Ideas for productions which have meant a lot to me are discussed later in this essay: Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale (1987 and 2008 productions); West Side Story (1988); two promenade productions: Jesus Christ Superstar (1994) and Pink Floyd’s The Wall (1995); four plays by Bertolt Brecht (1991-2007); five of Samuel Beckett’s shorter plays under the title: We are the Last Five (1993); three of Shakespeare’s plays: The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Winter’s Tale (2000-2003) and Christopher Marlowe’s Dr Faustus (1966 and 2004 productions)

This section is divided a series of reflections - one piece for each of my main productions arranged in chronological order, beginning and ending with two productions of The Soldier's Tale, twenty years apart.

I like the following quotation, which encapsulates the two forces that have shaped my life: Dance and Pain.

‘In common life your sorrow is a more or less dull pain, and its object – what it is about – remains a thought associated with it. There is no new depth of experience promoted by the connection. But if you have the power to draw out or give imaginative shape to the object and material to your sorrowful experience, then it must undergo a transformation. …. The feeling as finally expressed is a new creation, not the simple pain … that was felt at first.’

I would like to register my thanks and admiration for Roberta Catizone’s creative contribution to this project, together with her remarkable digital expertise. She has produced a very attractive website, for which I am truly grateful.

I would also like to thank the following for their literary expertise, proof reading skills, technical computer wizardry and general encouragement …

Marian Clarke, Shannon Eacups, Joseph Hamlyn, Jill House, Paul Morris, Alison Soskice, Kathryn Wills and Adrian Porter

Jackie Keirs