In August I spent a week in Malvern, PA with the wonderful People’s Light Theatre company and our very own National Theatre of Scotland and independent artist colleagues Catrin Evans, Davey Anderson and MJ McCarthy. Delving in depth and with passion into the question of MEANINGFUL WORK we opened a very large vat of possibility and potential. Both ‘work’ and ‘meaning’ are huge topics to research and distil.

It was a pleasure and a delight, and a lot for the mind intellect to engage with. I learned a lot, have much to think about and realise that as a body-based person I can often have the measure of ‘a good days work’ because I am literally, quite physically done-in and exhausted. Knowing that no more is possible at the end of a day is quite a delicious feeling. Ah, the value of the direct and embodied experience cannot be underestimated. Neither can the value of time spent gathering, researching and reflecting.

No matter what the upshot of this week of collaborative work (and we all hope there will be one) has left with meaningful experiences and information to carry with them out into the future. That in itself is a valuable thing.