Castel Gandolfo – director update

‘Just completed the first week of rehearsal for Castel Gandolfo, Jim Nolan’s new play. It’s good to be back in the rehearsal room and we have a very strong cast led by the effervescent Carrie Crowley with whom I staged Footfalls some years ago. We have managed to complete a first blocking which I always refer to as a sketch and in the coming weeks we will fill in all the detail. In addition we have done some very good work on the text, tightening it up wherever we can. Jim is very receptive to actor and director input and understands that we are all trying to make the work sharper and more incisive. It’s amazing that no matter how much you do in advance at the desk it’s only on the floor that you find out what earns its keep and what is surplus to requirement. This is my sixth new play with Jim ranging back to Moonshine in 1991 and taking in The Salvage Shop, Blackwater Angel, Skyroad and Brighton. We fight like an old couple in rehearsal but hopefully we’ve got the hang of how to do this by now. Day off today. Looking forward to week two.’
Ben Barnes (Director)