During October, along with Dave Southall, we designed and built a bandstand/royal box, which revolves to become a train carriage. This along with some other interesting objects was for People Show 137 ‘Back in Ten Minutes’. Dave’s structure took on board the need for lightness and ease of assembly and one of it’s remarkable features is that it can be assembled without tools and splits in such a way as it will go through a standard door. Other bits of creative shed work were remote controlled tennis ball drops and deluge (120) and a mysterious smoking croissant. Maureen our animatronic ventriloquist doll also made her London debut. (As her agent I had been looking for an opportunity for her all last year!) She became a kind of narrator and opened the show with this wonderful line from Mark. ‘and so the audience experiences that wonderful feeling that this might just be the best theatrical experience of their entire lives, cue lights, cue sound…..’

 

It was a treat for me to work with Emil Wolk again (For those not familiar with Avanti history Emil directed The Spurting Man and co-devised Crash Cabaret with us, back in the nineties.) and to meet and work with Mark Long and George Khan both legendary figures in the history of this company, which has more than fifty years of experimental theatre work. We were together for a month rehearsing and devising then played three preview performances at Toynbee Hall in December. People Show 137 will be touring in 2019.