3 for 3

So we are done! Our South American adventure has come to a close. Well almost...i'm using the opportunity to head to Rio and see what all the fuss is about. Only for a couple of days, as i've got an appointment with Open Look Festival in St Petersburg starting on the 1st July. It's a been a pretty wham bam type of affair in Sao Paulo. Often when a project like this comes to a close, when there's been so much build up and work to make it all happen and then it's over, you can be left with the question of who really benefits for all this effort? Or at least i am. I have a constant dialogue with myself on this subject. But i think one ought to question what you're doing...keep yourself on the right track...or at least the right track for you. But if i had to look at the outcomes i would say it has been an excellent learning experience for R2M to organise, mount and deliver the show in such far off foreign lands. The show has been super well received...3 for 3 on the standing ovations. And although that's great, what actually tickles my fancy is the fact that you can make a piece of work in a completely different country with a different cultural and social background. Then present this piece somewhere else and it's accepted. They get it. Whether it's everyone's cup of tea or not is fine, but people can relate to the show and get some enjoyment from it. That is a success for me...and for R2M. And we have built relationships. With audiences, with fellow artists, those in training and our theatre colleagues. The Cultura Inglesa team did an excellent job in bringing the work to Brazil and supporting us while we were here. It is these professional relationships, based on a mutual desire to see work happen, that can be so enriching as well as the surprise outcomes that result from such activity. And, in my opinion, establishing such relationships are fundamental in the dissemination of art and culture. Because whether you question what you're doing or not, or if sometimes you can't see the end point....what matters is to do it, to put something out there in the first place. Because if you're looking for answers, then there first has to be a question. Anyhow, enough semi-philosophical musings. I'm about to depart to Rio. Apparently it's raining....but...it's still Rio :)

Setting up at Teatro Celia Helena

No room for vertigo in this job

Video and set team

Chief of LX at Teatro Celia Helena

Rolling out the red carpet

Now i would have left a video of Rio by Duran Duran here for you to watch, because that ties in nicely doesn't it! But, unfortunately, the wifi network i'm using won't allow access to video sites. So just imagine.....Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand....(you know the rest)...