(Image credit to Matteo Vistocco on Unsplash)

Having had a less creative week or two, and a mini holiday in the middle, I left the blog last week but here we are again.

I've always said collaboration is my favourite part of making theatre, and that is absolutely true, but it turns out my controller tendencies come out a bit more when I'm in the writing seat. I am currently working on a project with the Royal Academy of Music, creating a new short chamber opera. It's very exciting and the story is more abstract than some of my recent work, but I'm getting to exercise my historical muscles again which is always a win.

Writing libretti requires a huge amount of trust. You have to leave space in the writing for the music to drive through. You have to trust that those gaps will be filled effectively and in line with your shared vision. I have to relinquish more control than I do as a director. It's a challenge, but withholding trust will almost guarantee failure. Making art is so massively all about trust and my challenge to myself is to lean into that while I write. Let's see how it goes.