This month was all about Kabuliwala — our brand new play in development. We spent three days in Justin’s dining room with just the third draft and a big red pen. Around the table: two fresh-faced actors, one old-faced actor (me), our director, and our dramaturge. No lights, no costumes, no staging — just words, questions, and plenty of tea.

There’s something deeply exposing (and exciting) about hearing a new script out loud after months of solitary writing. Bits you thought were genius die quietly. Moments you doubted suddenly sing. And then there are the surprises — emotional truths and comic gems that only reveal themselves when living, breathing humans speak them into the room.

Kabuliwala is inspired by a classic Rabindranath Tagore story, but our version is set in contemporary New Zealand. It’s tender, funny, and still very much a work-in-progress.

By day three, the script was full of scribbles, the floor was littered with paper, and our heads were buzzing with possibility. We’re not there yet — but we’re on the scent of something exciting.

Stay tuned.