To start the year

So how have the first few weeks of 2013 treated you?

They’ve treated me quite well, with loads of performative stuff going on. Firstly there is all the news from the Bayard’s Colts shows. The video for The Alchemist and The Devil is available online through a link on the Colts project website – you can also find the video for Robin Hood and The Giant on there – so please have a view if you’ve got the time spare (shows about 45min each). If you want some mumming goodness but don’t have three quarters of an hour, how about watching the four minute music video for The Tat Man Song on YouTube?

The Lovers & The Pirates at Bookmark Bloxwich.

We are a company! Over the course of the shows so far the rag-tag group of wannabe mummers, made up of a variety of folk from first time performers to drama graduates and seasoned actors, have become a performance company. We are happy to welcome new people into the fold, but we are no longer a bunch of people having a laugh and putting on a show, we are a company of players that have a helluva fun time creating entertainment for the masses.

As a company, we have been invited to perform at events and festivals on top of our cycle of plays in Walsall. I will let you know the details of these performances in due course. In the meantime I’d like to tell you that the rehearsals for the next Colts play have got off to a roaring start. The Lovers and The Pirates will be performed in Walsall Town Centre on Saturday 16th February at the top of the market. If you fancy sitting down to watch this fantastic play about canoodling, corsairs and (of course) colts, then you can book tickets to watch a stage production of The Lovers and The Pirates on Sunday 17th February at Bookmark Bloxwich.

Blank Paige is coming along brilliantly as well. Tickets for the performance at the Arena Theatre are available on their website so get booking now folks. I’ll let you know as and when I get confirmation of other performances of this brilliantly written indie rom-com.

Finally I would like to invite everybody around my home town of Walsall to look out over the next few years as WWI commemoration events are advertised. I will be involved in a project spanning the next three years, culminating in a performance in the town centre and I’m sure I’ll be filling in details on here as the project progresses.

Have fun with whatever you’re up to, if you’re in snowy Britain, keep warm and take care when you’re venturing out.

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P.S. If you are snowed in and want ideas for things to do, try watching Star Wars in a new way. too//damn//ninja has pointed out the “Machete Order” in a recent tumblr post. If you don’t follow his postings around the web already, I can highly recommend too//damn//ninja’s various musings.

Happy New Year folks.

The last couple of weeks of the year have been amazing – sorry I couldn’t say anything before hand it was a secret. I flew out to Australia to surprise my best friend in order to celebrate his 30th birthday. In his own words, “Best. Birthday. Ever.”
As this happened on the 20th December it was a bit of a no-brainer not to stay for Christmas. Let me tell you folks, barbequed turkey is all kinds of win. Every Christmas meal should be in high 30′s on the Celsius scale and include a nice long dip in a pool between the main course and Christmas Pud!

Looking back on the past year, it has been brilliant.
I have been playing great venues and fantastic gigs as Pirate Jimm Yaharr!; with my business partner I have produced a play; I have been more involved in the Sports and Leisure Industries departments at work – providing technical cover in the Sports Labs for a few weeks and joining the LI students on a couple of field trips; I’ve helped supply lyrics for a cantata; I have gone trans-Atlantic and visited New York; the team I work in won an award for our commitment to customer service; I’ve joined a gym; I’ve done some freelance lighting design; I [almost accidentally] got involved in celebrations in Walsall ending the U.K.’s great Summer of Celebration (the jubilee, the Olympics and Paralympics, the Cultural Olympiad, etc…); I’ve joined a troupe of mummers and thoroughly enjoyed appearing in two of their street theatre shows; I have ranted on a vaguely political agenda; I’ve delved into the artistic sectors of Birmingham and the Black Country; I’ve been cast in a play for next year; I’ve made a couple of contacts which will hopefully lead to some filmed acting roles (possibly for television); I’ve arranged a surprise birthday celebration for my best friend; I’ve crossed the equator to visit Australia; I’ve had a ton of ideas – some of which have been dropped, some are under development – for scripts, plays and other performative projects; I’ve spent some amazing times with my wife, my family and my friends.
For more details of all of the above, read the blog posts below from January onwards!

An important note I’d like to make is that none of the above items in my life have been solo efforts. Even the ideas I’ve had have been influenced by others. Without the support of my friends and family, or without opportunities being presented to me by others I would not have been able to do any of the above. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have helped me achieve so much in the last 12 months.

In the words of Tom Lehrer’s possibly fictional friend Hen3ry, “Life is like a sewer – what you get out of it depends on what you put into it.”*
At the moment; back home with the love of my life, my family, good friends and great memories of an awesome week spent in the Aussie Summer sun celebrating my best mate’s 30th and Christmas; looking back over what a varied and full year I’ve just had, my own ‘sewer’ currently smells of roses and overflows with joy and happiness. Life is what you make it. This year I’ve made it legen—wait for it—dary. True story.

With that in mind I’d like to wish all of my avid blog readers (both of you) an amazing new year. May 2013 bring you everything you need – whether you know it or not.

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*I prefer this version of the phrase than the chocolatey one everybody quotes from Forrest Gump.

“#Once a jolly Tat Man…” came in off the street to play.

Yesterday (Saturday 24th Nov) the Bayard’s Colts moved indoors for a couple of special performances. The head of the project, Tony Kemshall of the Walsall Civic Society, gave a presentation about the Colts, the project, it’s research and the plays. Following this the Tat Man, Nell and their company of players presented The Alchemist and The Devil.

It was marvelous!

A little bit different from the street performances, with a roof over our heads, stage lighting and a seated audience the show felt closer in style to pantomime rather than mummery, but the important part remained – the audience enjoyed themselves and so did we!

And so now another Bayard’s Colts play is put to bed. The next one will be in February. If you would like to get involved, drop me a line and I’ll put you in touch with the director. Rehearsals start on Wednesday 9th January 2013.

Catch you next time.