Actually, my first show on foreign soil was in Colombia when I was 11 in an adaptation of Shakespeares The Tempest.
We met Fethi Hassine today, 29, who has helped us throughout the festival. He is an english student who lives in Nabeul and has been coming to the festival for many years (the festival is 24 this year) He would like to be an english teacher when he has finished his studies. He took Paddy to a supermarket to buy water, then my mother to buy lunch. He has also accompanied pretty much everyone from our group around Nabeul, helping to translate and inform where neccesary. Contes Dores went well...we had a really packed room of children and their parents, although we were about an hour late in starting...that has become a theme!! We weren't allowed to play our music because there was a marine biology conference going on in the room next door. After doing the show we went to the official opening of the festival, which started late as well. There was a crazy acrobatics show which was most unsuitable for young children (I think) due to the beautiful, half-naked girls doing sexy dancing inbetween fire breathers and trapeze artists. Anyhoos, that was fun. We then enjoyed meeting lots of people from all over the world who are performing here too.
Tues 22nd...Don't think I did anything of great note today as we weren't performing. I went to see a school we will perform in on Thursday with Paddy. All was good regarding that and I enjoyed spending the rest of the day with my beloved brother Tom, who I wish I could see more.
Wed 23rd...Today we went to Menzel Bouzelfa, a town about 30 mins drive from Nabeul. We did a show in the town hall to a packed audience, which went really, really well! The children sung along to the songs, clapped when the heroes completed tasks and laughed throughout the show, especially when Paddy appeared as the king! We were given some very nice nutty cakes by the people from Menzel Bouzelfa before stopping for some oranges on the way back to Nabeul. I fixed Mariaes princess fan and made a new CD for some of the music in the show in the afternoon. We played card games in the bar that evening; cheat and shops, which made us all laugh a lot! Tom and I sang Bob Marley songs with some Tunisians in the bar before going to bed.
Thursday 24th...We went to perform in the school today. The show was great, with the kids interacting with Mariae all the time. They really enjoyed singing the songs and helping Petit Jean find the magic brush and magic mirror. Performing here is really incredible; the audience becomes part of the show in a way I haven't experienced in Britain before. They clap all the time; when Paddy enters as the king, he normally gets a standing ovation at the very least! Some props did break today though, the tree snapped in half as we were bringing it to life, and the witch puppet lost her broom as we were packing the van at the end. I will brainstorm how to fix the tree in time for Saturdays performance tonight, and fix it tomorrow. I will have to make a new one on returning to the UK...c'est la vie.
Ciao for now
Jack
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