Wow what an evening. We opened to near 300 audience in the most beautiful of Ampitheatres: Thorington Theatre in Suffolk.
The audience were so receptive to the story, engaged and invested. Myself and the theatre then invited everyone to swim with me at nearby Dunwich beach. I was bundled into the theatre owner Lindy's little jeep and we headed off down little lanes with me gawping at the stunning wildflower fields and sunlight through the woods. Apparently we'd caused a traffic queue of audiences heading to the beach, and the locals in the pub came out to see what all the commotion was!
As I changed into my cossie on the beach I couldn't believe the sight around me: literally hundreds of people undressing to enter the water and the sound of laughter and excitement, and everyone taking photos of this wonderful spectacle.
The sun was setting as I got into the warm sea (warm in comparison to the northern waters I am use to!) and I was greeted by groups of women, individual men, people wanting to share in the show and tell me their story. I joined in on several water selfies and had a really lovely time with this huge community of relative strangers to each other. It was magical.
This time last year I was having a similar experience in Cornwall and the seals came to join us, and this was just as special.
As I changed more folk came to chat with me, one man telling me how this evening after seeing SWIM he was on a journey again with his grief having lost his sister when he was a young boy. Tears filled his eyes. We stood quiet watching everyone around us and the red sun going down. I thanked him for sharing with me.
We headed back, I waved goodbye to folk. Down the back lanes watching the red glow across the fields and listening to the tawny owls as I crawled into bed in our little barns near the theatre. What a night.
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