Triliteral is all over. Can you believe it? All those months of me rambling and complaining about the rigours of the festival have finally reached their conclusion. It has already been a week since the first Triliteral show, The Price of Legs, made its debut at the Broadway Cinema, and it has taken this long for me to recuperate enough to write a celebrational blog!
Last weekend was altogether stunning. It was remarkable to see all the cast, production members and random well-wishers working together to make the Triliteral shows top-notch, and all nine came together beautifully. Admittedly there were one or two technical ‘hiccups’** on a couple of shows due to yours truly, but all were superbly acted and genuninely terrific pieces of theatre. It was also great to see so many people turn up to see the Festival and give it the buzz it needed- if Triliteral had made any more of an impact there would be a huge, smouldering crater where Hockley used to be.
It never really struck me until the festival itself just how ambitious our task was. No-one told me putting on nine different plays at the same time would be such a challenge! What with setting up spaces, stage lights, organizing box offices and prepping actors 3 times a day, we had our work cut out for us. But, by Jove, our dogged determination and general blind optimism saw us through. Still, we couldn’t have done it without the legions of people helping out, and everyone involved deserves a sound thump on the back. A long thank-you list is on its way.
It was also great that writers took such a shine to the Festival. Every single successful Triliteral candidate was there to see their play being performed, some coming from as far afield as Cumbria and Glasgow! I hope these nine literary masters enjoyed Halden Theatre’s interpretation of their work- so far nobody has tried to sue us, so I’m taking that as a good sign.
I found it thoroughly inspiring to work alongside so many talented and enthusiastic people over the weekend, and I can only hope that others liked it as much as I did. The boisterous after-after-party at chez Pilgrim was well-earned indeed.
For a producer, it seems, there is no greater joy than seeing a production come together flawlessly. I must admit to feeling a bit deflated now it’s all over…but hey, the Fringe isn’t too far away!
Richie G
*I felt the need for an Abba-related title due to the massive number of times Daniel and I listened to the Mamma Mia! soundtrack during the rehearsal period.
**Euphemism of the year.
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