Back in the saddle...

Well, metaphorically anyway.
After a warm and wonderful three months cycling around the country I'm back in cold, grey (but unusually rain-free) Manchester wondering how I'm going to turn the experience into a performance.
I've been awarded a 6 month (well, 5 now I suppose!) residency at Contact theatre which means I get a bit of money, a mentor, rehearsal space, technical support and a week in June to show the public what I've been doing... eek! I also have to do some participatory work with young people around the themes of my show but that hasn't started yet...
The show as it stands at the moment will be a solo performance with multiple characters who represent different 'Voices of Dissent' (tentative working title) around environmental issues in this country. This means I'll be playing the girls as well as the boys! Fortunately my mentor is the inimitable Gerry Potter, aka Chloe Poems, so I have a good guide for my first foray into drag... All these different characters will be linked by a part me/part mythological trickster type character (on a bike, naturally) who will act as a guide, commentator, provocateur, mc, joker etc.
This is also where I will be bringing renewable energy into the equation, providing some of the power for the show from a pedal generator, and hopefully the rest from solar... Looking into the technicalities of this raised questions about how to generate electricity inside a building connected to the mains so now I've started taking seriously the idea of performing outside under some sort of marquee. Seems a shame after spending so long under canvas that the audience shouldn't get to do the same!
So that's about where I'm up to, not much script to speak of yet though so I'd better stop writing this and start writing that. Watch this space for new information and over the weeks I'll be keeping the blog updated with comments and comedy regarding the local and global environment. Riveting.