Strike A Light October 2015

Its Wednesday 7th October and Strike A Light is back in Gloucester for its second outing of the year, and its launch night at Blackfriars Gloucester, with a whole host of local artists showcasing the incredible talent that those from across the county have, performing to a pack house of those within the industry and those passionate about Theatre enjoying drinks and pizza.

As a volunteer for the festival, I arrived at 4:30pm to find the setup, which consisted of two long large tables, so my first task was to make gin and tonics which would be served to guests upon arrival. After a few more small jobs, me and Jake positioned ourselves by the gates to welcome guests through Blackfriars, but soon heading in to watch the evenings entertainment, but not before we spoke to the guests and hearing lovely comments about the festival's programme and hearing so many people excited for some of the performances.

The evening was a resounding success and all those who attended seemed to have a really good evening full of fantastic talent which was refreshing to see, and really set up this October's programme with a brilliant start!

It's Friday night at the Guildhall, and based on a true story about love, art, history and fish balls, tonight's production is that of 'Wot? No Fish!!!', which saw Danny Braverman tell the tale of his Great Uncle Ab Solomon's love for his wife Celie, in the form of wage packets that Ab's would draw on every single week with a memory that would sum up that particular week, even when those weeks may have been tough.

It was a heartwarming and nostalgic performance that you could just tell Danny loved to share with the audience with such enthusiasm and emotion throughout which was really touching to see, and that almost made you even more drawn to the performance and even inspired me to do something similar and express my memories of the week through some kind of form of art that Ab's expressed all those years ago in the 1920's.

Saturday saw Strike A Light partner up with the rugby and bring a 200 local people flashmob to the fanzone at the quays, as well as, for those a fan of the childhood classic game Hangman, a chance to play a live action version on Eastgate street outside the Guildhall. Both of these events drew in massive crowds, especially with over 1000 spectators watching the flash mob, but what was incredibly touching was seeing Gloucester come together as a community for a jam packed afternoon of fun for all ages and having a fantastic time taking part.

The evening saw a big hip hop event come to the Guildhall in the form of Spark, bringing artists locally and afar to show off their incredible talents to an audience who loved the atmosphere, and one aspect that was incredibly cool was giving upcoming producers 5 minutes to create a tune which would then be judged, with the winner taking £150 away with them, just showing once again the amazing talent local artists have and expressing as well as showcasing their expertise!

Sunday was Scratch Night, taking place at the oxstalls campus at Gloucestershire University in the specular new performing arts building with a new Theatre space and two studios for rehearsals. It was a chance for local companies to bring new pieces of theatre to the festival and gave them a chance to hear from the audience what they thought of their pieces. It was fascinating to see such talent from these artists and could clearly see how much hard work and effort each of the companies had put into their work which they would have spent so many months and weeks working on.

Its Wednesday, and the final night to end once again another fantastic and successful Strike A Light, and what better way to finish the festival then with the innovative and spectacular 'This Is How We Die' by Christopher Brett Bailey, a show thaw I previously saw in Warwick earlier this year. Once again his quick speech skills and gripping stories really drew in the audience completely throughout, with one audience member mentioning that it was 'the best piece of theatre they have ever seen', and I really don't think you could ended the festival on such a positive note!