For those who read my blog regularly, you\u2019ll know I err on\nthe side of the academic when championing the Arts, but this one is going to be\nfrom a more personal stance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m currently involved in two big projects as Strutting\nPlayer, and I have witnessed over the last few weeks some incredible things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have written about \u201cThe Life of Reilly\u201d before, from an\naudience perspective, and now I have the utter privilege to be directing it,\nfor its full length performance at The Cluny tomorrow in Newcastle, and its Edinburgh\nFringe incarnation. What struck me most about becoming involved is how\nimportant a venture this is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first time I saw it, I interviewed the cast, and they\nwere honest enough to tell me that before they started rehearsing, they knew\nvery little, if anything, about Autism. That really hit me. And that\u2019s what\nmakes it such an important play. If you didn\u2019t know before, you certainly will\nafter you see it, whichever version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What\u2019s more, the actors are determined to get it right.\nThere\u2019s a lot riding on this, and I don\u2019t just mean their careers. This play\ncould effectively change someone\u2019s life. That\u2019s massive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As for me, I want it to be the best version of itself, to\npunch, to hit home, and to educate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then there\u2019s Sunderland Stories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The concept behind this was to empower people to find their\nvoice, be heard, and share their stories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having worked with a variety of people over the years, and\nknow that the most likely feeling to disenfranchise people is to feel like they\u2019re\nnot being heard, and that was something I wanted to remedy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have stories from the shipyards, or fires, of a marriage proposal\nand a 60th<\/sup> Wedding Anniversary message from the Queen. We have\nreworked the Lambton Worm, both as a craft project and as the song; we have\nscripts and performance poetry. There are stories about childhood, adulthood\nand everything in between.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But that\u2019s not the best bit. The best bit is the sense of community, people mucking in together, and trying new things, and the smiles I see on people\u2019s faces throughout the evening. People are not just listened to, but their experiences are celebrated, and the effects on their sense of wellbeing is a joy to behold. And that\u2019s nothing to do with me, that\u2019s to do with the Arts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What’s your story?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Life of Reilly\u201d at The Space on the Mile, Edinburgh. 12th-17th<\/sup>\nAugust and 19th<\/sup>-24th<\/sup> August, 11am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSunderland Stories\u201d at Grindon Church Community Project,\nSunderland, Thursdays 6:30-8:30.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For those who read my blog regularly, you\u2019ll know I err on the side of the academic when championing the Arts, but this one is going to be from a more personal stance. I\u2019m currently involved in two big projects as Strutting Player, and I have witnessed over the last […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":472,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-update"],"yoast_head":"\n