Almost
a week since we finished tour, here is (finally) my third (and final) blog
about our adventure across this fair island.
Tuesday
and Wednesday we played in Harrogate. You might not imagine
Harrogate to be a city hungry for a show about a riotous punk band trying to
smash the system, and yet we had some lovely audiences well up for a bit of
shouting and a bit of roaring. First show we had Harrogate Youth
Theatre coming along and joining in with some superb dinosaur
impressions. The next night was a battalion of friendly faces and a
great way to finish off the show in Yorkshire.
But
London awaited! And many hours, many Lucozades and many crisps and sweets
we finally arrived at the Big Smoke. And across the run I saw many
old friends from Youth Theatre days, University days and modern day
punk/activist communities. We had plenty of strangers too, coming
along to see this Northern chap tell his story.
During
the run it was announced Trump would be visiting the country in July, which
helped with a little ripple of potential trouble-making to coincide with a show
about resistance. I did, of course, take time to pay extortionate
London prices to see Avengers: Infinity War where I topped up some
Nerd Points after stacking up on Punk Points.
I
can honestly say that every single audience were vastly different. Some
audiences were polite, respectful and really drew in the full story. Others
chatty, forward and became part of the DNA of the show. Some audiences really
clicked with the world and characters, others found the Henryness of the show
their way into the production.
I’m
so proud of what we achieved. No funding from Arts Council England,
touring purely based on generous donations from audiences and the fees of the
few theatres we were programmed into. Me and Natalie have cemented
ourselves as Vandal Factory and we’re dead proud of all the connections we made
across the UK. Thanks so much to everyone who programmed us, came to
see the show or supported us in the venues.
Keep
an eye out for Vandal Factory in the future with our upcoming shows, workshops
and PLANS FOR MASS REVOLUTION.
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