work-in-progress

Joy! We unexpectedly found a couple of days free in the tour schedule for Mark and Aya that hadn't been filled with schools workshops, and decided to use the opportunity to tweak bits of The Nightingale that didn't feel they were working so well. It's very hard when they're away on tour to do more than give occasional notes, so by the end of last year I had quite a list of niggles that would take rehearsal time to rework. It was the first opportunity that Chris Davies, the musical director, had had to see the show since it was in Manchester at the very beginning, so it was really useful for him to see how it has progressed, and also an opportunity for him to alter things himself. It felt fantastic to add in a new piece of music for the end, shorten some parts and lengthen others, and - most exciting - give the set a fresh coat of paint!
The set has been through a few incarnations - in its first outing last Christmas Bob made painted sculptural reliefs in earth-tones, then for this tour he rebuilt it with a shallow relief of trees and painted it in Chagall-like colours - but it felt too bright. Now its final makeover is complete, it looks just lovely. Here's a detail:

Now Mark and Aya are off on tour again, and our minds here are turning to other things - the new website that Bob is building (live tomorrow - HOORAY!), this Sunday's (Feb 10th 3pm) show at the Boo of The Tinderbox, by Norwich Puppet Theatre, programming for our small-but-lovely Puppet Festival, which will be on the 6th+ 7th July, and continuing the design work for the Christmas show - what a brilliant mix!