The Mountain and the Tree

Just a reminder for those of you who may not have seen it that I'm planning a combined picnic and Midsummer Night's Dream readthrough on July 11th, in probably-Finsbury-Park but possibly somewhere else. There's a poll here>, and if you'd like to come and haven't filled it in please do so soonish.

I haven't done any firm casting, so nobody is in with much more of a chance at any given role than anyone else. (Unless it's Puck - if you want to play Puck instead of me, you're going to have to talk damn fast.) I already have far too many good actors who would be astounding at the roles, so a bit more pain of indecision won't hurt, and I want to see all of you. Preferably all playing everything, but we must confine ourselves to practicalities.

I'm not going to have any spare crash space, but on the other hand it's going to be very much an early-afternoon affair (figuring on starting by 14:00) and the odds are high that in the event it's needed someone in London will have a few square feet.

Just had a very nice chat with Rossella Black at the Westminster Arts Reference Library, who was very keen on the Sodom readthrough. We're not going to be using the space there for this, but I intend to arrange something there next month, after Sodom and the Woodhouse Players triple bill (which I'm doing lighting for) are over and done with.

What they normally do, apparently, is hold readings by actors, open to the public, during the day or the evening. Socially responsible ones and ones with interesting themes and so on given preference - you know the left-liberal drill. They typically offer refreshments, but don't charge, unless they can get sponsorship to tart things up a bit.

[Edit: their Facebook events diary is here.]

Who fancies joining me in this?
( poll below cut )

I'm back from a weekend in the Raj - well, in Belper, actually. Which for those of you who (like me) had never heard of it is a small town near Derby. Nineteen of us stayed in a converted Baptist chapel and read through (the television adaptation of) Paul Scott's Raj Quartet novels. It was a lot of fun, with some fairly intense dramatic moments, and a certain amount of dressing up in Indian clothing and eating Indian food.
( long )