Working on the Cabaret.

Had a smashing day working with the Applied Theatre Level 2 on the second A Political Cabaret. It's amazing how quickly the group have grown in confidence - partly I'm sure as a result of their initial success - and how much material they're now producing. We looked at 36 sketches this morning and began to make some cuts and edits with some stuff being kept in reserve for the final gig right at the end of term. In the end we slimmed the programme down to 25 sections, some short and snappy, some more developed and had begun by the end of the afternoon to put together a running order.

There was lots of stuff on the Royal Wedding, some more poignant reflections on the tenth anniversary of troops being in Afghanistan, a couple of clever pieces on the Pope, some excellent poetry and a neat sketch in which George W Bush water boards Laura to find out where she's hidden the remote control. Overall the material seemed to have more quality to it this time round and I'm hoping that this will be mirrored in the way they play on Friday night.

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