Last night (the 17th of August) we had our final preview before heading to Edinburgh. It was in Dempseys in Cardiff (a big thank you to them for letting us use the room upstairs) and we had a good crowd in of about 25 people. The show itself went quite well - a few things to tidy up but lets face it - we don't want to peak too soon!! It was the first time that we've used the new set and it felt good - thank you to Katie who has done a great job for us. God bless those people who have sat through the play a number of times now, we really appreciate your support and comments.

From a personal point of view, it was quite intimidating to walk out in front of an audience of friends and family - I think I knew 95% of the people there. It was good preperation for the Fringe and I doubt I'll feel that intimidated again!!

It is strange to think that maybe, just maybe we have done the show for the final time in Wales (I doubt this as Al and I get on really well and I'm sure that during one of our many 'quiet times' in the next few years, we'll get together for one last, last, last and final hurrah! I can already hear the groans from our loyal followers.) But we hope that - for now - Wales' loss is Scotlands gain. So to Edinburgh, in the morning, so I must get to bed, long drive tomorrow, the next blog will be from the Fringe! How exciting!

Til then, it is a lovely day.

GJB x

P.S. I met one of the two people who have read the blog last night! Congratulations! Your 'Richard Parker' cuddly toy is in the post!! Please keep reading! Nos da x

Well, this time next week we'll be up and running in Edinburgh. Having watched and listened to the coverage from the Festival I can't wait to get up there. We leave on Friday for the long drive north but there's a bit of work to do before that. Tomorrow night we have a preview in Dempseys, Cardiff, in front of a selected audience. Hopefully it''ll go down well and people will enjoy it and give us some feedback to send us on our way!

 Last Thursday we performed the show in Cowbridge (above The Little Shop of Calm). It was great to have an audience and to do the show once again. There are little things to iron out but we were generally pleased with how it went. Hopefully tomorrow night will be just as successful as it's the last time we do it before a Fringe audience in Edinburgh on Sunday!!

First of all, a massive congratulations to Alastair (Richard Parker 1) and his partner, Beth and their new arrival! I've already had a cwtch with little Tom and he's delightful - he clearly takes after his Mum!

Al and I ran the play yesterday in front of Nia, Jason and Catrin from the theatre company. For people who have seen it many times it was good to hear that it felt 'fresh' to them. We have worked on adding little bits and taken into account what people have said about the play before to impove it. A big thanks to Jason who spotted something that we've missed in the past - I think it'll actually throw up a better ending to the play.

We're generally happy with the way things are going. We rehearse again tomorrow and will continue to look for ways to improve the play. On Thursday night we go to Cowbridge for a private performance and we also have a preview of the play in Cardiff next week. It'll be great to have an audience before we go to Edinburgh, especially with people that we know watching us. A sort of pre-season friendly if you like.

Til the next blog,
All the best,

GJB

A WORD FROM THE WRITER -OWEN THOMAS

'Richard Parker’ is a play about coincidences. There was one wonderful coincidence that happened during the development process of the play. The play features a little known and hard to find book called ‘The Narrative Tale of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket’ by Edgar Allan Poe – a book it took me a while to locate. I invited a good friend of mine to attend a reading of the play in Dempsey’s Bar, Cardiff as I was keen to get his feedback. Whilst walking though Cardiff to the reading he bumped into a friend of ours who we hadn’t see for some time. Asking where he was going he told her that he was off to listen to my new play and seeing as she had nothing better to do she decided to tag along. The reading was going well until the moment in the play when this rare book is mentioned. Her face ashen, she turned to my friend in horror and opened her bag. Earlier that day she had been to the opening of the newly revamped Cardiff Library and spent hours trying to find a book to read. Eventually she decided to pick up a random book and walk out which was then she then met my friend. The book she chose – The NarrativeTale of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket’ – I kid you not!

Follow us on twitter- @richparker_3d
To purchase tickets -
http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/theatre/richard-parker
Watch the etrailer-
http://bit.ly/qJaawS

More rehearsals!

Rehersals have been going well over the last couple of weeks. We've been pinching a few hours here and there to get some momentum. We've done some work on the first half - trying to get more variety in the performances. This will be the third time we've performed Richard Parker and we're looking at keeping it fresh. We both agree that the danger is that we're jumping ahead of ourselves - we obviously know what's coming next so it's about trying to forget that and listening to each other.

Now if we could just find the rest of our costumes.........

Rehearsals

Hello! This is the first my blog since we started to rehearse Richard Parker for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It has suddenly become quite real after the work it has taken from all members of Cwmni Theatr 3D to get us there over the last months.

The rehearsals have gone well so far - there are a few new bits to look out for and we're always looking at ways to improve the show. It feels like we're visiting an old friend. Alastair and I are both excited about the production and are looking forward to the challenge ahead. Al is busy tweeting at the moment, he can be found @richparker_3D. He will have his work cut out for him shortly though as his partner, Beth, is due to give birth to their first child any time now!! Good luck!

All the best,

GJB

Lord Bale

Hello Hannah! @edfringe!