Day Eight...

What a brilliant day!

This morning we looked at the final part of the play, during which each of us plays the parent of our seven year old. In fact, it felt as though we were beginning an entirely new show, with new characters.

What's wonderful about this part of the play is that the audience (hopefully) recognise traits in the adults that have shaped the children they've come to know.

First, we discussed our adult characters. This was heavily informed by the experience of having played their child. After reading through the scene a few times, we set about blocking everyone's movements on stage. Much like the very first scene of the play, the last scene is a swirl of interactions, this time between different combinations of parents. It was similarly painstaking task!

After the break, we worked with Gavin (the musical director) on the show's finale. 'I Wish' is an utterly wonderful medley of carols, sung with invented lyrics. Each parent has a moment during which they share their wishes with the audience, often relating to their child. It's incredibly moving. I was struggling not to cry, so was Lucy.

Our children's final positions in the school nativity

During the afternoon, we reverted once again to school children, and worked on the final moments of the school nativity in which each child performs. With the exception of a short scene that involves breaking out of the world of the children into the world of their parents, we've pretty much worked the whole show. Now comes the detail!


This evening a group of us went to see Hull Truck Youth Theatre's production, Soldier Girl. We were dead impressed. The characters were sharply drawn and there was great clarity to the action. It's always good to see what else is going on when working at a theatre. Quite aside from the fact that you get to see some great stuff like this evening, it also means you feel part of a wider community of artists and the company as a whole.