Diary

I said goodbye to the rehearsal room today...

It’s an unlovely and not an ideal space: a converted garage that often fills up with exhaust fumes from the still working garage next door.

A good floor space, but not quite as big as the Traverse stage... and, being in Leith, so remote from the rest of the theatre.

But ther’s some brilliant spaces to eat nearby, and most lunchtimes we’ve been gorgin ourselves at the Water of Leith Cafe Bistro http://www.thewaterofleithcafebistro.co.uk/ - such a friendly place, and with a fantastic French chef.

I've never in my life eaten so well in rehearsal...

And for all its obvious unloveliness, the rehearsal room has been a kind of home.

Time to leave it, though.

All that can be done there has been done. Time to move on stage.

I saw the stage yeaterday: a fascinating space.

Tim the video designer was fretting over the calculations as to ow to fit his images into strange geometric shapes.

I told Ali, the designer, how much I liked it. “Beautiful”, I said. And then “Really interesting”.

She laughed and said: “That’s what you asked for”.

And so I did.

The first stage direction says:

ALL I ASK OF THIS PERFORMANCE SPACE IS THAT IT BE INTERESTING.
AND PREFERABLY UNUSUAL.
THAT IT IS NOT ASHAMED TO BE A THEATRE.

And that is exactly what I have....