Jabberwocky

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Last Wednesday all the museums in Cambridge stayed open late for an event called Twilight at the Museums. The lights were switched off and children issued with torches in order to see the exhibits in a new light. All except at the Fitzwilliam where torches were distributed but the lights remained resolutely on. The institution remains nervous after the high profile shattering of two Qing dynasty vases by a hapless visitor a few years ago.

The brightness of the lights made the recital of Jabberwocky a challenge. Indefinite Articles had opted to illustrate the Lewis Carol poem with projected sand drawings and shadow play. My role was to set the scene with music and provide an illustrative, and entirely improvised, soundscape between the verses.

The six performances were very well received and no one commented on the reduced impact caused by light falling on the screen. As is often the case with live theatre, I imagine that everyone assumed this was how it was meant to be. And many people watched the show more than once. Having seen it from inside the gallery they came round to the staircase to see it from the other side. Here they could observe Steve, Sally and our vorpal swordsman and 'beamish boy' achieve the effects.

The screen was hung in the doorway at the top of the stairs that lead up from the grand entrance. The landing provided our 'back-stage' area while I soaked up the limelight in the gallery where I could respond to the images.

On the road again

I did a bit of touring back in the 80s and loved the excitement of setting off for a new destination, the camaraderie, the shared sense of purpose. And of course, having my bad habits reinforced by hanging out with people who had made the same lifestyle choices.

What I didn't like was sitting in the back of a windowless transit, with amps and the PA for seats, playing cards to pass the time. There were nine in the band/crew and only one of them (the sax player) didn't smoke. Guess who played sax.

Touring with Indefinite Articles is a wholly different experience. No one smokes, the gigs end in time for tea (and sometimes in time for lunch). The sax player plays clarinet and flute now and handles all kinds of lighting, video and audio cues. He always sits on a seat and often actually drives the van. Nobody smokes.



Last weekend we went to Havant for a performance of The Chalk Giants. The sun was beginning to set by the time I took the pictures. Parts of the town are very pretty, others a bit run down. If you look closely you'll see those shops aren't shops at all.




See? I told you.

Claytime in York

I was up with the birds yesterday morning in order to pedal off to the station and catch a train for York. At short notice I had been asked to play for Claytime at the Theatre Royal. I love places that are visibly rich in history and York is right up there with the best. The theatre was opened in 1744, having been built on the site of the mediaeval St Leonard's Hospital, some of which was incorporated into what was then called The New Theatre. The atmosphere on the stage is awesome, in the true sense of the word and that was where the show took place. The curtains were drawn and the stage itself became the theatre.

Claytime, by Indefinite Articles, is one of my all time favourite children's shows, truly interactive and perfect for its target audience of 3 - 6 year olds. I have only played for it on two previous occasions, the most recent being in Kings Lynn early last year but a quick talk-through before the show brought it all back to me. What I find hardest is remembering I'm supposed to be working. Steve and Sally are such accomplished performers that the temptation just to sit back and enjoy the show is almost too much to resist.

The show is in three parts, the first being negotiations between the two characters over the possession of clay and the things that can be done with it. The characters reflect the ages and concerns of their audience and the children become very involved in boundaries, transgressions, repercussions and moral justice.

In the second part, characters and a story are elicited from the children with Sally modelling the protagonists as Steve works the audience. This is then told using the models. Cue the 'end' and bows. But then each child, and usually parents/teachers too, is given a lump of clay to play with. The resulting models are gathered together and photographed with the resulting image going on the theatre or school's website for parents/teachers to download.