It's Wednesday morning and I've staggered out of bed after a late night in Blaengarw Workmen's Hall. It's been an extraordinary few days: the tension and excitement of production week last week for A Good Night Out in the Valleys - the intense focus on the smallest points of rhythm in the staging - the tiny, unnoticed elements that could make all the difference; then the dress rehearsals (including one attended by two hundred pupils from Blackwood Comprehensive, a nerve-racking but ultimately joyous experience), then the moment of first preview when suddenly the show started to breathe with its audience and we knew that, whatever else happened, people were undoubtedly having a Good Night Out!

Then, after just one preview, came press night. With a relatively limited capacity at Blackwood Miners' Institute, we hadn't invited many 'friends and family', just the rather scary looking critics and the local audience. It was over to the actors, the crew, and everyone in the theatre now.

Often I feel at the end of a press night like I've been holding my breath throughout. Not this time, as the response to the piece came quickly from the audience - laughter and applause where we hadn't expected it, and a real sense of spirit.

I won't pretend I hadn't been worried. We'd always been very clear that our launch year's programme was our overall statement of intent, and that no one show would sum up NTW's intentions. When we decided on the actual order of events for the year, factors such as the weather (for outdoor shows), readiness of scripts (for new commissions) and artists' schedules were far more prominent in our minds than which show came first. Nonetheless in the end we opted for the Valleys show as NTW01, partly because we had great faith in Alan's ability to deliver a strong script in time, and partly because we wanted to reach out to audiences beyond the bigger cities, and to do this from the get go. And when the critics arrived on Friday night, there was no getting away from the fact: for now at least we were going to be judged on this show.

It's been a joy therefore to get the responses - four stars in the Times, four stars in the Telegraph, a nice warm review in the Guardian and a really lovely one in the Independent. It's been a particular gratification that these reviewers seem to have understood the whole ethos of NTW, and have usually mentioned our year-long programme in a tone of genuine excitement. If one of the roles of NTW is to throw a spotlight on Welsh theatre and Welsh artists, then we have certainly made a great start. Meanwhile here in Wales there's been a healthy, responsive and often inspiring debate, and some great writing about the show in the likes of Buzz magazine.

So, after all that, reality kicks back in and yesterday we had a show to open in Blaengarw Workmen's Hall, with me and the actors desperately trying to work out how to manage all the quick changes in the play without any of the entrance and exit points we had at Blackwood, and the production crew engaging in real heroics to make the set and lighting look as beautiful as they had for the opening.

And it was well worth it, because however nice good reviews might be, ultimately this show was a collaboration with the communities of the Valleys - listening to their stories, taking inspiration from their lives - and every performance of A Good Night Out in the Valleys is part of a creative journey that began six months ago with workshops, and cups of tea, and a hundred chats. To see people in the audience last night who had inspired characters in the show was a joy. The whole team on A Good Night Out, and particularly myself and Alan, have taken great inspiration from these communities and individuals - and we will no doubt continue drawing on their stories and jokes for a long time. And National Theatre Wales has started on its journey with the best possible of guides - the people whose stories we tell.