We’re just recovering from auditions. For us, the writers, it was the first time we’d seen anything like this up close, so it was very helpful to have our director, Leon, and casting director, Katy Mullins, running the show for us.

First off, two thumbs up to everyone who turned up, especially those who had to wait. We started at about 5.30PM and eventually got out at 10PM. Two thumbs down to our favourite Indian restaurant, which was closed by the time we got back into town, starving!

I’ve heard many times that the best way to get a feel for your script is to hear other people read it, and the auditions were a fantastic experience for us. Seeing the various actors giving their version of our characters was amazing, as was seeing Leon in full director mode; we’ve already got a bunch of minor edits to make from notes we made during the readings.

So, during casting, someone else has to read the other character lines. This fell to Katy (an experienced actress) and me (completely inexperienced but who should know the script backwards at this point), and it left me with a new level of respect for actors. We did one scene five times on the trot, and both Katy and the actor had their lines perfect each time, while I got progressively worse, to the extent that I managed to get virtually every one wrong on the fifth time.

Fortunately, by the sixth, I was starting to recover, but it’s an important reminder of why we’re doing this; writers write the words, but actors and directors make them fly.

We’ve cast most, but not all of parts, so if you’re interested in getting involved, please contact me and we might be able to arrange something. And this time we will get the Indian food before the auditions!