Sweet Willow in the valley

A ray of light this last weekend, in a dark world. Fresh from the stimulation and excitement of The Holbeck Moor Conference for Slung Low, an outdoor programme of talks and meetings for all kinds of artists and theatremakers, I made my way across to Wales to the environs of Llandrindod and the amazing Willow Globe. Built (for which read planted) in 2006, it is a living Elizabethan space of modest proportion but great beauty. There, with my friends The Nameshifter, The Troubadour and The Word Serpent (Joseph Chance, Dylan Emery and Sean McCann) we performed two excellent School of Night shows, my first live improvisation in 2 years and first live performance of any kind in 18 months. We were welcomed, accommodated, listened to, and we entertained 70 or so keen, still socially-distanced punters in what is an actually living theatre. These shows are always seat-of-the-pants and highly unpredictable, but the years of trust and appreciation of each other still bear fruit, even when one feels one’s skills to be a bit rusty. Onwards – to a full play very soon, plague willing. More anon…