Those student days

Plans are afoot for a reunion of those involved in Student theatre at Cambridge in the mid eighties. Looking back it was an extraordinary privilege to be able to experiment, play and think you knew it all without any real professional input. It is strange to think that directors such as Sam mendes , Dominic Dromgoole, Tim Supple,Abigail Morris, actors like Tom Hollander, Jon Cake, Hugh Bonneville etc were all leading lights in student drama and went straight into the profession without any further academic training. I did at least go to do a post Grad at the Slade, but still maintain that Cambridge was where i really trained. The chance to do over thirty realised plays in 4 years from small scale to large operas and European tours was amazing. We built and painted  most  of the designs, i worked without making models, did a few drawings but mainly found stuff in skips, worked with what was in stores and did stupid things late at night up improvised scaffolding structures. Above all it taught me about working in a human scale and working with collaborators, those who happily stayed up all night for three days in a row with me to attempt to realise our over ambitious fantasies on time. I hope i still remember that lesson that you are only really as good as those who work around you.

tom Piper, Susannah walker and Imogen Clarke at cambridge in 1986

tom Piper, Susannah walker and Imogen Clarke at cambridge in 1986

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