Your own bit of The Doubtful Guest

Saying goodbye is always tricky, but a bit like spilling tomato sauce on white linen clothing, it is, alas, inevitable.

Here at Hoipolloi we are bidding farewell to some beautiful things, all of which have had their very own moments of fame starring in The Doubtful Guest. So if you have a penchant for the Gothic, are in need of some chairs to seat your derriere on, or want a souvenir from the show then perhaps you might fancy one of these...

Up for grabs we have a stunning French chandelier (held up by yours truly here. In fact I think 'hand/arm modelling' may be my new secret calling), a gorgeous hexagonal hall lamp which is pictured here in action, and another delightful art noveau hall chandelier to fix all of your lighting needs.

If your dining table is missing some chairs then fear not! We can solve your woes. Two classic Thonet Bentwood Bistro chairs are waiting here for you to get your mittens on. Or if all things Edwardian float your boat, then we have a pair of antique Edwardian chairs. If you have more than two bottoms to seat then perhaps our set of six Gothic antique dining room chairs may be just the thing for you.

Not from the show, but still super duper cool, is the small inflatable sofa. Its 70s cover is screaming for you to put your flares on and snuggle up on it with some cheese and pineapple on sticks and a gin and tonic.

And finally we come to the prize item, the one which will be missed by us most of all... it is the Georgian dolls' house. I know it is hard to believe, but we really are going to let it go. We care about it very much, so we'd like it to have a good home where it will be loved dearly.

All of the items are on eBay, or if you have any questions, email us at info@hoipolloi.org.uk

Photo by Geraint Lewis

Two Maps Are Better Than One

I have been spending some time today working with maps.

I have been focussing on my hometown of Llangefni.I thought I'd share these two versions with you. It's obvious which one is hand-drawn. That’s the one I made.

In Rehearsal is an event in which I include an audience in the process of making my next show. My next show is called Invisible Town and it's about my childhood. The way I see it at the moment is that I will act as a guide showing people around the map of my childhood

Hugh Hughes

Beware Ant Powder

While some people had the problem of dealing with the Ash Cloud, I had the problem of dealing with Ants. Someone in our shared kitchen decided to employ Ant Powder. To be honest, the Ant Powder seemed to cause more havoc than the Ants. At one point it even seemed as if the Ant Powder was being used by the Ants as camouflage. Meaning that they were able to move about in the kitchen area undetected. Resulting in a problem twice the size – the problem of the Ants grew to become the Ant and Ant Powder problem. As things escalated in the kitchen I found it hard to be overly concerned about the Ash Cloud. The kitchen became a no-go area and for a day there was no boiling water. Images of people stranded in airports faded in significance as my free and easy access to the kettle was being blocked. I was trapped in my work space. Like those trapped abroad. At least the Ash Cloud was Ash I thought to myself, now we don’t know if the Ant Powder is Ant Powder or Ants disguised as Ant Powder.

Hugh Hughes

Hugh Hughes talks about In Rehearsal

There are some things you do in rehearsal that an audience never gets to see.
Sometimes there's good reason why they don't, but sometimes it's a real shame that they are not there. Sometimes the most exciting things happen in rehearsal that for some reason you can’t replicate in performance. Some people who make theatre will tell you that the rehearsals are their favourite part of the process. Some will argue that the rehearsal room is the most creative part of the theatre-making process – the part when you are really working hard to discover things, wrestling with ideas and charged with spontaneity.

I thought it’d be really interesting to try to share the rehearsal room with an audience in case an audience might also enjoy the rehearsal room experience more than the performance experience. Sioned says she loves going to restaurants where you can see the chefs preparing the food in the kitchen. She says that sometimes watching them make the food is more pleasurable than eating it.

The truth is that this is all a bit of an experiment. But one that’s got to be worth trying. I used to love watching the blacksmith at work. I’m not a blacksmith, but I will be at work.

Really looking forward to seeing you.

Hugh Hughes tells us about In Rehearsal

I bumped into a friend the other day who had seen In Rehearsal advertised in The Junction's brochure.

She said, "Hello Hugh, I see that you have an exciting new project going. I saw The Junction's brochure. It sounds a bit scary!" I asked why she thought it sounded scary and she said, "I’m scared that if I come I’ll be asked to participate and do some acting or I’ll be expected to come up with ideas." So, I thought I’d try to clarify what might happen if you come along:

I might ask you if you’d like to participate or not.
I might, if you’ve agreed that you’d like to, ask you to participate. I might not.
I might tell you some stories. I might ask if you’d like to discuss them.
I might show you some maps and tell you about the places on them.
I might try out some ideas for presenting a story.
I might try out ideas for how to begin a possible show.
I might do one long improvisation.
I might ask you to make suggestions to me what to do next.
I might show you some slides.
I might show you some films.
I might read you some poetry that I’ve written.

What I will do is share with you a process.

And, to be very honest with you, having thought about it some more, we should have called it In Development, not In Rehearsal.

Lastly, and most importantly, I would be thrilled to see you there. I’m really excited by the idea of developing my next show with you. I’m opening the doors when normally they would be shut.

Anything might happen. Come along.

My friend ended up saying she would, I hope you do too.

Posted by Hugh Hughes