It's the first of our school dates, and the first of a four-day run which is both exhilarating and worrying, because even with Karen helping us out on Saturday we were four hours get-in and two hours get-out. Just too long.
At Wheatley Park we can't really set up until after school finishes, and comically there's PE going on in the harsh, echoey hall anyway. However, once the set's up it's truly extraordinary how much it transforms the most unprepossessing arena. We're held up by waxing the edges of our floors (to stop the interminable creaking which tends to wreck the tender moments - few as they are) and we complete cabling by 6.30pm, not even an hour before beginner's. So it's caffeine-rich cokes and coffees all round and a quick sit-down.
What follows is an eye-opening experience. A house of about 80, mainly students, provide the most attentive and rewarding audience so far. Naked flesh doesn't perturb or embarrass them, they don't get bored or answer phones or do anything except give us their full attention. I remember giving Michael Pennington such a hard time during a school trip that he stopped the play to bollock us, but there's only respect and overwhelming applause here. Fantastic.
Still two hours to get out though, and we're all knackered. Dear Me.
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