Back at the Astor after 4 years......

Here we are back in Nova Scotia after four years, and it’s been a pleasure once again. It’s been great to see the friends we made last time again, and the welcome has been as warm as ever. But I’m sure all this has been said already, so I’ll cut to my peronal edited highlights...

I’ve rarely been as nervous as I was waiting to go on to do Fancying Sheep in 2008, but four years on that hadn’t changed, as we stood through the inevitable delay. Fine for us merely getting anxious, but poor Sarah in the box couldn’t have known when we’d be starting, and Blair’s design, incorporating generous holes for carrying - and breathing if you happen to be inside - came into its own. Thanks Blair. The show wouldn’t have been the same if we’d had to start it by reviving Sarah.

The show went well, which was a relief for me. I’d been nervous about taking the devil role immortalised by young Mills, and trying to find physical stuff that would work, as well as not forgetting my lines. No repeat of a recent rehearsal - “as ‘e gorn?.....................line?” was required, but I didn’t feel I’d nailed it physically either. Neil’s advice was timely: “Say your lines and don’t bump into anything.” I took it to heart...

Yesterday the human mortality theme - taken up by numerous other shows as well as ours - was carried on when Rob and Blair kindly took us over to Coffin Island. Aside from the name, Jerry took the controls on the way over and proceeded to win the shooting contest later in the afternoon. Driven to Coffin Island by Death, the deadliest shot in the New World.

Steve Wride