Its 9.26am and I have just woken up! This is pretty unheard of, partial as I am to a bit of blogging in the early lark hours. But I am not complaining. Its another beautiful sunny day outside, fit for the Happiness and Wellbeing Festival in Barking town centre in just a couple of hours lovingly organised and curated by my dear friend Rachelle Moulai who runs the Barking Bathhouse http://www.barkingbathhouse.com/ right here at the BLC in the centre of the town. It promises to be great fun, massages, music and yes a short appearance from our wonderful Polish Theatre company ARKA.
What a week its been, like none I can remember apart from my heady youthful times at the Edinburgh Festival and on summer theatre camps in the hills of New Hampshire. You ride a roller coaster when you live in community like this - moment by moment life creates itself and presents you with more challenges and jokes! As well as totalled cars and melted lighting cables, yesterday presented the story of the broken key to the Terrace Cafe. One very sheepish looking Polish actor returned to me at the Malthouse with a sad face and a broken key - the other half abandoned in the lock! This meant that suddenly the security of the building was compromised. But in the spirit of 'whatever next' we soon called in the cavalry and before long we had a solution and all was well again.
Not only have the Malthouse and the Granary resounded with laughter, music and madness, so has my modest little flat, home to Maciej and Anula for ten days, and to the kitchen engine for Amari to strut her culinary stuff in the feeding of what feels like the five thousand! She has done wonders in stretching our meagre budget to produce wonderful love food that has nurtured and nourished our hungry actors and crew. I am not quite sure how she has done it - even though I am often in the kitchen with her!.... it just seems to emerge effortlessly and with a bit of help from Anula and Maciej. She won't let me near my own cooker! clearly I will need to reclaim it next week. But my kitchen looks wonderfully fecund, fruit and veg spread themselves across every counter, along with an occasional bottle of Proseco.
And yesterday - Amari's daughter Mya and grandson joined the epicurian party. Mya made four enormous vegetarian lasagnes for our guests and my goodness they were out of this world. They were ready and piping hot when the Poles arrived in dribs and drabs to the Terrace Cafe for their 5pm supper. Its funny how quickly we human beings create habits and rituals and embrace the familiar. Everyone joins a long refectory row of tables in the late afternoon sunshine, Maciej (Musician from ARKA) plays impromptu guitar and sings a Tracy Chapman number.
Just an hour earlier one of our anonymous donors and provider of the donuts on Thursday arrives - her car laden with bottles of water for the audience and danish pastries. I admit to being somewhat overwhelmed by this generosity of a stranger - and am reminded of a recent youtube video posted by Carl Blackburn (CEO CVS) on Facebook he said
'You don't have to be a Christian to appreciate this short piece where ex Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, beautifully and eloquently defines "Refuge"'
http://youtu.be/W1J3aAe5oOQ
The words that spoke most to me from this short video were
"Generosity is what makes us what we are - especially generosity to strangers"
I like that - and I had a living experience of it yesterday, indeed throughout this week where generosity has been in abundance. Thanks Anonymous with whom I shared a tear yesterday.
And at 6pm huge gateaux arrived - a generous gift from the Borough Commander Andy Ewing for our Polish guests and audience. Eat your heart out Marie- Antoinette - we certainly did and there is still some left for today.
The audience of about 40 sat in the heat of the August evening and watched the show, which for many of us is a departure from anything resembling theatre we might have seen. As I have said many times its a world awayculturally from mainstream UK work, it is deeply personal, abstract, emotional and huge, and in places absurd. Amari wrote about it:
The highlight of the day for me was to get an opportunity to see Arka’s performance of The Ball at Stephen Hawking’s. I was not sure what to expect. One minute I wanted to laugh hysterically at the very unexpected and realistic ‘madness’ as portrayed by people with whom I had shared meals over the last few days and who tried to teach me key words and phrases in Poland. The next minute I wanted to cry at the poignancy of the performances. It was unusual, unexpected, sensual, political and just bonkers. It was great.
And so we come to the final day of this sojourn in internationalism, and I am looking forward to it hugely, and the Proseco after the show tonight! Its been joyful, hard work, expensive, painful and exquisite and I know marks the beginning of a new way of working for Jasmine Street and the Malthouse Performance Studio at the Icehouse Quarter - all still in their infancy but growing fast.
So come along today to the Festival and see the show this evening - you can call 0208 594 1095 for tickets or book online. Do it now - it will be over soon!
Hope to see you today.
August 17th https://taleoftwoarcs3.eventbrite.co.uk/
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