"Would you call yourself a serial apologist?" asked Hannah Walker of the 12 people gathered round the table for her discussion-come-poetic-performance of 'This is Just To Say'. How often do you find yourself apologising on a day-to-day basis? Is 'sorry' always the right thing to say and do we always mean it?
For this exploration of apology, the Room Upstairs was transformed into a cosy, twinkling, confessional as guests drank wine and pondered the 'terribly British' overuse of this get-out-of-jail-free tool. We measured the validity of one apology against another, we shared our own apologies, we read apologies from people from all over the country and we listened as Hannah twisted and turned the words into insightful, sometimes tongue-in-cheek sometimes heartfelt, verse.
This wasn't an average theatre experience. You couldn't sit back and let the evening wash over you - the content was too real and too personal for that. As Hannah gently questioned, explained, and shared her own experiences, we scribbled thoughts and ideas, asked our own questions and confronted our own lost apologies.
For an hour I shared a conversation with a group made up of friends and total strangers, got lost in thought, and was moved to the verge of tears before laughing so much that my sides ached. The discussions we had, the lines she spoke and the words I wrote stayed with me long after I had returned home and for me, that's exactly what theatre should do.
- Charlie Kemp, Audience Development and Participation Project Worker
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