgeshire town), State of Flux, Dan Canham, Isobel Cohen are just some of the companies and people I have seen in Cambridge over the past couple of years developing their work.

The fringe needs a shake up, I’m sure that will happen, the BAC and the forest fringe have fought hard to mix it up recently, but things will have to change or the quality will all disappear, we want more international companies, more selective programming from the big venues and more companies braving the wind and rain and financial ruin of Edinburgh or all that will be left will be a bunch of students shouting on the mile about their new production of ‘Hamlet on speed set inside the mind of a 9 year old’. – this was offered to me. Deadly.

I’m not bitter, I’m just still a bit damp…

I’m sure some of the highlights of the fringe will be coming to Cambridge over the coming year, keep an eye out for theatre made in this region, because it’s pretty good stuff. Good luck to everyone still going, week three is all about the Bristish Council, Gecko Theatre are talking all about the new show 'Missing' this week, good luck to Amit and the gang.

Making Romeo and Juliet. - PUPPETS

I talk to Rich about the puppets in the show.

“This process has been unlike any we have undertaken” says Rich. “The whole thing seems backwards and yet totally right for this show.”

With most of Romeo and Juliet blocked and run the company now has three months away from each other. Edinburgh Fringe projects, set building, costume making, puppet making and even the birth of a baby to one of the performers all happen now. Then everyone comes together again for a period of rehearsal before the show opens on September 19^th.

Dave: How has this timescale effected the process?

Rich: “It has totally dictated it.”

Dave: So how did you start?

Rich: “It started with an idea, then a few meetings then once we knew it was the right thing to do, the fun bit started. Drawings, reading the text a hundred times, cutting it, reading it again. Casting, employing the likes of Max (Puppets) and Dom (Music) and Rhys (Design). Sarah (Producer) orchestrated all of the logistics and I was able to really think about how best to make this project as exciting as the people who were involved in making it.”

Dave: Puppets are important in this project, can you talk about how they go from nothing to finished?

Rich: “Wow, that’s a massive question Dave. There isn’t an exact science here. I have made a lot of pretty shoddy puppets out of paper mache and bits of material in the past. I had never had the budget to employ a specialist before and that was very exciting. Max is brilliant, not only at making the puppets in his workshop with his team. Max is a brilliant member of the creative team. His knowledge base is huge, his reference library is astonishing and he takes his work very seriously which is perfect for us. Most of all he, like the rest of the creative team, gets very excited about the work and the potential of it- that drives the project forward.

I had an early meeting with Max where I embarrassingly showed him a picture of the Nurse, he dismissed it almost instantly as being too panto (which I kinda new) ’We can do much better’ he told me with a smile. And he was right. But my drawing was all we had when we didn’t have any finished puppets and from my sketch I was able to show the performers in a very early R+D what I was thinking about.

For me, there is no point in spending money on a puppet before you know that the theory works. So what we did was make a little Nurse out of scarves and a fleecy jacket, we made wings from a cereal box. Only when I saw that was I then confident to say ’Max, this little lady is going to work, now it’s over to you’. This is a very exciting moment.

Max then started sketching everything, working out how it might all work. Then we had a brilliant meeting with the designer Rhys, to work out scales, how they would look together, how many operators would be needed for each puppet. Max is in charge of the overall look and his relationship with Max is key. I think they work great together!

Rhys’ job was to bring the whole show together, he worked with me on the concept- we wanted everything to make complete sense to us and to the performers- but Rhys was able to see it objectively and ask the right questions. He saw the show in ways I had never seen and that was very exciting. It was Rhys who was keen on the floor, the full set was his way of binding the style. It was Rhys who really connected with the universe as an oppressive feature of the show, the relationship the characters have with the stars is now all over the design. And now that we had some rules those rules could then be applied to Max’s designs. Everything came together.

So by the main chunk of our R+D we had versions of all the puppets, we could rehearse and make them work. But we didn’t have anyone costumed and only two of the puppets were painted, so this meant that the company could play and learn and adapt the puppets a little bit to suit them.

For me the devising started in theory before we even had a cast. We were creating the show, developing the rules of the world we were creating as we went along over the phone, through email and over coffee. This is new for me. This isn’t the same as sending a design to the builder before we know exactly what we need. The set adapted throughout the rehearsal process because it only excited on Rhys Mac. The set and costume and puppets were as adaptable as the action, everything can change at any time to serve the project.”

Dave: So where are you now?

Rich: “Now it’s over to Max again. Its over to him to dress and paint everything. The next time the cast see the puppets they will move exactly the same way but they will be beautiful! We had the friar made quite late on and all we have to go by (in terms of the finish) is one drawing that Max sent through, but it’s left everyone very excited to see these characters dressed.”

Dave: What have you learned about puppets?

Rich: “Ultimately I have learned that Max is the best puppet maker I have ever met, he is a designer, artist, craftsman and enthusiast in a way that I could only have dreamed of when I started to look for the right man for this task. If you are looking for a puppet maker, he’s your man.

Combined with Rhys patience, vision and huge wealth of experience and resource at this stage of the process I couldn’t ask for more.”

Dave: Wow, that was a lot more than I was looking for…

Rich: “Well, I just really think that people overlook the amount of compromise, co-operation and creativity that happen through the design team. Ours is a tiny scale compared to some amazing huge productions- but everyone in our team has a voice. Audiences see a puppet and go ’I don’t like it’ or ’it’s really great’- but I think puppet making is a beautiful, complex and dying art form, a skill which is as precise if not more than physical theatre, dance on anything you see on stage. Puppet workshops are rare place these days. Little Angel have a workshop filled with magic, as do a few other little theatres but if we want puppetry to stay an art form and not just a cheap way of getting audiences excited about opera and panto it’s people like Max that should be given more of a say. Its also important to say that theatre is changing and I think that the best puppet makers out there are going to have to change and adapt with the times, I hope Romeo and Juliet will be an example of that… I hope…”

Dave in Romeo and Juliet rehearsal week 1

Rehearsal week 1

I planned to blog far more about this week but it’s been hectic. Next week I will interview the cast and take some photos…

Night Light have begun rehearsals on Romeo and Juliet, finally, and it’s been a full on week.

The cast are a combination of people who have worked with Rich in the past and some whom he auditioned recently. The creative team is made up of Director, Designer, Composer, Technical Stage Manager and Lighting Designer- all of whom have been in and out of the room all week.

Rich has enlisted an intern in the form of production assistant Joe Bass. Joe has been bouncing around the room all week, joining in with games, devising material, making tea, prompting performers and taking photos. He made me a cracking hot chocolate.

I haven’t been in the room all week but everyone seems really committed and what is apparent from the work I’ve seen is that this will be no ordinary show.

I asked Rich
Dave: How are you feeling?
Rich: “Ok. It’s been a very mixed week, these people didn’t know each other on Monday morning and so it was essential that we spend enough time just working each other out. If Romeo and Juliet are going to convince anyone that they are deeply in love, they have to have time to meet and play together in the rehearsal room.”

Dave: What has been the focus of week one?
Rich: “Music, no question. We don’t have Dom (composer) next week, which means we had to learn a lot of music this week. There are themes developing for every character and we are organically inserting them into the scenes as we go along. We have a week on just text next week and then the music comes back into the room in week three”

Dave: Any breakthroughs that you weren’t expecting?
Rich: “About a hundred. The cast make everything their own in every second and I won’t ever fight that. I love seeing their Mercutio’s and their Benvolio’s… They are always discovering but what has surprised me most is how quickly everyone has taken to the world that we are trying to make. Everyone is starting to really believe that this play could belong in a world of magic, a world of puppets and people living together in harmony. I just hope the audience are ready to open their imaginations too.
I’m sure that they will.”

Dave: Do you have a favourite moment yet?
Rich: “Yes.”

Dave: Will you tell me what it is?
Rich: “No”

Dave: Right.
Rich: “Sorry Dave, but it’s secret. I don’t want to tell you all the best bits.”

Dave: Ok.
Rich: “Don’t sulk Dave”

Rich then ran off so I spoke to one of the cast briefly.

Dave: What is your favourite moment so far?
Philippa: “I have two, the first is when we first conjure up some magic to battle with in act one. It’s so simple but I think it will be really effective. I also love the way that lady Capulet moves. She’s strangely sexy”

Dave: What can people expect from the show so far?
Philippa: “Excitement, adventure, magic and other-worldliness.”

Dave: What are you looking forward to most at the New Wolsey Studio next week?
Philippa: “This week feels like it could be more about the big moments, bringing out the heart of the story. We scratched on the bigger emotions of the show this week but only musically. I am looking forward to seeing the death of Mercutio, Tybalt, Paris and Romeo and Juliet of course. There’s quite a lot of death in the piece actually… it might be quite a heavy week. I’m also really looking forward to getting to know everyone better.”

Night Light have just had a delivery of a working Friar puppet and I can tell you now, he is beautiful.

Cornwall

Dear Dave

The weather in Cornwall has been truly amazing. We hiked for 14 miles yesterday through all sorts of amazing landscape, wetlands, woodland, beach, field and cliff edge. Cornwall, as always is stunning. After three days of very little but fresh air and log fires I am starting to get excited about everything Night Light.

With auditions proving very interesting and brilliantly fruitful I am just awaiting confirmation on a full cast for Romeo and Juliet. I finished the script edits on Friday and I think it’s going to work great.

We are making steady progress on design, Rhys is meeting the set builders on Friday to discuss the build. The puppets are looking stunning and Max our puppet master is working wonders with some of the mechanisms.

Last week we heard that we would be supported with an arts council GFTA which has taken the pressure off a lot and opened the doors to even more creative possibilities. So that is brilliant. We are grateful for the support and committed to spending the money wisely.

The show is sitting very clearly in my head now that I have actors in the parts, Night Light Theatre is a company which lives and dies by it’s people. The only way I know how to work is through productive, often brutal honesty in the rehearsal room- I have to be able to tell a performer exactly what I think of their work and not only are they not offended by the note but they are determined to build on it. I love it when the room is full of people reaching for the most creative and exciting option available.

I am also starting to see our publicity campaign a lot clearer, I can see posters and how they might look, digital content, viral stuff too. I think we will have a lot of fun with getting this show ‘out there’, wherever ‘there’ might be. I know sarah has a lot of ideas about that too and for the first time ever I am a bit excited about the marketing side of a show. I don’t know why- maybe that will change. I can see potential for an online devising network too- a place where young theatre makers are able to ask questions of people who are dealing with similar creative problems.

It’s so clichéd, but just three days away from the office, away from the building and away from Cambridge has really helped me to re focus on what it is I want this beast to grow into. I am excited by it again.

I am currently sat on a massive sofa with a fire raging by my side, I can’t really feel my legs after yesterdays adventure and I am feeling confident that we are on the right track. Maybe it’s the magic of Cornwall, maybe it’s because I needed to get away from theatre for a bit to be able to say ‘yeah, we’re doing ok’. I don’t know. I think with all the talk of NPO’s and the decisions that are being made about the artistic landscape of the country it’s very easy to become entangled with the politics of theatre making when in fact I really have no interest in that side of it at all. Having said that- I am very interested in bringing companies and artists together and as part of that I am planning to ask some questions about the arts in Cambridge when I get back to the city.

Why does the Junction, the Arts Theatre, the corn exchange and the ADC Theatre have no communication? Why has the Arts theatre decided to make a studio space when the Junction is surely there for that exact purpose? Why does the corn exchange have no educational facilities? I’m going to find out. Not because of the politics, but because of the principles of it. Maybe that’s the same thing?

Lets find out.

That was Rich in Cornwall.

Coming up soon-
Meet the cast of R+J, I will be interviewing them all!
Also what is ‘Kindling’ and how can you get involved with it.
Plus- Tom and Philippa talk to me about The Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
　

Cutting Script

An update from Rich, where have you been?

"I’ve spent the week looking over Cvs and hand picking a 40 people to audition for our Romeo and Juliet. With over 1500 Cvs it has taken a lot of time. I don’t think this is much of an indication about us, Night Light are an unknown entity right now. I think this says a lot about the theatre world today. Every job is precious. Agents are rampant. Possibly more than ever and I find it very unnerving.

Whilst that has been going on I have also been editing and trimming the script. It is very interesting to me that some characters are easier to trim than others. Cutting the Friar and Mercutio is really hard. I think these are the characters which I am most fascinated by at the moment.

I think I have cut the show down to about 75 minutes but I want to do another cut. I just know that when we here more of Dom’s music and when I get really into the choreography I am going to add 20 minutes or so.
It must be tight but also gentle and flowing. Shakespeare had a habit of saying the same thing two or three times, it is those moments I target, I want to keep as much story content as possible… at this stage.

I am also enjoying thinking about the likes of Cheek By Jowl, the RSC, Song of the Goat. I have no problem asking myself what would they do? Our Romeo and Juliet will be nothing like a version that those brilliant companies would provide. But the rules of theatre are universal. I like looking up to the experts- that’s how we learn I think.

I am very happy going into the 2^nd and 3^rd drafts that we are still staging Romeo and Juliet and that the play will be the thing."

I should get my notes on NIE's new show up soon... i really enjoyed it and the Night Light asked me to post my comments so i will.

Dave

An Exciting Announcement

Hello friends, this just in from the Night Light office...

'Hi Dave

After several fantastic meetings, we are proud to announce the arrival of Kindling; Night Light Theatre's brand new development initiative. Kindling will provide a new playground for Night Light artists, with the aim of providing young up-and-coming theatre makers with a vehicle for trying out new ideas, while creating bold, daring and innovative work, within the safety of the Night Light teams guidance.

We are all incredibly excited by the potential of our new strand - all members of the company have long been dedicated to the nurturing and development of young artists in Cambridge, and we are all looking forward to the future prospects of this exciting new initiative.

We will keep you up to date with all new happenings as we begin to further explore the potentials of Kindling, and keep your eyes peeled as we are very close to revealing our Edinburgh Fringe 2011 plans...we are living in exciting times!

Tom'



What very exciting news. After that, I'd like to begin the week with a very simple Dave's View...

Dave's View

With the arrival of this weekend's 'supermoon', many people were predicting doom, gloom and the end of the world. I, however, decided to look through a telescope and take a photo. 

I like to be reminded of how beautiful a lump of rock falling through space-time can be.

See you soon

Dave