Three four-star reviews

Martin is telling people we have 12 stars. I keep asking him to also say that we have 12 stars out of 15, rather than out of 20 or 25... And some gratifying things have been said about the show in those reviews. He thinks he's funny. He finds it very hard to give two hoots for stars, reviews and their ilk.

And I can see where he's coming from.

There are some very moving things about the show for me, nearly all of which have all occurred after the show. People laugh, don't get me wrong, but many people cry in the audience. Yesterday three people came out together, the first woman and I had a hug, then the second woman and I did the same and finally the guy who was with them and I embraced. I thanked them for coming. They thanked me for the show. I have no idea what resonance the show had for them, but there is a wonderful sense of camaraderie, openness..... of gentle acceptance at these moments. I have no idea whether this is right or wrong, I have no interest in judging, but it feels like we are saying to one another, yes, very terrible things happen, but we are still human. And we still like theatre. And, oh, we can still laugh.

Or that's what it feels like to me, maybe it's different for everyone else. And I guess that's the point: your experience is your experience, whatever it is you will live with it and you will not have it taken away, regardless of whether you'd like it to vanish or not.

The other day Martin and I made some new friends. One of them had cried throughout the show, and at the end she apologised. Even if I had been aware, it would have been fine by me (the great front-of-house staff have already let me know when another audient warned them she might cry in the show, so I talked to her beforehand, assuring her that she could do whatever she wanted, including leave and come back, and that it was all acceptable to us). But eight of us went for tea after the show and we shared death and life stories where we were all allowed to talk about... whatever. Their stories were amazing, enlightening and a privilege to hear.

Basically when I'm not having a strange time I'm having a great time. Hoorah for the traumatised who come to the Hut at 1pm and laugh and cry, that's what I say.