Phuket

We spent the better part of a week at the British International School, Phuket. Set in impressive grounds, the campus is huge, with a massive main building and a separate section for design, drama and administration.

For the 3 days, we worked with drama teacher Tim Evan's IB Drama class – a mixture of Year 12 and 13.

Right from the off, it was obvious that the group had experience in performance. Everyone's physicality was excellent, and they all got stuck straight into the ensemble stuff – making physical structures with each other, one-second characters, all related to the theme of 'space'.

Despite only initially having 5 hours rehearsal and preparation time with them, the group were hugely committed and stayed late, came back in breaks, to get the most out of the experience.

The end product was a short introduction to the 'SPACE' show; a melange of short characters, ensemble improvisation, all highly interactive with the audience.



There were 2 shows – the first, as part of the International Big Day Out, on the bill with live music and an opera (open to the public, of all ages), and the second, specifically for Years 8-13 (and their teachers). Both shows were a success, the second a bit livelier due to a larger audience, but the students took on both with gusto. Their improvisation in the Q&A at the finale was even more excellent, and unfortunately there wasn't enough time to get through everyone who wanted to come up.

A big thank you to Years 12 and 13, to headmaster Neil Richards for his support, and especially to Mr Timothy Evans for getting us out here, housing us, feeding us, and exposing us to the cultural activities that Phuket has to offer.

We will, hopefully, be back again very soon.

Tim

Hua Hin

Patravadi High School, Hua Hin, Thailand, was founded by famous Thai actress Khun Patravadi. A sprawling canvas set just outside the main street in Hua Hin, Patravadi is home to a High School, a holiday resort, and an impressive architectural theatre space.

We spent a few days here, and 'SPACE' was part of the Vic Hua Hin Fringe Festival, organised in part by Christian Köppel. The performance took on a very tropical feel, as the fans inside the theatre blasted ferociously, me in a unitard and a tie-clip mic making my voice soar into the vast open space. The audience was made up of equal parts foreigners and Patravadi High School students. The show was much more physical.

The next day, Neil led a workshop with the students of the high school. They all wowed us with their physical ability, their expression, as their movement training lay in dance. We had a lot of fun with focus exercises, creating structures with the body, in a huge open space inside the school's entrance building.

Thank you Khun Patravadi, and special thank you to Chris, our Swiss mentor for the 3 days.

Tim

Yangon

A beautiful, mesmerising place.

We were fortunate enough to work with Adam Fraser, drama teacher at International School of Yangon, for 3 days. A flying visit with no time to spare, our experience of Yangon was short and sweet, but left a huge impression on myself, Nei and Tak.

The Burmese people are so kind and welcoming. A smile goes a long way here. The food is delicious – fish soup and noodles for breakfast was a highlight. The golden Shwedagon Pagoda dominates the city skyline – even more beautiful at night.

The students at ISY were a mixed of Burmese and international. 25 students, from ages 12-18, many of whom didn't even know each other before this project, by the end felt like family. Everyone was so professional and committed. A most obvious display of their collective talent was the ensemble improvisation in groups – generating a completely original idea that the group have to follow in a split second, and then the next, carrying on for 5-10 minutes. Most IB theatre students have trouble with this exercise. These kids got it in 5 minutes.

The final show as a great success. A mixture of students, parents and the public. The students involved were fantastic, their ability to interact with the audience superb. And a special mention for the brave young man from the audience with a hoarse voice who took on the General character in the interactive Q&A – brought the house down.



Before we left, we visited the Gitameit music centre, where Htun Htun kindly showed us around and explained the plans to expand the only music centre in the city. With a strong focus on piano, guitar and also the traditional Burmese instruments, Gitameit are doing some great work, and we will be visiting them next time for 'The 3 Hermanos'.

So, goodbye Yangon. We can't wait to see you again.

Tim

Chittagong

It's been a very interesting few days up in Chittagong.

Yesterday, our hotel was in the middle of a procession, in which thousands of residents of the Bangladesh city passed through the main streets, stopping cars and trucks in their tracks. A wave of people, dressed in all colours, stampeding through, the noise deafening. It was quite a sight to behold.

Then in the evening, we were on again. The Round Square Conference was in full swing, and the night before we did a performance of 'SPACE' for the CGS Upper School years. A very animated and responsive audience. Last night was also very different. All the delegates of the conference were in attendance, a range of ages and nationalities from all over. It was a lot of fun, and the interactive Q&A featured some spellbinding performances from the young participants of Round Square.

The school were kind enough to give us plaques, designed by students from elementary.

So, goodbye to Chittagong, until next time. Thank you to Miss Shereen, Khadija, and to everyone from Chittagong Grammar School.

Tim

Hello from Neil, Tim and Tak in Chittagong, Bangladesh

We flew from Dhaka to Chittagong in the morning. It took about 1 hour by local airline (approx. 50 passengers).

There is a big international conference of Technology for a Sustainable World organized by Chittagong Grammar School.

We have met teachers from India, Pakistan, Germany, South Africa, Australia & Bangladesh.

We did not really expect a school in Bangladesh to hold such a huge international meeting like this.

Now, it is 12:00pm, 4th Feb. We are doing a rehearsal for the first show of 'SPACE', going on this afternoon at 4pm. Some students helped us a lot to set up the stage, sound and lights. The school has WiFi, so I can send this now.

Thank you.

Tak

Hello from Neil, Tim and Tak in Dhaka, Bangladesh

We have been working with Chittagong Grammer School-Dhaka, the American School and the International School Dhaka in Gulshan area.

Director and workshops leader Neil Farrelly has taken around 10 classes and Tim performed 'SPACE' for 2 nights at the Amazon Club. We have kindly been invited back for next year, and also to work at a Comedy Club here in Dhaka!

In Dhaka, the area we are staying in is quite international.

I just popped out and researched shops. I found almost everything we have in the UK, like fresh veg, sweet carrots, huge cabbage, great cauliflower, beef, chicken, Pepsi, crisps, cheese...all except pork and brown bread.

People eat mainly rice and they love milk tea with 4-5 spoons of sugar. When you order, you have to emphasize "milk only, no sugar please" or "black tea, with separate milk and sugar pots please".

Tomato ketchup is very common here but not easy to find mayonnaise, which Neil loves. They have tasty "rice pudding" which is called keel.

Please post a comment if you have any questions!

Tak

Welcome to N2N's blog...

Here will be a dedicated place for all the latest projects undertaken by Nose2Nose.

We will be able to post up pictures, text and video of wherever we are touring worldwide, and please write a comment or get in touch if you have any questions.

There are links to the right of the page to our website, and to other projects we are currently producing.

Over the next 2 months, we will be documenting the progress of the 'SPACE' Asia Tour, which takes us across countries like Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and China.

We are looking forward to sharing our adventures with you!

Thank you,

The N2N Team