So, we are about to go into week three. Week two has been productive and exciting, as we have got much more of an idea of the nature and playing style of the world of the play. As well as experimenting with the visual storytelling, this week has seen characters and their relationships deepening and evolving. I think a lot of the charm and humour of the piece comes from really investing in Brian and Jane and their family’s journey. The more we understand who they are, hopefully the more their experiences will be recognizable to an audience.

The set is also getting more realized, we now have the sides of the marquee and the coconut matting on the floor, so it is really started to feel like an actual fete! Titch has been collecting props from all over the place, every so often delivering exciting boxes filled with stuff you might find at a fete; records, books, ornaments, stuffed toys….. The play features a magnolia tree, which grows throughout the play as the family adjust to being in the country. This week saw the arrival of this tree, which is a thing of beauty, but enormous, and cost rather more than one would expect of a fake magnolia tree. James immediately set about hacking it into bits with a saw (obviously with a careful and strategic plan as there is little room for error!) so that he can design it to allow for bits to be added by the company to represent its growth.

Wednesday afternoon saw a photo shoot with Ed Collier, which involved the company going out into the fields around Pentabus, in costume, armed with props that included a spade, a bottle of wine, a laptop, rubber gloves and of course an Independent. A couple of hours was spent placing the characters in fields, perched on stiles, sitting under trees, leaning on gates, in order to capture some excellent shots for the local press. Meanwhile, stage management had set up an actual white elephant stall outside Pentabus, with bunting and everything, so more brilliant photo opportunities there.

We are trying to keep all sound effects live, which feels in keeping with the authenticity of the design-to have recorded sound effects would potentially pull us out of the intimate world of the Docklow fete. Experimenting with ‘home made’ sound effects has revealed some hidden talents within the company, who have it seems, all mastered the art of dog barking, chicken clucking, mice squeaking, fly buzzing……and the competition was on to find the most authentic cock crow (Iain reigning champion so far, but all could change next week, I know that Simon was a close second and with some private rehearsal time over the weekend, who knows what might happen).

Friday saw our first stagger through, just to get an idea of the structure of the whole thing, which was immensely beneficial for all I think and a great way to end a busy week. Nick, who wrote the adaptation, is coming into rehearsal on Monday, to check in and see where we are at. Drinks and dinner at the Kings Head are planned after rehearsal. Last time we went to the Kings Head, we were doing a bit of star gazing as we left and very nearly got run over by an enormous tractor pulling into the pub car park (I could almost hear the driver muttering the word ‘twazzocks’). Hopefully this will not happen again.