Pit Lab – The Barbican

GaryDirecting, saltpeter, Tonseisha - The Man Who Abandoned The World

Tonseisha at the Pit Lab – Barbican There is a pretty well kept secret in London, and it is The Pit Lab at the Barbican. I was lucky enough, together with the saltpeter creative team to spend 5 days there last week progressing our ongoing project Tonseisha – The Man Who Abandoned The World. The Pit Theatre Laboratory Barbican/Guildhall Creative Learning … Read More

Tonseisha at RFO

GaryDirecting, saltpeter, Tonseisha - The Man Who Abandoned The World

I am currently rehearsing another excerpt from Tonseisha – The Man Who Abandoned The World, this time for Rough For Opera at The Cockpit London on October 15th (there are apparently still tickets available). Tonseisha is a long term project I am undertaking with saltpeter. Tonseisha, the play, is by american playwright Erik Patterson, and composer Kim Ashton and I … Read More

Electric Typewriter

GaryDirecting, saltpeter, Tonseisha - The Man Who Abandoned The World

In the rehearsal room all week putting together an extract from Tonseisha – The Man Who Abandoned The World for a staging at the Dinefwr Literature Festival at the end of this month as part of ‘The Brautigan Book Club Trilogy’. I‘ve blogged elsewhere about Erik Patterson’s sensational play, and how with the aid of composer Kim Ashton I am … Read More

The Fever – Brighton – Review

GaryDirecting, saltpeter, The Fever

“Bold and inspired production of an astonishing play” The writer of this play, Wallace Shawn, first performed it himself in an apartment near 7th Avenue in New York City in 1990. He deliberately wrote it to be gender-neutral and able to be performed by actors of almost any age to small groups at a time. Saltpeter’s director Gary Merry has … Read More

The end of The Fever

GaryDirecting, saltpeter, The Fever

Another staging of The Fever is done and dusted. Sunday night in Brighton proved to be very successful, with a good crowd in, and some very positive feedback. The success of the evening, almost entirely due to the performers, reaffirms my belief that The Fever should be performed more, and there will be more on the way. The photo above … Read More

The Fever – online interview

GaryDirecting, saltpeter, The Fever

Here’s the text of an online question and answer interview my co-producer/performer Vera Chok and I undertook for Fringe Review. What’s the title of your show? – The Fever by Wallace Shawn Where is it playing, on what dates, and at what times? It’s a one-off at The Brighton Media Centre Gallery – Venue 73 May 22nd, 7.30pm What is … Read More

The Fever – Stir crazy

GaryDirecting, saltpeter, The Fever

Feeling decidedly stir crazy. Some of the cast of The Fever are out of the country, and some off working on other projects, hence we won’t be rehearsing again until next week. So I just have the script to read, and re-read, and the opportunity to indulge in the slightly annoying habit (it would seem annoying to you if you … Read More

The Fever – Rehearsals begin

GaryDirecting, saltpeter, The Fever

I am naturally disinclined to explain what I think a play is about. As I have stated elsewhere I am quite likely to answer any enquiry about the nature of a play with the answer “come and see it, and find out”. However I have to admit that a little context, a hint about the kind of work an audience … Read More

If you didn’t catch The Fever…

GaryDirecting, saltpeter, The Fever

If you didn’t catch The Fever at the People Show Studios in December, you can at the Brighton Festival Fringe. saltpeter presents Wallace Shawn’s Obie Award winning The Fever A one-off site specific ensemble piece Venue: Brighton Media Centre Gallery Date: Sunday, 22 May 2011 Staging The Fever is an ongoing project for saltpeter. We believe that The Fever is … Read More

The Fever – Brighton Festival Fringe

GaryDirecting, saltpeter, The Fever

For the record, it is not easy to find a venue for even a one-off performance, a week before registration closes for the Brighton Festival Fringe… Having very successfully staged The Fever at the People Show Studios late last year, and with a shared belief that you can never have too many performances of it, Vera Chok of saltpeter and … Read More