RIP my dear pile of nets
Even though we all know we’ll be here again in a few weeks, leaving Cornwall is not something we particularly look forward to. Once again, I have the pleasure of summing up our week and reflecting on the development of the work.
For all those fans who hoped Goofy Apple would find himself once more in the company of a pile of nets and a sick bucket on a boat, I have to disappoint you. I luckily got through the whole week without tarnishing the sea with my lunch. It should be said, however that we didn’t actually get in a boat this time. But HEY there’s always next time so stay tuned!
It was incredible being able to come back to Newlyn to re-visit the work. It has been a pretty successful trip. Firstly our accommodation was incredible (well done Matt). Not that I didn’t love sharing a room with Sam Wyer and his penguin bed buddy, but this cottage situated in Whitehouse was awesome. Kitted out with anything you could think of. One way to impress me is to have a stocked kitchen. I think I spent a good ten minutes jumping around elated that the cottage had biscuits in the biscuit jar. These are subtle but important things.
Meeting Rob and Tom again was also a pleasure. We had gone down to the harbour to take some promotional shots of Alf and Gertie and were able to meet up with Rob in the morning. He really enjoyed seeing the puppets and hearing how the work was getting on. Rob, for those of you who don’t know is the harbourmaster of the South-West. He is a very smooth man who by all rights should look a lot more haggard and tired when considering his wealth of responsibilities. But dashing as ever, he filled us in on what has been going on and wished us the best, promising to come and see the work when we come down next. He even said he’d bring his wife. Lucky woman.
We were able to meet up with Tom as well, who allowed us to use his boat to take some photos with the puppet. We got some great shots but much to my disappointment my precious net pile had vanished! We shared some great times. If you are reading this I’d like to suggest a 2 minute silence in memory of the pile of nets............
We held our rehearsals at The Ritz in Penzance. A fantastic building that would be the perfect place to hold an event commemorating ‘The Shining’ How a place could be so cold when the weather outside was so hot I’ll never know. We got some incredible work done in that space. I feel like each time we re-visit this piece we are constantly pushing ourselves to re-invent the material and see what we can achieve. I can honestly say that working with this group of artists has been a pleasure. Nothing is ever off the table with puppetry and visual theatre. The boundaries are literally endless. I reckon we ended up creating a good 15 extra minutes of material. One particular scene we were working on involved creating the impression of a storm by using the set to move around Alf. This initial idea came from the mind of Matt. Matt Lloyd is a dangerous man. His brain is brilliant and pragmatic but dangerous.
Here’s how I remember the scenario:
MATT: Lets attach ropes to the set and pull them really hard
US: Sure Matt that sounds safe
MATT: Lets then have the set careering around Alf in a web of wooden blocks and rope.
US: Ok.........
MATT: Then lets set it on fire and.....
US: Get out.
Jokes aside, what was created was beautiful and I can’t wait to show it off to a new audience. It’s usually best to trust him even if the idea seems crazy as his mind works in a very practical way. The entire group seem to complement each other in rehearsals. It’s been a joy to observe this and participate in the creative process. It’s safe to say we have a long way to go but if the work already created is anything to go by then I am thoroughly excited.
Our week in Cornwall has been incredible and for more specific reading I would encourage you to check out the previous blogs if you’ve not already done so. But as all things do, our trip had come to an end for now. And so there we were on the last day an hour or so before leaving, in a café close to the main high street. Molly was desperately teaching myself and Bramley Apple the magic of Todoist (which btw is pretty awesome, thanks Molly) and we were going through the plan for marketing and the next set of rehearsals. It sounds like it’s going to be a busy month. And to be honest I can’t wait! However, as the meeting came to a close there was one last thing we needed to do. Fish and Chips! So we skipped?.....yea, we skipped. We joyfully skipped down the hill to the seaside to buy fish and chips and in one glorious cliché swoop visited the arcade. I love my job for many reasons but most of all because I get to create fantastic meaningful work with friends. Cheers to Cornwall, Cheerss to fishing and Cheers to my dear pile of nets!
Goofy Apple out.
P.s.
Myself, George and Matt played a tense and epic game of yellow car on the trip back and thought you might like to know the scores.
Matt: 31
George: 29
Luke: 24 (But my cars were the best!)