Keeping up with Jake in February

I was rehearsing Guru of Chai today in preparation for a short season in Wollongong, Australia this week.

We started writing Guru in 2008 partly as a response to the Global Financial Crisis. Theatres were closing their doors around the world and we wanted to create a piece that we could perform in people’s living rooms. If you weren’t going to come to the theatre then we’d bring the theatre to you!

The very first performance of Guru of Chai was done in the downstairs living room of director and co-writer, Justin Lewis’s house in Pt Chev. A few weeks ago that downstairs room was ankle deep in water. Justin and Rachel had to rip up the carpets and parts of the walls and take multiple trailer loads of ruined possessions to the dump.

It’s weird to look back at the GFC like it was the good ol’ days. The floodwaters have receded but I know for many on the Indian Ink team, the real tears were in the days that followed. The unpleasant surprises under the house. The new stains on the ceiling. The clean-up that never seems to end.

I’ve often reflected that running a theatre company means operating at a low level of crisis at the best of times but there’s a particular quality of exhaustion these days that just lingers.

Take care everyone, and in the words of our Guru: “Talking stops me thinking I am alone in the universe.”

 

Life’s full of plot twists – don’t miss ours! Join our mailing list and you’ll get sneak peeks at new shows, ticket deals, and stories that might just change the way you see the world. Click here to sign up!