We at Mutabilitie like to keep busy but this afternoon was more manic than most! Driving my over-stuffed polo into town, I wasn't sure how to get the costume bundles currently nesting on the backseat of my car from the car park to our makeshift dressing room at Heffers, let alone manage the whole schedule of events that afternoon.
We owe everything to our willing volunteers. The real stars of this whole adventure, Andy, Paul, Rob, Matt and photographer Carl kept us going on Saturday. We're so indebted to them, I'm not convinced the chocolates and biscuits we keep giving them is payment enough.
So to Heffers we made it, changing in the underground warrens of the store before Holly, Radha and Radha's talented friend ventured upstairs to perform. Radha's haunting melodies told of Hans Christian Anderson fairytales. Accompanied by Matt and Paul on harmonica and percussion, the three songstresses did a fantastic job.
While this was going on overground, underground (wobbling free) were the rest of us. When Holly returned we headed to Hobson's Passage for the next phase of our cunning plan.
With delicate ballet movements, Max, Ellie, Holly and I took on the physicality of Summer Queen and courtiers. We handed out flowers to passers-by to signify love and warmth. Most people thought we wanted money in return: an example of the scepticism rife in our culture but that's another blog/rant altogether!
Our Prince discovered the Summer Queen and the two fell in love, shown through tender contact work. We think this made a decent impression - some outspoken young people yelled in our general direction that we looked like we were from Strictly Come Dancing. I'll gladly take this as a sign my costume makes me look like Kelly Brook...although Chris is far more talented than Brendan Cole.
Meanwhile Jared, our crowd-pleasing Wolf Butler, had taken his place at Cambridge Leisure park. We made our way there and whilst the Summer courtiers transformed into Ice Henchmen in the dressing rooms of the Junction Shed, the Prince and Summer Queen joined Wolf Butler outside.
The atmosphere of this expansive area took us by surprise; it proved to be the perfect setting. The modern landscape was a blank page upon which we could paint our scene and the people who walked by were in no rush, happy to stand and watch our movements for a few minutes. So Chris and I showed off our contact work and Jared sniffed around small children, to their delight. And once the Ice Henchmen appeared, even more spectacle drew the crowds in.
With our brave Wolf Butler's death, we had aimed to bring a dark shade to our fairytale and comments from crowds showed we'd succeeded. The cause of death may've only been mild-strangulation by icy ribbons but was sufficiently gruesome for people to feel real concern.
As we regrouped to shed our fairytale attire, the mood was bright, festive and optimistic - a stark contrast to that of the beginning of the afternoon! As a team, we'd made it through a challenging day, coming closer in the process and provided some onlookers with some festive entertainment on a bitterly cold December afternoon.
Holly and I are learning all the time during this project. We can see when our planning works and when it is stretched. We can see when we take on too much and how to make things more simple. We can also see that the busiest places are not always the best in which to perform; a captive audience will only be captive if they have the time to be. And perhaps, next time, we will invest in thermal underwear for all cast members.
We're continuing to bring a little magic to the cold streets of Cambridge. And to see faces like these, it's all worth it...
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