It’s fair to say us Shoddies love the work we do, but, it’s also true to say we’ll do anything to avoid a 5am alarm call. During our second visit back to ‘home turf’ (York) we performed a show and workshops in the Bradford Christian School, which meant we were facing this unenviable early morning wake up call. Luckily, a friend of Rob’s came to the rescue, offering us a place to stay nearer the school. The payment? Perform a sketch in their lounge. For an extra hour and a half in bed, that was five minutes well spent!
While we were back in York, Roughshod also had the pleasure of performing in my home church in Skipton. For me it was a proud moment to perform in front of so many familiar faces – particularly as I’ve enthused about Riding Lights since I first saw Roughshod at my first Summer Theatre School when I was just 14.
It was lovely to have so many positive comments afterwards too – particularly about the uniqueness and honesty of our personal stories in the show. Every show we do is special in its own way, but for me Skipton’s show will be a fond memory.
After leaving our beloved York we headed off to Chippenham and Corsham where we were part of the Flame of Hope festival – a whole series of events organised by local churches, celebrating the christian faith as part of their communities.
As part of our week there we went from performing theatre in the street, to theatre in schools to theatre in an actual theatre – another first for us, and a rare occurrence with Roughshod! The theatre was The Pound Arts Centre, and it was a treat to perform iWitness in a space with excellent acoustics, tiered theatre seats, and professional lighting.
Still, before we get too comfortable, it’s worth pointing out Roughshod wouldn’t be Roughshod if we couldn’t perform in a hosts living room just as easily as a professional arts centre.
We absolutely loved the variety here in Chippenham and Corsham. A standout memory of the festival being Rob, who got to put his fire-staff skills to good use out on the streets. Roughshod’s very own flame of hope… hope that an audience might stick around and watch a sketch or two afterwards.
Emma.
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