6 weeks to go

Not long to go now!

The idea of starting my own performance club began whilst I was holidaying in Naples back in October 2016.

My first impressions of the place were not good! There was a large amount of graffiti, scary armoured vehicles, buildings that were crumbling due to frequent earth quakes, and many homeless people, most of whom were unwell.

I can honestly say that I felt quite frightened for me and my 2 children, but thankfully it was very short lived.

After a bit of exploration I soon discovered that Naples was a true diamond in the rough.

At every corner when you would least expect it beautiful architecture would suddenly loom up in front of you in vibrant colours, laced with intricate designs and marble sculptures (mostly depicting scenes from the bible, but also a great many with a Greek Mythology element).

On our travels we came across a palace shrouded in scaffolding, at first I ignored it, but then curiosity got the better of me, and we decided to take a look inside.

I'm truly glad we did, because it was absolutely breath taking.

Whilst exploring the palace we came across a purposefully built Private theatre, which had marble sculptures surrounding the eaves depicting characters from Greek stage performances wearing masks and costumes.

It was here my club ideas began.

Memories of my mother and fathers drama group came flooding back, I was suddenly whisked back to a time when I was performing on stage as a child to a live audience of 100 + people.

It was at this precise moment that I decided I would try and restart the group myself, but as a performance club, rather than just drama.

As our holiday progressed, my ideas grew ever stronger. I was surrounded by a performing culture, had visited Herculaneum and Pompeii, climbed Vesuvius, and the little balcony attached to our hotel room reminded me of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, I was literally filled to bursting point with inspiration and ideas for stories and plays.

On our arrival home I set straight to work on my new adaptation of L Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz, and began preparations for The New Generation of the Box Tree Performance club.

Time has gone so fast since my Trip to Naples, but I am really looking forwards to this new adventure, and hope you are to.