On the Road - National Tour of Pact

Its saturday morning and time to settle down with a coffee and piece of toast to write this week's blog. Well it was a whirlwind! Pact our new play about snitching hit the road for its first National Tour sponsored by British Transport Police. The week started with the tour bus heading off to Halifax on Sunday, Huddersfield on Monday, Liverpool on tuesday, Cardiff on Wednesday and Birmingham on Friday - off to Peterborough on Sunday. I joined the well seasoned team on Wednesday after a great performance of Boy X at Maria Fidelis Convent in Camden. Jordan Barrett who is lead actor in both shows returned from the Pact tour for this special performance in Camden as part of their Justice day. Young people got to see the show, meet women prisoners and learn more about the justice system. Hot foot from that show, Jordan and I hit the road to drive to Cardiff. Long journey, softened by a great conversation about theatre, acting and performing our shows in extraordinary places. We met the rest of the team in the sparse Travelodge in Cardiff and hit the local night life! well actually a grubby, sticky floored football bar! and watched the Arsenal V Leyton Orient match, Olly was there! At least the O's got their moment at the Emirates!

The performances of Pact were at Cardiff City Hall - plush and imposing buildings and a show performed on a carpet for 40 young people. It was great, lots of good debate about snitching and where we all stand on it. Great team from BTP,  and thanks Gary for being such a great host. And then we were off to Birmingham, Great Barr in fact to another sparse Travelodge miles from any food. So the team ordered pizza and I retreated to TV, chocolate and some catching up on work. Shows in Great Barr High School and Collmers the next day were great.  The hall we were in had about 20 young people on detention, but they were so intrigued by what we were setting up that I roped them in to help us transform the space, Connie, Leanne, Jack and Jasmine were great - and then the shows went down a storm. In the middle of this I had a conversation with Julie, one of the BTP officers, and she told me that she was very happy to be out with us for the day as she had had a very tough week, five days in a row she had picked up bodies, and parts of bodies from suicides on the railway, one was a 15 year old girl who was being bullied. Julie then had to go and inform the girl's parents. I asked her how she copes with it , and she said its very very hard. This one particularly got her emotionally. I know for a fact that I could not begin to do her job, and there are many jobs like this that people do that the rest of us couldn't. Serious respect to the BTP, doing the jobs most people could not cope with.

A long drive home listening to Radio 4 about intergenerational experiences of being prisoners, fine and appropriate diet to end a week like mine! Home to my retreat and a weekend of relaxation!

Jordan Barrett and Peyvand Sadeghian in Pact at Cardiff City Hall

Pact film is now on Vimeo and Youtube - if you have a spare moment, please have a look and let us know what you think! Till the next time. Have a great weekend.