I can be forgiven for leaving the driving to Grimy and dismissing the need for a paper map saying,
"How many theatres can there be?" But I can't be let off the hook for ignoring an email from the play's writer and director, Stephen Loveless, actually telling me the correct venue especially as he's responsible for teaching me some of the noble arts of Creative Writing. Maybe Map Reading would've been more appropriate. Damn!
Anyway, getting to Bedford was a doddle and after driving past the catchily titled "Indiya" curry house at least three times, we found a free car park near the Corn Exchange. I bet you've had a moment after a long car journey where all the vehicle's occupants pointed to the nearest large building and shouted in unison "That's it!" before being overcome by a sense of great relief that public facilities are nearby. And as we dashed to the front door, hopeful of finding a friendly face and a poster for our play we were disappointed. Instead of "Asena" an Out of the Box production, we found Tin Lizzy ... that fine tribute band dedicated to the works of Phil Lynott. Oops.
Grimy made a break for the Gents while Grunilda nursed her aching feet and I was surrounded by bouncers trying to explain where I thought we were supposed to be. "Never 'eard of it!" they said. Eleven iPhones and still clueless! As we were early at this juncture it didn't matter being misdirected by the locals and so set off in the vague direction of where there might be another theatre and honestly, if we'd carried on walking we would have found one in Norwich by now. Anyway, the local branch of Ladbrokes were very helpful and sent us back towards the Corn Exchange, and some friendly students speculated it might be the school theatre and when they all pointed in different directions I finally appreciated just how lost we were.
Grunhilda's feet were giving her terrible gyp by the time we got back to the Corn Exchange and I was about to give up and buy tickets for Tin Lizzy when a nice chap said "Follow me, I'll take you around to the school myself because it's a 8ugger to find." Praise be ... and so, on a beautiful Summer evening we finally made it to the theatre just a little bit late to see "Asena" which is a moving, mesmerising performance by the actress Genevieve Cleghorn and should not be missed. I can only share these words from the flyer ...
"ASENA is a one-woman play exposing the horrors of sex trafficking through the personal story of a young Albanian woman whose life became irrevocably changed after being trafficked into the UK." And please take a look at the reviews at:
http://www.bedfordshire-news.co.uk/Lifestyle-and-leisure/Theatre/Powerful-drama-tackles-disturbing-issue-of-today-31082012.htm
The reviews don't really do justice to Genevieve and Stephen's work but do go some way to telling a horrifying story of one young woman's experiences. I urge those of you in the region of the Corpus Christi Playroom in Cambridge to get down there between the 4th and 8th of December and show your support. Or contact outofthebox2010ltd@gmail.com for more information. Better still, if you run a small theatre and are looking for exceptional plays, please book this one.
Tip of the Blog: After a lovely week with my feet up in the garden, I've returned to the Retail Cathedral and as I walked in the door my Raven heart sank through the floor. The stock room I'd religiously tidied before I left was a tip, the staff room was full of detritus and my Keep Calm and Carry On mug had been left lip-down in the awful sink where someone empties the mop bucket. Worse, my early start this Saturday to accommodate Alphonse's birthday curry had been replaced by a late shift. I finally realised I've lost the battle with nearly weeping with frustration, I've decided to leave them to their misery and quit.
Raven
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