CFY 🛫 CFA

I have finally touched down in Leicester to start rehearsals for CFA (Come From Away), a tour which runs from March until January next year. Our first ‘official’ day of rehearsal is tomorrow, with the traditional Meet & Greet giving way to working on the show ‘from the top’, but in reality we have actually already spent a few days in our rehearsal studio at Curve Theatre. Pre-rehearsals have included a movement session, dialect coaching, music learning (yep, the entire score taught) and table read-throughs, plus much chat about the show’s context. Not wanting to give away too much yet, but yeah you’ll want to come and see this lot in action!

January was a good chance to rest after a fabulous end to the run of CFY (Crazy For You). With all that packed away, I had the chance to chill out at my parents in the New Year before seeing my sister (and her own show) in Hamburg, and the much-anticipated trip to Prague & Rome with my parents to celebrate their 70th birthdays. This was truly a trip to remember, with stunning architecture and history around every corner, a lovely vibe (although quite different in each city!) and wonderful cuisines to try. The five-course Czech tasting menu in Prague was a particular highlight! I won’t bore you with holiday snaps here, but I’ve popped some of them up on Instagram & Facebook.

So February is devoted (as ever) to full-time rehearsals for this next show. We have two weeks in the rehearsal room before we add the full band in the third week, then we tech and open ready for our first preview on 1st March. There’s a great deal to squeeze into those few weeks, but rehearsing in Leicester - and subsequently being put up nearby - is creating a proper boot camp feel that certainly helps to focus on the matter in hand. I’ll report back on that experience fully in next month’s update!