The Culture Space is a fantastic building sitting on a site that has significance to the show. On the very first night of the Blitz the Surrey Commercial Docks were hit by incendiary bombs and the resulting fire raged for days destroying the huge timber stacks and sheds.

As Peth said "It’s humbling to finish what has been a fantastic community project in a building that has literally risen phoenix-like from those flames"

Thank you to everyone who came to support the show and helped to make it a sell out run yet again.

A huge thank you to all the cast, crew and creative team who have dedicated so much of their time, energy and unending enthusiasm to the project.  It's been an incredible journey and we absolutely could not have achieved it without you.

If you have any comments or thoughts you would like to share, we'd love to hear from you.

I think we all felt very priviledged to perform in a space which has such close physical and atmospheric links with the Blitz.  It's been a long, varied and emotional journey so far.  Since the commemorative evening for the 1st night of the Blitz which we were involved with at Surrey Docks Farm in September 2010 and now to be back in the same area performing Blackbirds on Remembrance weekend 2011.

Thanks to everyone who came to support the show at the Pumphouse and to the cast, crew, creative team and volunteers for your endless enthusiasm and commitment to Grandchildren of the Blitz. 

If you still haven't seen the show yet your very LAST CHANCE will be in January. 
Blackbirds will be coming to the new Canada Water Culture Space on 6th & 7th January 2012.
Get your tickets via www.londonbubble.org.uk or call us on 020 7237 1663

In case you didn't know, Blackbirds has returned this Autumn and was performed at The Albany in Deptford on 14th & 15th October.  It was fantastic to reunite the cast again - although the time seems to have flown by since May.

Performing in a different venue was a new experience for us all and I think we rose to the challenge. 

Thank you to everyone who came to see the show. 

I'll add some of the comments we've received from audience members here later.  If you've yet to see the show then do not fear, Blackbirds is back on 11th, 12th & 13th November at The Pumphouse in Rotherhithe. 
Tickets are already selling well so get them whilst you still can!

Thanks so much for your hard work over the last couple of weeks and I hope the experience has been an enjoyable and memorable one for you. Certainly hope its the latter as we'll be doing it all again soon...We have received a great deal of positive feedback on the production and it seems to have been a great success. Well done!

Hope to see as many of you as possible on the 15th, until then - keep on cruising down those rivers, hanging out underneath those arches and trying not to give too many bags of beans, when you could be planting them instead. Cryptic.

Very best,

All at Bubble

There were a few people who came to see the show last night who had grown up in the area - I chatted to them briefly beforehand and showed them the remembrance map. They were looking for their names of their relatives, it must be incredibly moving for them. I was watching them as they watched the show and between each scene they were talking to each other - most likely reflecting on their own experiences of the time. One of the ladies seemed to be mouthing the words to Cruising Down the River!

We have a few of our interviewees in tonight - Alfie (the singer of the Bermondsey Boys), Reeny and Eileen. They are very much looking forward to it.

See you all tonight!

The troops are readying

The plans have been laid out.

The target is clear 

And alongside all of that, the final rehearsals are underway, everyone in the office is adding the finishing touches to the programme, organising grand (potentially cake-based) front of house schemes, all those working in the space have been grafting away rigging the lights and sound equipment, sorting out the audience seating and many other exciting things and the cast seems rearing and ready to go.

If you, your family or your friends haven't bought your tickets yet  - now is the time to do so! The performances on Tuesday evening, Friday evening and Sunday afternoon are completely sold out, so get in there quick.

That's all for now

Hello! Hope that you are enjoying the sunshine...

Just to alert your attention to our newly updated rehearsal schedule which can be found here. Have a lovely Easter weekend and I look forward to seeing you next Wednesday at 6pm.

Just a quick one to say that it will be a full company call for Wednesday 30th and Thursday 31st. Also, Underneath the Arches and Crusing Down the River have now been uploaded to the site and are available to listen to here

Have a lovely weekend!

First off - the Grownups

WEDNESDAY 23th: We will be working on the Teddy Bear's Picnic and we will need Teenagers and Adults and as many hand mirrors as we can muster

THURSDAY 24th: From P26 to end. We will need the full company

Thanks! Have a lovely weekend and see you all next week

In rehearsal, we looked at the "homeless" section and saw families being moved from pillar to post as one bombed out house led to another. Jools went over the work that she had done on the "blown up" section with those that weren't here on Wednesday evening.

Just a quick reminder that next Wednesday evening (9th March) we need the full company - Peth will be in the studio with Brenda, Lucy, Jasmine, Edward and Annie and everyone else will be upstairs with Jules. On Thursday evening (10th March), we will be working with the whole company as we step into our dancing shoes - at least metaphorically -for a session with Maggie Rawlionson.

As always, comments, feedback and reflections are warmly welcomed....

The performances dates and times have now been finalised and are as follows:

• Preview:                   Sunday 8th May, 7.30pm
• Performance 1       Monday 9th May, 7.30pm
• Performance 2       Tuesday 10th May, 7.30pm (Gala Performance for Members of Bubble and Donors)

 *****NO PERFORMANCE ON WEDNESDAY 11TH MAY – BREAK***** ·

• Performance 3       Thursday 12th May, 7.30pm (Signed Performance)
• Performance 4       Friday 13th May, 7.30pm
• Performance 5       Saturday 14th May, 7.30pm
• Performance 6       Sunday 15th May, 3pm
•  Performance 7       Sunday 16th May 7.30pm

 It would be great if you could put these dates in your diary and do let us know if you foresee any clashes.

Tickets: Tickets for Blackbirds will be available from mid-March from our Box Office on 02072371163 and will also be available online. We will be having discounted early bird deals, so make sure your friends and family get in there quick!

Website: Also, do keep an eye on the site. This blog is a speedy way for us to pass on messages to you and a way of sharing/building up ideas. Now we are swiftly heading towards performance, our “Towards Performance” page is being updated with an online rehearsal schedule, rehearsal videos and general information.

 Next rehearsal: Please note that next Wednesday (Wed 2nd), we will be doing the “blown up” section (G1) and Martha sheltering (F9), so it will be a full company call. On Thursday (3rd) “Suitcases” (H1) and Mayflower Street (I1), which again will be a full company call.

Spreading over several spaces, we worked on a number of different scenes. We resurrected the weak horses game, made a start on learning underneath the arches and saw the families of Mayflower Street heading to the arches for another sleepless night. We also had a glimpse of the telephone control centre and the production line of a factory.

Tomorrow we will be working on units F6, F8 and I2. So if you are in any of these scenes - we need you!

Do keep your eye on the "Towards Performance" section on the site. As we are now actually heading towards the performance - this section of the site will be updated with rehearsal videos, possibly the script, photos from rehearsals, the rehearsal schedule etc.

Thanks!

Last Friday, we had a merry little trip down to Dilston Grove, our performance space for Grandchildren of the Blitz. We admired it, imagined in it and measured it. The dogs that we took along liked it too; plenty of space for scampering about. And, fortunately for us, plenty of space for our ever increasing cast...

The space already feels seeped in history. Its' main function is a a gallery space, but in converting it from a working church - Cafe Gallery have been very sensitive to keeping the original "feel" of the place. It is stripped back, raw and simple, with stories of its own - but a very good place for telling others.

Since its renovation, ours will be the first theatre production to be performed there. It feels like the perfect place for it.

Let us know what you think......

 Voices of many different ages spoke the words that have been written, bringing them to life as we journeyed through the stories of characters, of families, of history and the tales of the place that we call our community.

The session concluded with a number of “performed” letters being presented to Simon. There were some suggestions, some criticisms and a great deal of food for thought for Mr. Startin.

What did you make of it? Are there any thoughts that you didn’t offer up but that you would like to now? Was it what you expected? Please tell all. Every bit of feedback will help us on our journey....

Then the sirens sounded once more and everyone headed back down into the shelter. Once in the public shelter, the inhabitants of Mayflower street played with how they might sleep and what they might do at different times of the night. We then experimented with playing sections of the interview recordings alongside live scenes of related action...

Do keep sharing your thoughts with us. Do you feel that it works to use pre-recorded sound and action together? How are you feeling about the set-up of your Mayflower home? Do you feel that the relationships are strengthening and becoming more believable to you? Share all.

 There was generally a good atmosphere in the shelter, people playing cards and games to pass the time. Hearing the sirens and actually getting down there was the worst part. Once you’re there, you have the comfort of all the families around you – and other people to help keep an eye on the kids - and things don’t seem as bad as they are.

If you were one of those sheltering on Thursday, do let us know about how you felt down there and what you did. Was it how you expected it would be? Did you find yourself more or less frightened that you anticipated? Do tell all. 

Then last week - we moved in!  Iris got hold of the Electoral Roll for 1939 and we focussed in on numbers 7-13. Having found out the names of the people that actually lived there, we formed little clusters of ihhabitants for each house, compromised of  family members of all ages and lodgers.  We spent a bit of time creating the relationships between these individuals and building up brief portraits of their characters.

Whilst we were keen to base these families on fact, we also wanted the license for these characters to be created through our own invention and ideas. For this reason, we kept the surnames of the individuals that lived in these houses and made up our own first names, based on their letters of our own names. So, for example - one of our participants, Lauren Rowley, becomes Rena Atkinson. 

If you were at this session - please give us details of your new household. We want to build up our very own street!!  Let us know your number and who is living in your house. The Mayflower Street census has begun....

 The interviewees were Geillo and Wendy form Bacon's College and they are going to come and do their work placement at Bubble in December, so it was a good practical introduction to the project. Sharon Rapaport - one of our volunteers - supported the interview and did a fanatastic job

 Just to remind everyone that the website launch will now happen on the 4th November at 6pm - just before the regular Thursday session. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy exploring the site!