“New york, new york
I want to wake up in a city, that never sleeeeeeeps...”
Dear New York,
Frank Sinatra loved you so much he sang a song about you; and boy, do we love you too. Really and truly a city that never sleeps. The lights, the streets, the people, the food man you guys know how to live life in the fast lane. Such an incredible city; filled to the brim with never ending excitement and beeping yellow taxi’s, waffles for breakfast and vintage shops you could get lost in forever. Just, incredible.
We strutted our stuff down 5th Avenue in our tartan attire for the Tartan Day Parade, ate like kings, witnessed the beginnings of a flash mob pillow fight and learned how to jaywalk as Jeremiah assured us that ‘Cabs won’t run you over, they get into real trouble if they do that.
We had such a phenomenal time, can’t wait to visit again. Our Director, Sandy Thomson, is already planning her return visit in October– a research trip in preparation for our a new script and a developing project that gives a bit rough love to the world’s best known classic play (more of these later. Watch out for news as our plans for world domination roll ever onwards).
So we staged ‘To Kill A Kelpie’ in both Theatre 80 St Marks Place and St Luke’s – just off the insanity of Times Square. Huge thank you to both venues. We workshopped a Shakespearean Bad Quarto with Toby Malone, Jeremiah, Patrick and Michael in ways that would have made the Bard cackle with joy.
Heartfelt thank yous also go to all of the following people for making our time in NYC so fantastic: Lauren Brown our ninja-esque designer/production manager, Gavin and his photographic skills, Sandra from Wooster Group for first class information and chat, PS122 to for hosting our understudy rehearsals and workshop madness, Toby for embarking the most ridiculously paperwork-challenged flying visit from Toronto to New York to be with us as we plot and plan, our chatty colleagues at Skirlball Centre and St. Ann’s Warehouse and Pam and Stop the Silence: Stop Child Sexual Abuse, our partner organisation for Kelpie.
And of course Matthew McVarish, Allan Lindsay and Jeremiah for rehearsing and performing a beautiful and extremely challenging play with verve, commitment and joy.
By Matthew McVarish. Directed by Sandy Thomson. A Poorboy theatre production co-produced with Stop the Silence: Stop Child Sexual Abuse, Inc. Supported by Creative Scotland. In association with The Moira Anderson Foundation