Necessary Targets debrief

Well, Necessary Targets is over and what a great experience it was. At the end of every show there are conflicting emotions - sadness that it has finished mingled with relief that now you will be able to get some some sleep, concentrate on other projects, and finally address that giant pile of washing. The flowers received on opening night (thanks mum!) are removed from the dressing room and returned home.

There are phrases that continue to echo in your mind and someone's innocent remark can set you off on a cue line like Pavlov's dog. At 7 o'clock at night you feel restless as though you should be somewhere but you're not sure where. It takes a while to resume the routine and refocus your thoughts away from a Bosnian refuge camp where they have been settling for the past few months.

One of the strangest things is no longer seeing the same people who have been your constant companions. Unless you work with your fellow actors or have some other connection, the people with whom you have spent almost every evening abruptly disappear from your circle of contacts. It's a little like a bereavement.

Our director worked very hard on building up a community among the women on stage, and it spilled over to the dressing room where we became friends as well as cast. Sure, we took the piss out of each other and we learnt each other's little foibles - and of course we have them; we're theatrical types! - but we grew to care for each other and look out for each other's concerns.

I only managed to take a couple of photos in the dressing room, but these words, spoken about Azra (played by Christine pictured here running through her lines as she did before every performance) sum up my feelings about everyone.

'I could not forget you. Not your face, your kind, deep, welcoming face.'

Good work ladies.

Culture Kicks Back

On a bright, breezy day last weekend, I thought I'd take my camera for an outing. It just so happened that the Culture Kicks Football Festival (described as Wellington's own mini world cup) was on in Martin Luckie Park, Berhampore.

It features five-a-side teams representing countries from all over the world. There is also a women's tournament. I'm pretty sure you don't have to prove nationality by grandmother's birth certificate or anything like that, just register your team in advance, and turn up to play to the referee's whistle.

The lads were there as St George's something in a collection of red shirts - England; Manchester United and Nottingham Forest (you won't see them on the same pitch very often!). They were big on enthusiasm and vocal ability with lots of pointing and shouting going on.

It was pretty entertaining as I got to support the lads and take a few pictures at the same time. I thought I'd try out my telephoto lens and the continuous shooting setting. Unfortunatley the lads didn't have one of those. I was after action shots, but there wasn't much of that either.

That's not entirely fair. There was plenty of huffing and puffing and even a few goals scored. Apparently (according to Him Outdoors) running around is a lot easier when you're 24 that when you're 42. And imagined-silky skills that you can see in your head appear more like clodhopping carthorses when executed on the field. I saw them play Afghanistan and Syria. I missed them play Greece, and they got beaten by Ireland. They know half of the Irish team - they're drinking buddies. Ireland went on to win the coveted egg-cup or whatever it is they play for when they're not in the cup competition.

Several of the opposition were pretty good on the acting front and were pulling out some Hollywood moves, but the ref wasn't fooled. I'm not sure he even saw half of them. To be honest, there were one or two fouls from our lads, such as this fabulous 'spot the ball' moment.

The opposing teams had a whole line of subs and supporters aplenty who banged drums and shouted encouragement. They even had crates of half-time oranges!

The WAGS arrived with picnic-blankets to rival the other team's support, by finding the food and the nearest coffee cart.

There was some face painting, dancing, stilt-walking and a bouncy castle for the kids - one of the lads on our team regretted that you couldn't go on it in football boots - it seems studs are not allowed on inflateable erections, which is a slightly disturbing prospect and possibly just as well. They had enough to do to keep their eyes on the ball.

Necessary Targets reviews

Thank you to everyone who has been to see Necessary Targets so far. We had a night off last night, but it goes for another week so there's still plenty of opportunities to come and see it.

If it's a review you're wanting, here's one from the Theatre Federation, and one from Salient. Reading between the lines, they both seem to say that it's a pretty good production of a pretty average play. I think that's a reasonably fair assessment, although I am obviously biased, so there's no impartial review from me.