It’s great being able to be is use your personal stories and anecdotes to direct a show. We’ve been talking a lot about the role of fathers – in both birth and the early days of having a child. It’s a full on time and a huge focus, effort and responsibility is on the shoulders of the mother. Dad becomes the protector in labour, a carer post birth and a soother, baby bouncer and nappy changer for the first few weeks of the baby’s life (and beyond!) Having a baby is a very visceral experience – its full of colour, movement and emotion. I think that in Kicking and Screaming we have managed to capture some of that feeling – some of the joy, some of the sweat (the actors certainly work hard!) and some of the weird and wonderful things you have to do. I hope for an audience it’s a real mix of touching story, hilarious scenarios and an authenticity that can only come from the show being made by parents.

Its nice when making art feels as personal as this. It’s as if authoring this story is a bit like sharing part of my world with the wider public and creative team and by doing this it’s helping me celebrate it and understand it myself.

Here goes Week 2 of rehearsals and Week 6 of being a father

Nathan Curry, Co-Director, Kicking and Screaming.

For full Tour details see /productions/25-kicking-and-screaming 

Personally, it all started six weeks or so ago when I signed up for regular Pilates classes, joined a climbing wall and found out about aerial classes because the show is going to involve off-ground activity, amongst other feats of endurance. As someone who has never had much upper body strength, I needed to embark on an eclectic training programme lasting about 6 weeks, or so I thought, but actually it lasts indefinitely, because once you’ve started you can’t stop. It has been frustrating and rewarding in turns, as I wrestled with trying to climb a rope, building core strength, climbing walls, getting scared, giving up, crying and starting again.

Emerge/ncy is going to be extraordinary to perform, and we hope it will be compelling for the folk who come to experience the performances with us, you don’t have to be there for the full 8 hours!

Fee xx