Mary Reid

Two very different, but equally stunning, theatrical experiences today.

First, to Kingston College for the official opening of the Arthur Cotterell Theatre, which has the happy acronym ACT.  Years ago, when I worked at the College, this space was a sports hall.  They wisely brought in a theatre designer to turn it into an excellent studio theatre.

It has been heavily used by a number of performance courses, from First Diploma through to degrees, for the last couple of years, but today was the day that the former principal, students and staff finally celebrated it.

We watched a highly disciplined and engaging production of the winning entry in the One-Act Playwriting competition, written with astonishing maturity by Horatio Joyce when he was still at school.

This evening's drama was in a league of its own. 'West Side Story' performed by 18 adults with learning disabilities at the CornerHouse. ROYAD (Reach Out Youth and Adult Disabilities) had been working on the project for two whole years, and raised £12,000 to make it happen.

It was an absolute triumph - we were entertained to singing, dancing and acting by people who in many cases cannot read, and in all cases have never before received the acclaim they had tonight.

Sue Frett is described in the programme as Theatre Company Facilitator and Fundraiser. A miracle-worker would be a better description, except that would underplay the sheer level of work she has done to make ROYAD such a successful venture over many years.

The Jets

Jeremy Thorn, Chair of ROYAD, thanking everyone at the end

Happy Birthday to one of the cast, led by Sue Frett (in black)