A pause…

Zhvan Theatre Company met on Friday June 22^nd at the Holiday Inn in Wembley, ready to drive to Hackney for their final performance during Refugee Week, asd part of the celebration of the event at Yorkton Studios, one of the homes of Counterpoint Arrts.  It was as well that we had booked plenty of time for travel, for the logistics were something of a nightmare.

I was to pick them all up at 3, but the traffic turned out to be a nightmare, with one particular junction, only a couple of miles from Wembley, holding me up for about 45 minutes, and then actually getting to Wembley to discover that I had arrived at the same time as Taylor Swift (and, more importantly, the first arrivals of her fans.)  What with that and the subsequent slow crawl across North London to Hackney, it was something of a weary slog, and we arrived at the Studios at 5, about an hour late.  But as it happened, this was no bad thing.  There had originally been thoughts of a rehearsal before the show, but this was not necessary; after a week of performance, we were rready to go, so it was just as well that we did not have to spend too much time hanging around.

Yorkton turned out to be a pair of small studios joined side by side: a workshop, with a small gallery adjoining, which is where we would be performing.  As a performance space went, it was very small, and without any sort of lighting or, as it turned out, sound – the sound engineer overslept, so we played the music through a phone.  Which makes the performance sound rather shambolic, and in truth it was not the best performance the guys gave.  But the small audience – a few friends, plus a dozen or so workers from the place – actually gave us the best reception yet, so it was good to have a lively response.

Unfortunately, by this time we were all exhausted, so could not stay on to participate in the open-mic set that followed.  In retrospect, a pity, as it would have been better to have forged a good relationship.  But we went off to share a not especially good meal together back in Wembley.

Which brings to an end, at least temporarily, the adventures of Zhvanm Theatre Company for a while.  I am busy with Twelfth Night in Oxford, though we do hope to get the group together to come and see that.  And shortly thereafter I am off to Nepal for three months, so it is likely that at the very least, the group will go into mothballs.

Hamed is still a possible leader for the group, and we have had an offer from the food bank that he and Roji have been working with for the use of a space, so there is still a possibility for things to continue, but that is very dependent upon attracting some new members.  With Sasha the only member of the group actually living in the Holiday Inn, and Roji marooned in Dorset, unless we can find some more members, it will inevitably fade away.

It has been quite an adventure for the past couple of years, and one which I hope has been of use to all those who have participated, most particularly in the performances.  My idea has always been to create new and exciting memories through an introduction to the magic of theatre.  And when I return, who knows?  We shall just have to respond to the situation as it is.

Apologies for the lack of photos.  I had hoped to receive some from the various performances  we have put on during Refugee Week, but as yet they have not arrived.  If I can, I will try to compile a gallery and post that later.

But for the time being, a farewell.  The blog will continue with the daily posts from my travel diary from 40 years ago, and soon there will be a new thread of posts from Nepal.