2019… It has been a year. Not just for us, but for everyone. The state of the government, the state of the country, the state of the planet - there’s a lot to be worrying about! But there is a lot to be thankful for as well, and that’s what we want to focus on, and we have so much to be thankful for this year, alongside of making it out in one piece!
After being named Pleasance Associate artists for 2019 we began the year by bringing A Clown Show About Rain to VAULT Festival. Working with a shiny new performer as well as some familiar (Silent) faces, reshaping bits of the piece and getting to share this warm hug of a show with our home city was an absolute treat. Then we got to work on new and exciting things… namely a Work-in-Progress version of our next show which, at the time, was called Waiting for Waiting for Godot (and we have since changed because ironically that show already exists, where two men understudying the main parts wait to go on, so we are not allowed to do that one either) which we workshopped at The Pleasance, and then took to Wilderness Festival to share with audiences there and get some much needed feedback. We also got to do a silly and wonderful workshop with festival goers, as well as see Robyn and wear lots of sparkly festival outfits! Then it was ace to have a weekend where we headed up to Edinburgh Fringe as tourists - all of the fun and none of the pressure, what a delight!! Getting to see some really fab work and hang out with friends and fellow artist was a great way to end the summer like QUEENS. Our EMPOWER Play workshops with female and non-binary artists were a really great start to what we hope will be an ongoing workshop series in the new year. It was great to meet a bunch of clowns who were so open to playing with us and we can’t wait to build these workshops and get more and more people involved - lets create a community of clowns! Then a little break before we went into another research and development phase for the new show, Godot is a Woman. Exploring gender, permission and the patriarchal barriers that keep the rich-straight-white-cis-male on top, we can't wait to bring this show to the Pleasance in March 2020! This year we have had TWO successful Arts Council bids to develop Godot is a Woman, been supported by Camden People’s Theatre, Poplar Union, and the ever wonderful Pleasance Theatre. We’ve got to know the other Pleasance Associate Artists; Kat Woods, Fran Bushe, Figs in Wigs, Wildcard and Wound Up Theatre, and we got to share our work with even more audiences. We raised even more money for Rethink Mental Illness and have started partnerships with new charities for the next venture, we have been able to offer opportunities to female and trans artists to develop their practice and have a chance to play and are hoping to create even more opportunities in the future. Special thanks to Lauren Gibson, Stella Kailides, Cara Withers, Rachael Neary, Matt Glessing, Sandy Underwood, Louis Bernard, Beth Watton, Ellie Simpson, Nic Connaughton, Jonny Patton, Kathleen Price, Mikkaila McKeever Willis, James Cross, Ellie Isherwood, Becky Turner, Lewis Braye, George Underwood, Kat Woods, Fran Bushe, the Degenerate Fox team, the lovely lot at Theatre 63 and the legends at Wildcard Theatre!! Thank you to everyone that played with us and supported our work this year - it’s been good. 2020 is going to be a big one. Love Josie, Cordelia and Jack x |