Red Ladder Theatre Company

It has happened. After years of waiting and, with time, a developing scepticism that it ever really happens in real life, I have finally slipped on a banana skin. In Castleford. Oh Castleford - for years the butt of many a comedian's jokes. It sounds grim and when I got off the train last Friday morning my first thought was "God this place is grim". With the arrogance of an Eton educated politician or a Tory MP who loves Twitter, (there is one who tweets constantly but I don't follow her, she gets re-tweeted a lot) I tweeted something very disparaging about the town. I then bought a hot cup of tea (to go) and a bacon sandwich. The Gods of Castleford then placed a slimey old banana skin in my path and five minutes after my tweet I slipped and threw hot tea all over myself. If I hadn't had a beard I would be looking for a skin graft on the NHS - before we lose the NHS to privatisation. (By the way The House of Lords failed to put the brakes on that today - useless bunch of self-important old gits). I suppose I could account for the banana slip as Karma - afer all I live in Hebden Bridge and we talk of such things over there. The moral is always -'careful what you tweet' - and as those of you who follow me on Twitter know (@redladdertheatr) - I'm not very careful. Saying "Rod - be careful what you Tweet" is a red rag to a bull. Anyway - we now have nearly 1900 followers which for a company of just two full time employees is quite respectable. (I know Dan Bye has about 40,000 followers but he is a much wittier  twitterer than I am).

I digress. Castleford is not only the UK centre of banana skin slippage, it is also home to a rather excellent recording studios called The Chairworks. It was here that the entire Big Society company came together from as far as Penryn and Probus in Cornwall  to Armley in West Leeds. It was our first rehearsal together and an opportunity to record all the songs in the show. Our actual rehearsals don't begin until December 15th but if we are to make a CD to sell during the run of the show then we have to record it several weeks in advance. Oh stop it! Yes I know that is commercialism. Yes I know I shouldn't encourage the production of merchandise blah blah blah - but many people asked us for a CD of the songs from 'Sex and Docks' last year and we didn't have one. So .. in the interests of maximum audience satisfaction this year we will have one for you! Buy one with your programme and it'll be cheaper - or some scam like that, no doubt.

I was nervous. I'm sure Boff and the Chumbas were quite nervous. I bet Phill Jupitus (who had a gig in Brighton on Saturday night so joined us on Sunday) was nervous because he was walking into a comapny of actors and musicians who have all worked together before and who had HIGH  expectations of him as the star of the show! No sweat. The band were of course gobsmackingly brilliant. (Harry had only heard his own songs - and without any rehearsal he played drums on songs he had never heard before. Bosh! No problems! "Well I've been doin it for 30 years Rod". Don't care Harry - you are a genius). The cast were equally brilliant. Deano his usual larger than life self. Kyla full of hilarious clowning. I asked Lisa "Can you play Eve as a Geordie?" "I dunno" She not only nailed a perfect Geordie accent but then SANG in a perfect Geordie accent. Phill arrived and immediately started making his mark by adding excellent suggestions and character details. All this and after a warm up led by John Ward our assistant director - a definite one to watch for the future!

Big Society is the third show Boff has written for us. There is a definite development and I feel this show is the most Brechtian and the closest to our original vision of a political comedy with music. A good night out with an edge - activism with laughs. I can't wait to get on with making it in December. Tickets are onsale here.

Meanwhile - hasn't it been exciting? So many powerful images, so many inspiring videos. No you're right. The media has largely ignored the entire 'Take The Square' movement but the movement is growing and growing fast. The occupation of Wall Street has not fizzled out. The occupation of Albert Square in Manchester during the Tory Conference has not fizzled - there are still people there. As Naomi Klein said in The Guardian last week - the difference between this movement and previous  protests against globalisation are that these are occupations that are taking root. The message is clear: we do not want to pay for your crisis.

This Saturday, 15th October people from all over the world will take to the streets and squares. People of all ages and often of many different political persuasions will unite and demand global change. As it says on the October 15th website:

From America to Asia, from Africa to Europe, people are rising up to claim their rights and demand a true democracy. Now it is time for all of us to join in a global non violent protest.

The ruling powers work for the benefit of just a few, ignoring the will of the vast majority and the human and environmental price we all have to pay. This intolerable situation must end.

United in one voice, we will let politicians, and the financial elites they serve, know it is up to us, the people, to decide our future. We are not goods in the hands of politicians and bankers who do not represent us.

On October 15th, we will meet on the streets to initiate the global change we want. We will peacefully demonstrate, talk and organise until we make it happen.

It’s time for us to unite. It’s time for them to listen.

So on Saturday Ella, the kids, Anna my mother - in - law and I will go to join the movement on the streets of Manchester. Next time I blog I'll let you know what happened!