Well, the first night is upon us.   The fact that I haven’t updated you for over a week gives you an idea of how busy we have been.  This show has presented more of a challenge than any that we have done before. 

I must take this opportunity to praise the actors who have worked tirelessly to create rounded, believable and enjoyable characters.  This years show has been a challenge from the outset and they continue to meet each new obstacle with determination and no shortage of creative solutions.  They really have worked wonders.

We are now at the stage of being ‘ready for an audience’  obviously during all of the rehearsals you are aiming to achieve something for an audience but it’s not until one actually arrives that you truly understand what it is that you are creating.  

Peter Brooke describes in his book ‘The Empty Space’  ‘A man walks across this empty space whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all that is needed for an act of theatre to be engaged.’    In one way of course he is absolutely right.  However, for me true theatre takes place when you have the space, the audience, the players and most importantly something to say.   In our case this is the magnificent story of Romeo and Juliet.   Tomorrow will be our first opportunity to really see whether our story affects an audience in the way we hoped.   If you would like to contribute your thoughts after watching the show please feel free to keep us updated with anything you liked or disliked. 

As with our production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream we have some outside sections in the gardens of the chapel.  However the weather forecast is not too favourable for tonight but we’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed that the rain holds off.   It really adds something unique to the evening to be in the open air listening to Shakespeare – just as it was 400 years ago.   

Finally I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has worked tirelessly in the supporting roles in the creation of this year’s show.   In no particular order,   Brenda Murphy who has assisted me brilliantly and offered excellent insights and asked thoughtful questions and made well thought out suggestions throughout and been a great support.  Cathie Owen our Voice Coach who has given the cast such tremendous support and help and been a great supporter of us all.   Bill Scott whose costumes seem to get better and better.  They are stunning creations and all made from scratch.   Michael Osborne who has whipped us into shape in terms of his stage management and found and made some excellent props.   Fiona Rutherford whose Clarsach is so wonderful to listen to.  All original creations (bar one) that fit and build the mood and atmosphere beautifully.   Thank you all.  

I will update you over the weekend as to how we go…  

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In March 1923, in an interview with The New York Times, the British mountaineer George Leigh Mallory was asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, and replied, 'Because it's there'.  

Without wishing to give too much away about this years show we have set ourselves a couple of very difficult tasks which at this, the mid-point of rehearsals, you start to question.   The quote above I think goes some way to answering it. 

I should stress that creating a play is nowhere near as strenuous as climbing a mountain and I am thoroughly enjoying the process but the challenge is valid as a comparison.  The sense of setting a difficult task and then trying to achieve it is applicable to the mountains and the rehearsal room.

I am pleased to report that, to continue the mountain metaphor, we have established base camp and are well on the way to summiting on July 31^st – The team is in good shape and extremely well supported by a very capable crew.   

This (the mid-point of the rehearsal process) is always an interesting point in any show because you find yourself with a lot of work achieved and an awful lot more still to do – it genuinely is like being half way up a mountain – the thing that drags you to the top is the determination to get there winning over the desire to give up and go back down.   Especially when you know that it potentially is going to get harder before it gets easier.  

Anyway, back at sea level we are really making great strides with the show.  We have some lovely moments already created as well as some very interesting characters.   The scenes outside are going to be really effective I think.   I will try to give you another update as we go.    

 We have been concentrating on developing each of the scenes to really allow us to tell the story of this particular version of Romeo and Juliet.   As always with Shakespeare the trouble is that the more you work on it the more you find and so many options present themselves to you because of the genius of the language.   Finding the right decision for the character, the actor and the story takes a lot of careful thought, and, really 8 weeks of rehearsal (like the Royal Shakespeare Company).   We have only the 3, but I think we are making excellent progress.     Onward and upwards…..

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Well, would you believe the first day of rehearsals are upon us?  11 days have passed remarkably quickly.  So the process has now begun in earnest and we have 18 rehearsal days until opening night….  Now that is scary.   

Last week I was in Inverness working with the National Theatre of Scotland Learn team on their ‘Exchange’ project:  http://www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/content/default.asp?page=s4_3

This was a high energy week with around 70 young people from across Scotland who were performing shows and participating in workshops.   I had a particular connection with Vertigo Theatre in East Kilbride and the Rusty Boat Theatre company from Greenock.   Both groups did themselves proud with great performances and I was very proud to be associated with both of the groups. 

It is amazing how much you learn form working with young people.  Their appetite for theatre and their ability to be completely socially interactive with dozens of different people is genuinely moving.  Also the power that theatre can have in changing people  in extremely positive ways.  Confidence, sociability belief in oneself and pride are just some of the things I saw developing before my eyes during the action packed week.  

Now the focus turns completely to Romeo and Juliet.  Today was first day of rehearsals and traditionally this involves reading the play and discussing the themes.   We also welcomed Fiona Rutherford, our Clarsach (Harp) player back after 2 years.  Hearing the harp leaping into life in the Chapel again was wonderful it evokes an incredible atmosphere and supports Shakespeare’s words so beautifully.  

We did a little bit of work on the first meeting between Romeo and Juliet tonight which was great fun and instantly exciting and flirtations and enticing.   This is arguably the most important moment in the play as it sets up the whole cascade of events that follow thereafter.    

We have a huge amount of work to do over the next three weeks to bring the beauty of the language to life and tell the story with as much vigour and relish as we can.    Everyone involved is extremely enthusiastic and I’m genuinely excited by the possibilities that lie ahead.  

We begin filming our podcast/video diary tomorrow so hopefully by the weekend you will be able to see what we’ve been up to.   In the meantime if you have any questions you would particularly like answered then please do get in touch by commenting on any of these blogs.   

Gallop a pace you fiery footed steeds……

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