How Do You Do It?

One question we get asked a lot is "Why?". As we have no answer to this, we thought it would be interesting to answer another regular question, "What processes do you go through to come up with that?" So please allow us to present to you The Dusty Fruit Diaries:

Jan/Feb 1997

Having toured for two years with PEASOUPER realise the time has come to do something else, even though David has only just learned the chords for Pedro's Mexican "She Is My Victoria (And I'm her Albert of Saxe Coburg-Gotha" song. We all decide the new show should be "something different"; discusions on the rights to 'The Woodentops' and 'Pogles Wood' end when Company Manager Angela reminds us that we want to be taken seriously. Ann comes up with the serious title 'Dusty Fruit', and David and Tim abandon all hopes of playing Spotty Dog on stage.

March

Discussions with Bim Mason concerning his availability to direct the new show. Very interested with "something different" idea; fact that he lives in Bristol, is proud new father of Gusto and has to find time to feed the sea lions at Circomedia (New Circus - New Sea lions) does not prevent him from joining the team. He isto join the usual suspects (Ann, David and Tim) performing, Alice Power designing, Mike Wight designing the lights and Andy Frizell digging the crazy rhythms. The Dusty Fruit Express has left the station...

April

Two weeks spent in Bristol discussing death. All are thoroughly depressed by the experience. Discover there are jugglers, actors, tightrope walkers, trapeze artists but no animals, not even Sea lions at Circomedia. Even more depressed.

May

After two weeks apart, one last week of discussions, improvisations and ideas, this time in Liverpool. During this week Alice and Andy have joined us to to talk about sets and at the end of the week we have a hatful of characters, scenarios and silly walks.

May-June

Whilst Ann and David work with Andy on the music (Ann re-learning the clarinet for the first time since she was 12), Alice works on the set design and Tim gives his Sega Mega Drive to Angela for the Summer (she scores over 50,000 on the Wild West Pinball) and sits in front of a blank Amstrad trying to piece together all the strands into A Play.

July-August

Serious hard graft back in Liverpool. Since the death discussions, comedy removal men have made an appearance. Even though there is now a script, the 'finished' script won't be complete till a few days before the show premieres in Edinburgh - in truth till a few days after it. Ideas keep coming from all angles: the house on the cliff from crumbling hills seen on tour in Belfast in May; spooky lampstand from a model design by Alice; sensuous descriptions of leaf mould and associated fauna from David's rural reminiscences, and all of these forced into a shape by ongoing discussions and tantrums between director, writer, actors and ensemble.

July 22nd

Ann's flat burns down. All inhabitants get out unscathed at 3am. Makes rehearsals somewhat awkward as Ann is attempting to deal with insurers, removal vans and stress, and fills the rehearsal room with the faint aroma of burnt sofa.

July 30th

Preview night. John Moores University. Too long, too hot and not funny enough. Apart from that we didn't know the words, the moves or much of the storyline. People's comments very helpful, as is the wine afterwards.

August 8th

Opening performance of the show after a week of rewrites and additions of possessed tea chests, boxes that move and cups that disappear. Bim watches the first two performance in Edinburgh and then the company is left on its own to add in all the jokes Bim didn't think were funny - fortunately before we do, the show starts to attract increasing audiences, good reviews and the odd award.

October onwards

The show on tour; only notable change is the addition of a stuffed toy (Hog) whom Bim had previously threatened to burn. Decide Hog may have to miss the show in Bristol...