The Blog


Memories & Talent
So great to be reminded of the talented bunch we worked with last month on Something Something Lazarus. These costume designs by the fantastic Daniel Street just bring it all back.

Out in the world
That’s week one down then. We've opened. We've got reviews. Now the next three weeks are about having some fun and connecting with an audience. A mixed, mixed bag of emotions. Practically a Tumi carry-on’s worth, but no bigger. All productions have their stress...

Bloody Ready!
So that’s that then. The rehearsals are done, the props are made, the lights are plotted, the sound is set. We’re about as ready as we can be. And the ready we are is bloody ready. You don’t know what you have sometimes. As half creator and half producer I’ve found it...

Distance, Communication and Misunderstandings
The team are travelling this week. One of us is headed to Bulgaria and one of us is darting between New York and Milwaukee. The joys of doing ‘a day job’ as well as producing and creating a show! That leaves the production in the capable hands of director Dan - he’s...

Brilliant Challenges
Theatre is a collaborative art. Musical theatre about ten times more so. Being part of a team is both brilliant and challenging. And by challenging I mean it can be fucking exhausting sometimes. Mostly this exhaustion has to do with ego. Our own egos. My ego quite...

The Remote Production Office
I'm writing this first blog post from a bar in Buxton. It’s a bar but I’m not drinking. Well I’m drinking coffee, but you know what I mean. There’s WiFi, there’s food and there’s warmth from a very windy Peak District! I’ve got my laptop and my iPhone. What more do I...
There’s Magic to do
The hardest thing any director has to do is leave. I was once told that the excitement of live theatre is the anarchy of actors, that once the director hands the stage over to the performer, they completely lose control allowing the actor to do whatever they...
Perfectly Marvelous
‘I’ve got them…now let’s make some theatre!’
Sorry, Grateful
you often feel like Sherlock Cumberbatch with numbers and words whizzing around you as you try and make sense of an endless stream of information…

It’s that way!
Directing is just pointing and saying stand over there, right? Of course not. This is the place for all the inside scoop on the goings on of the rehearsal room. Dan's process and how he builds a believable world on the stage.
Just a little night music…
One or two tunes from the March 2016 production of Something Something Lazarus.
Opening Doors/Lungs
It’s the end of a work-long day. The desk lamp is shining. The dregs of Rioja are poured. I’ve survived the rush hour commute. And the city struggle is nicely behind me. But no. No. Because in just under an hour, I’ll be heading out again. Into the smoke and mirror...

The Digital Story Composer Writing Type Thingy
One of the many things that makes working on a show that has a digital story world is the writing journey. It’s exciting to have a story that remains in a certain amount of flux throughout the production. As the actors explore their characters they can draw on the...

La Da Dee Dee Da Daa
Words and music (or as Simon prefers music and words.) This is place to get inside the head of our writing team. How did they come up with the world of Midnight Sun? How does it leap off the page and onto your digital screen as well as the stage? How do you fit lyrics...