"Not What I Was Expecting"

The tour is up and running in earnest, now. We have sped through York, Glasgow & Salford, and complete our run in Newcastle this weekend. Four beautiful venues ticked off, with many more thankfully still to come! Audience buzz has been fascinating to hear, whether it be in the auditorium when watching (now that I have the fabulous Alan Berry & Luke Holman both up and running as cover conductors), outside the theatre after a performance, or on social media. I have overheard the phrase “not what I was expecting” more often than not, thankfully in a positive tone!

It was a somewhat strange month, though, with the death of Queen Elizabeth II dominating the airwaves. The funeral didn’t have a huge effect on the run of Girl From The North Country as we weren’t scheduled to perform that day anyway, and audiences seemed to appreciate the escapism that the show offers. It has been lovely to see familiar faces coming to watch, with one or two even booking again immediately after watching, planning to bring more people to see the show! I’m so glad that it resonates with my friends and family in the same way it has with me.

October is more of the same, as we travel to Bath, Nottingham, Edinburgh and Cheltenham all within the space of this month. The challenge at the moment is squeezing the show into smaller houses like Bath and Cheltenham, whilst also expanding it for the likes of Salford and Edinburgh. Our tech teams continue to work their magic in this regard, with the show looking and sounding fabulous every time.

Finally I’m delighted to be once again taking part in the MD Mentorship Scheme in its second year, with plans already to meet my current mentee, Rob, in person this month so that we can get cracking on various projects.