(The photo is by the brilliant Amy Wicks Young)

I missed an update last week because the end of May was simply too busy, and I was on the road. I was supporting the companies of "Have You Met Stan?" (pictured above with the brilliant Matty Molyneux) and "The Marriage of Figaro." We opened Stan in Brighton, and then I went to see Figaro in Somerset and Salisbury, before re-joining the Stan team in London. In a surprise to no-one who knows me, I also had other projects running alongside the shows, including the culmination of a mental health workshop series, filming a media project, and meetings for my DYCP.

I spent at least 15 hours in my car, and I apologise to the environment. I didn't sleep particularly well. I did almost nothing for 3 days after closing night. I think it's fair to say that my cup was pretty empty. Here's where the analogy comes in, because my cup was also extremely full. I'm really proud of myself that I took some time during these crazy two weeks to acknowledge how amazing the experience was. I got to be a proper director, with two shows that I made, and I got to travel all around the country making sure they were ready for audiences to love them. I got to spend all my working hours in theatres with teams of people who I adore.

In the theatre industry, we can get wrapped up in the negatives. The hours are long, the pay is poor etc. We also receive a lot of messaging reminding us we should be grateful to work at all because it's such a competitive career and we are being given an opportunity to fulfil a dream. This blog is not revolutionary but I'm trying to acknowledge both sides, and how often you can feel both at the same time.