An earlier trip out to London today, as it had been arranged for a group of us to take a look at the venue for the performance that has been suggested. It is inside the O2 at Finchley – no, not the arena itself, but one of the shops in the small mall that forms part of the complex. I had told it was a disused shop, so I was a little apprehensive as to how big it might be, but in fact it is very sizeable; it used to be a Pizza Express. The size is not the issue, but what does need to be addressed is the fact that the room for the performance is dominated by a vast picture window overlooking the street. This causes two issues: one is the sheer distraction (a bit like the Minack Theatre in Cornwall, I suppose, which overlooks the ocean); the other is the fact that there is no blackout possible.
On the other hand, O2 as an organisation does seem to be very accommodating, providing us with a most helpful liaison officer, who gave no objection to our blacking out the window… if we could. Other than that, it could be very good. We are part of a larger Refugee Week festival, and we are in a busy space. Of course, Edinburgh demonstrates that just because a place is busy, it does not mean you can easily persuade people to try out some theatre. But on the other hand, there won’t be anything like the same amount of competition.
But the really good news is that we seem to have a definite venue, plus help and support in attracting an audience; all we have to do now is make sure we have a show.
And so I drove from Finchley to the Welsh Harp Sailing Association for our weekly rehearsal; I had missed it last week, after a minor car accident on the way there (don’t ask.) The really good development is that we have a new member of the cast, a young-ish Greek girl called Maria, who will be able to fill the last remaining role, that of Sherwan, the last remaining refugee in the story. And she is very good.
On the less positive side, we are currently without Roji, who has had to move to Sheffield. (It does seem to be a recurring issue, especially with Roji!, but I am sure we can manage it.) And in the meantime, Cristina was a perfectly adequate replacement in his role.
The rehearsal itself went pretty well, though it is a little concerning that we seem to be repeating the same three scenes, rather than move on. But actually I remain pretty sanguine that all will be well (though we definitely need to move on to new material next week.) Next week brings a different issue, however, as Hamed himself will be away; his mum is ill, and this is his opportunity to visit her… in Armenia, I believe. But as ever, we will do what we can. On the whole, I am excited about this production, rather than fearful. But time will have to tell whether my optimism is misplaced or not.
