I woke up on Friday morning and cursed and howled at the weather… Snow and ice and wondered if Shiona Morton and Lissa (writer and actor in Meat and Right) would make it from Devon and South Gloucs. Was preparing my speech announcing the cancellation of the show as I trudged slowly and gingerly to the theatre. Opened the front doors and there was Shiona and Lisa having a cup of coffee… looking surprised at my rather worried frown. So on we went…

I then turned my fretting to the audience… would we have one? It’s the first night of a new initiative. Would anyone actually be arsed to come out? Ran round for the day looking for a fridge for Sam Burger (no luck), waistcoats for Caroline Hunt (success) and extra rehearsal room for Ed Viney (another small success) and prayed that some dedicated souls would venture out to see a new play.

I shouldn’t have worried (these words will be etched on my gravestone - I am a veteran worrier of the detail) as the doors opened that night and we all sat down in a rather cool Studio I did a quick head count. 62! Couldn’t believe it. I wanted to individually award medals for their sheer tenacity in battling the elements to come down. And then I realised it was all going to be alright… and it was. Why shouldn’t it be? I was surrounded by professionals just getting on with what they do best and audiences who had decided that they were just simply going to come along, and the weather can go hang.

All five plays were performed without a hitch with insightful, entertaining and lively discussions with audiences and the creatives teams after.

Audiences were made up of writers, actors, directors and the public and it was this amalgamation that made the responses so interesting. Many attended all five and there was a festival community atmosphere which sprang up with people nodded to each other in recognition of being sat in the same audience for the last 2 days.

It was just beyond words to see so many people involved in the watching and making of theatre again in the Bristol Old Vic…. something which if you had asked me about 18 months ago I would have said would be near impossible.

Script in Hand, the first major initiative from The Writers’ Room started this week and we had the first day of rehearsals yesterday. It was amazing to see all the writers and directors and actors in the theatre’s Cafe Bar, all coming together over coffee. Catherine Johnson’s Suspension also starts rehearsals this week so all in all the theatre has 6 companies in the building all making work for the Studio stage - with our five shows in forty eight hours. Everyone seems to be in high spirits and energy is high… it is difficult to believe that just 18 months after closure we have a building full of people working on new plays. But this is not the end, merely the beginning and so we will be announcing further activity and initiatives as they are planned. However, I was bowled over by the sheer volume of scripts received.. and the standard.

Our first Masterclass took place on Saturday with the playwright David Eldridge. 25 writers attended to hear David talk about his career and to discuss with him the way he works. He was extremely generous, funny and insightful and we all came out feeling that we had discovered or learned something from talking with him and each other. Once again, amazing to sit in a rehearsal room with 26 writers just talking about work - how we do it, where we find it, what are its challenges.

Well I hope, despite this weather, that some of you can make it to the theatre this weekend. I look forward to seeing you there.

clark.sharon@blueyonder.co.uk

The first meeting was a consultation meeting with writers in the region. There will be a second meeting in mid-September, the date of which will be announced shortly.