Our first theatrical production SAB! (a satire about hunt saboteurs and the hunting fraternity) was a resounding success. We opened in a pub in Belfast before heading off for a week at the Edinburgh Fringe. There followed lots of hard and enjoyable work; we exhaustively marketed our show in Edinburgh (along with everyone else). One of our not so brilliant ideas perhaps was to create street tableaus in the High St where we struck poses, occasionally moving and speaking snatches of the plays dialogue. This served to confuse people who didn't realise we were advertising a show. However by the time we had finished we had made 30p, courtesy of some Japanese tourists!
We also manage to inadvertently gatecrash the Evening News Festival Cavalcade. We were already there before we realised that companies were supposed to register prior to partaking in the parade but in the true spirit of guerrilla theatre-making (?) we got around the barrier and walked on to Waverly Bridge where thousands of people turned their heads expectantly... It was only then that we discovered that the procession had not yet began and we were the only ones walking on the road! We were hastily removed by security. However it wasn't long before we found another gap in the barrier and as the parade began we surreptitiously tagged behind an American musical theatre group for the whole route (although we definitely lost sight of them at several stages on the way). This was much to the bemusement of the police, army, security and media, not to mention the mass crowds lining the streets who witnessed a man in drag, a bearded woman, a redcoat on a hobby horse and a fox in a wheelchair (due to Fringe foot injuries) charging down Princes Street as a peculiar mock hunt! Our debut entrance at the Fringe is one we will never forget.
Following this we had successful shows in Newcastle, London and Southampton. We worked wonderfully as a team and we were very aware and proud that we had created something good together.
By the end of the tour we had a three star review in The Scotsman and more importantly the written feedback from the audience was very positive. Advocates for Animals kindly provided us with audience questionnaires. If you wish to read the review or our audience comments click here.
Our audience consisted of such a broad variety of people and we were especially pleased that some people who saw us had never seen a piece of theatre ever before in their lives - which is very much in keeping with our policy of inclusion.
We are all delighted that the show was such a success and we cannot stress enough how overwhelmed we are by the support of family, friends and colleagues, who fed us, housed us and gave up their time and energy to support us. A big THANK YOU to everyone involved.
SAB! Reviews
Read our review from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and lots of audience comments HERE
SAB! Rehearsals
 The Cast (Jeremy Rycraft, Wendy Richardson, Tiran Aakel and Ruth Urquhart) |
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