It would be rude to only use this artistic community
resource purely for self-promotion so, in the spirit of our community; I’m
going to start a blog about how Citrus Arts are testing our-selves in unknown
territories.

In 3 sleeps we’ll be meeting a team of international
artists to set out on a tour of Wales. The project is Cwtch Cabaret, which
hopes to replicate the success of variety shows like London & Edinburgh’s
“La Clique” & “La Soiree” hits, as a touring project for Welsh towns.

Variety shows & Cabaret are a familiar format in larger
metropolitan cities, but how will we fare on our inaugural tour of Welsh towns
- for which we need to deliver an equally high-quality show on a very
skinny budget?

In early planning stages, the first issue we had to deal
with was how to afford top-quality international artists. In true circus style,
the answer is a busy workload that takes 10 performers to 7 venues over 10 days
- packing in a maximum number of performances into a short time.

It fills Bridie & I with joy whenever we get e-mails
from the cast, as we read how professionally they’re anticipating what hard
work is in store, & hear about their research into what “looks like very
beautiful country”. I think the real ace-up-our-sleeve will be when they meet
the staff working at the theatres we’ll be visiting, and then get to play to the
kind of audiences they will only ever meet in Wales.

Let’s see how this goes; I will update this blog
regularly because I think it’s going to be an interesting ride.

Check www.cwtchcabaret.co.uk
for the line-up, dates & ticket information.

James (Citrus Arts)