Andrea Dunbar - The Dreams I Had

Sketch a day - Day 71/365

A morning of writing, thinking and talking with Deborah Pakkar-Hull about the most recent ideas I've had about the Otherhood play.

Then notes on a play I am doing dramaturgy on, ready for a meeting tomorrow.

Then playing ball in the garden with Tucker and spending time working on an assault course. In the spring and summer when the weather gets better we do running around the hard, jumping over and under obsticals. This summer I intend building in the new truck he has learnt (the Boom trick where he jumps up and sits on my lap). So he had some fun. We only lost one ball over the fence.

Then out to Bradford with Jane to attend the celebration of Andrea Dunbar’s work at St George's hall. It was moving to see the hall packed out to celebrate her work. At the end, at the Q&A, someone in the audience said that there should be a statue of Andrea Dunbar in Bradford. That would be a brilliant thing.

In general I struggle with play readings as performance. I feel like it sets plays up to be literature, when that isn't what they are. But I thought the whole team behind tonight’s celebration did a great job. I hope this leads to a restaging of her work. The things she was writing about in the 1980’s are still relevant now.

Drawing wise it was a rush job of on the hoof sketches. I drew the director and cast during the Q&A (top). I drew a man in the pub we went to before the show began (above).

I drew Jane before the show began (she wouldn't stay still so she can't complain too M ch that I mangled her face. Sorry Jane).

And that's the news.