Pete Hartley: sometime dramaturg, perennial scribbler
It was always a tumbleweed moment. I considered it vital, upon meeting a new drama class, to make the first lesson active and fun. The final fifteen minutes would be allocated for a sit-down discussion. The question was simple enough. “So, what is drama?” Some of the participants were new to drama, others had done it for two years, or five years or in some cases – if they’d been to drama clubs – ten years. The answer was invariably. . . Silence.
An appreciation of Illyria Theatre's production of Peter Pan at Lytham Hall, Lancashire in August 2022.
A four mile walk to see the source of Lancashire's longest river.
Why you should not ‘support’ theatre “Theatre is like sex,” so said director Sir Richard Eyre in a TV interview that I used to show to drama students. That statement demonstrated why he was such a good director. In just four words he got the attention of the audience and had them wanting to know … Continue reading New molecules please
Proclaiming the triumph of the unspoken flowers.
The Talents of Mr McGarrigle There's the unique; then there's the resplendently unique; and then there's the regeneratively unique. The latter kind of uniqueness is one that continuously reforms itself without losing the integrity of its unparalleled state. The Talents, a work of literature by Carl McGarrigle, is one such creation. Here's the elevator pitch … Continue reading Tick-Wok
Summer solstice: a natural crime story.
A balcony and the best breakfast in Brixham.
Last September, just before the Harris Museum in Preston closed for three years for renovations, I slipped in for a private rendezvous with a woman with whom I have secretly communed for many years. She never looks a day older. She says nothing, but imparts a great deal. I can't see her any more, and … Continue reading Psyche Gate
Horticultural heat, hammock-time again. Flies that hover and can carpet-bomb, hedgehogs braving the road, frogs inside a goblin; and those dusky lips.
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