Habeas Corpus

Seth Lakeman blasts out across my degregated bedroom - a sea of journal articles, books on how to learn the Kanji, fresh washing and coffee cups greets his lyrical folk songs.

I sit writing decked from head to toe in the most unflattering grandmother/cleaning lady's outfit - ready for the show tonight. My half magnifying glasses sit beside me, odd slippers and wrinkly brown tights set off my floral aprons and tabards. It is a beautiful week - cups of tea grabbed in between silly hours of flyering madly outside tescos or pestering library goers. Comradily drinks in a grotty, now smoke free pub each night after each performance. Funny associations with the 'characters' that seem to enfuse this little town.

And most fun of all - performing an Allan Bennett comedy in our grotty little theatre. Being involved in comedy is like nothing I have done before - and as we sit and wait for the laughs we all shriek madly from the wings at the silliness of black comedy. There is an intimacy with the audience, a sense of them as some strange pet we are stroking and coddling into our charms. We are in an endless discussion and conversation with them - as we await their sniggering giggles, or those jokes that take a few seconds to settle in. we coax out their character, be it political geeks - who get the historical references - or the tabloid readers who hoot with roaring gaffaws at the breast fondling that seems to underlie the entire plot of the play. Most of all instead of growing old the play appears to get funnier the longer we play it. Each night I look forward to watching Mrs Wickstead, decked out in a ridiculous pink feathery hat and floral two piece set wiggling her bottom in an attempt to suiduce the the visiting breast appliance fitter - Mr Shanks. The dry humour of the doctor's solilqys. The absolute ridiculousness of the end of the first act - as the depressed guy whose calls for help have been ignored by the entire selfish lot of us finally hangs himself live on stage as we continue the action undisturbed around him. We - the actors giggle away just as heartily at the whole ridiculous scenario.

There are few things as curative and good at distracting me from the 10,000 words worth of essays due next week than Habeas Corpus.