It's Friday morning and I'm on the train to Swansea. Shelf Life, aka NTW02, is in the middle of tech rehearsals and I'm planning a morning of sitting at the back of Swansea library being supportive. Last night the introduction to the show was being worked on - the WNO 'choir of librarians' outside the brick hulk of the library, sporting red umbrellas and singing in the rain. They are going to be wonderful. Peter Swaffer Reynolds' music weaves us into the world of the play with lyricism, humour and a touch of hidden romance; the actors dance, fight and announce strange goings on. We are seduced and on our way!

The trailer for Shelf Life is just about to be released and gives a lovely taste of the show, so take a peek at it if you have a moment. And don't be caught out for tickets. It's a good problem to have, but A Good Night Out in the Valleys sold out every show, and lots of people couldn't get tickets. There's a very strict limit on how many people we can take into Swansea Library for Shelf Life, so book now to avoid missing out!

For me it's been interesting to move back from an intensive focus on directing A Good Night Out, to an overview of all the company's activity. It really feels like we are hitting our stride now, and (I'm sure there will be times when there isn't the case, but...) the ambitious idea of opening a show a month feels less like an overwhelming rush, than a confident rhythm of work. Yesterday, as well as visiting Shelf Life tech, I went to the first full read through by The Devil Inside Him cast (they started rehearsals on Monday) - another very exciting moment - the play really does work very well. Meanwhile, last week as well as the wonderful closing nights of Valleys in a packed and riotously engaged Aberdare Coliseum, we had Marc Rees in Barmouth running his Story Shop - and reaching a fantastic range of local people, whose stories are going to weave through this beautiful, very visual piece of performance. And of course we had our very first NTW Assembly - in Blaengarw - with a fantastic engagement by the local community. Watch out Swansea.

With The Beach in the middle of design stages, and Persians script delivered, and casting underway, it feels great to have so many projects on the go and to be surrounded by so much good creative energy.