Sweat and the City

I spent Thursday morning lugging the huge pieces of wood which made up the original Orientations set to the goods lift in Chocolate Factory 2, and then dumping them in the rubbish tip outside. Collage Arts have let the other half of the space to a graphic designer and his set-designing chum, and I need to clear enough stuff to accommodate them. Not sure yet what effect this will have on the office: but at least after I do my one-man stage management job there's a certain sweaty satisfaction in having get rid of something we've been meaning to chuck out for years.

Head down to the City, where Vanessa from Arts and Business has arranged for Owen and myself to meet up with Deborah Regal, who is no less than a Vice-President of JP Morgan, and therefore a very serious player in investment banking. On the way down, I catch an interview with Jay McInnery on the radio, talking about his new 9/11 novel, in which a central character is an investment banker. "These are the people who are running the world", he says. "The least we can do is treat them seriously". Indeed! What's fascinating about talking to Deborah is the links she sees between her work and ours: most of which are to do with being creative about the structures within which we operate (banking / theatre) and about cultural dialogue (she tells us about meetings in Saudi Arabia, where even a female Vice-President has to wear the veil). We'll see how this potential relationship develops, but first impressions seem to be very favourable in each direction. Not sure what she'll make of some of the ideas in our work on the subject of global capitalism..... but isn't that the joy of making theatre in a democracy? We can talk to people, and we don't always have to agree with one another in order to co-exist.

I get a very positive email from Ama Ata Aidoo. I've been looking at her work for a big production in 2007, and she's very positive about the idea. "Honoured" is the word she uses! She's honoured...... Time to set some balls rolling.