In Summer 2013, So & So Circus Theatre disbanded.
Kaveh is directing & performing under his company, Nearly There Yet, whilst Lauren is producing other contemporary circus companies with The Production Shed.
Kaveh continues to run workshops at Jacksons Lane; and Lauren has moved to Glasgow and teaches at Aerial Edge.
Here are the first of photos for Backgammon for Beginners, taken by Bertil Nilsson (currently exhibiting at the Roundhouse as part of CircusFest). At this point, we didn’t really know what shape the show was going to take- hence Martha Harrison being in them, although she wasn’t in the show.
It was organised last minute, in the only 2 hours that all 4 of us, plus Bertil were free. I had been internet shopping for 70s clothes (with next-day delivery) in blind panic. Kaveh picked up a couple of “Iranian-looking” things from around the house- a rug, the backgammon board, an old suitcase. We were kindly offered the studio space by Broadway Theatre, Barking and by some unlikely chance, these lovely photos came out. It was one of the most stressful days of my life (besides when we woke up late to get the ferry from Liverpool to Dun Loaghaire).
Tour ‘bus’. It did us fairly well, until I left the handbrake on most of the way to Sevenoaks.
A huge poster in Doncaster. Sadly advertised the show for 9pm- which was when it finished, not started.
The team having a curry after the Doncaster show. Jules Millard (technician), Roshi Nasehi (singer), Mish Weaver (director) and us,
A slightly bizarre set-up in Hornchurch, with massive trees framing the stage. Not quite what our wonderful designer, Sue Mayes, had in mind!
Kaveh stretching in Queens Theatre, Hornchurch.
Mimosa remembers the simple pleasures of not being an adult, during her work experience week.
Mimosa’s mega display at the Hat Factory, Luton. It was so good, we accidentally left it all behind.
Jules’ mean machines.
The Don himself.
Luxurious accommodation- no expense spared for our touring family!
The outside of our fine establishment; more self-storage than hotel. The take-away delivery man wished us luck.
Kaveh thrashes Rob in the Roundhouse studio.
Costumes in Ludlow.
Jules and Kaveh in the lovely studio at the Lighthouse, Poole. We wished we could take their beautiful dark wooden floor with us.
And at the end of every tour; Mangal 2. The finest kebab in all of glorious London. No matter how much we loved touring (and oh, we did), we were always happy to be fed this wondrous meat by Mustafa, usually whilst sitting next to Gilbert & George.
On the 17th of March we went to Hemel Hempstead with ‘The Hot Dots‘. The stage was rather small, though adding to intimacy. We found ourselves really close to the front row while on-stage! There will be more of ‘The Hot Dots’ in Austria this year, if anyone missed that spectacular show!
‘We’ve been coming to the venue for 25 years and this is the best show we’ve ever seen!’ Audience member, March 2012, Hemel Hempstead !
Yesterday and today have been spent painting our set for the new show. Sue, our designer, and master prop maker and set painter Andy Greenfield were hard at work yesterday at Jacksons Lane while our new marketing and publicity intern and I trekked the streets of Highgate flyering our little hearts out. It’s no wonder posties always look so fit. It’s exhausting trudging round houses. Especially when the houses are all huge so you spend 5 minutes just walking up the drive! Let’s hope it all pays off. Couple of pics below from the set painting. Studio 5 looked like a surreal other planet…….
So & So Circus Theatre 