It’s good to be back

For me that’s mainly a class thing. Not feeling like I’m supposed to be in a theatre, or if I’m allowed to be then it’s got conditions to it. But it’s also a queer thing and a disabled thing as well, historically we’ve not had a lot of fans either.

I actually had quite a few people come up to me at the 2019 events and say that they wouldn’t have come if it was in a theatre. That for their own reasons they hadn’t always felt welcome in them. That sort of blew my mind a bit, how many other people felt the same. People were saying they just felt safe here, like they had permission to do it, or to be beginners, or to be a bit sh*t. It was fine. It was sort of the point. Especially for people who had never done anything in theatre before, and we had a few people feel safe and supported enough to present their very first pieces here, which I’m incredibly proud of.

The 2019 night wasn’t curated either, which I think helped with that feeling of safety. I was really adamant about that. It didn’t always work, I’ll be honest! But I didn’t like the idea of me being some kind of sole arbiter of quality? Of what was good enough to put up on a stage? Especially for a scratch night, like isn’t that the opposite of the point? I was always more interested in creating that space for exploration and sharing and play, rather than a pitch-fest for finished products.

Having a completely un-curated night now would be a bit of an administrative nightmare though ‘cause we don’t have the cash to let six different shows rock up for every event - which did happen once or twice. I will say we do have a system for programming the nights in 2024 that isn’t about some weird, pre-conceived notion of what ‘good’ looks like. It’s more about who will gain the most from being here, what the work means to audiences and the community. So it’s still got that element of not trying to define quality or be weird and judge people by that, which I’m glad about. That’s important. Scratch nights are supposed to be about experimenting and play, not bringing a polished thing. I never want people to feel pressured that they have to be all singing and all dancing and ready for a national tour at this night.

The 2019 nights actually only ran for four months. It doesn’t feel like it at all. It’s such a short amount of time really, but I was able to support 15 new pieces of work and over 25 artists in that time. Which… Actually is a bit mental isn’t it? I don’t think about that enough. That’s actually wild ain’t it? 15 brand new pieces of work in four months. Over 25 artists. Just goes to show you though what can be achieved with scratch nights - even only a few of ‘em - why they’re important, and why we need more of them now.

I didn’t want to rush into bringing the night back, I wanted to make sure I properly did the rounds and listened to what people wanted from it and what they needed now with how bonkers everything is in the sector and the world. Now feels like the right time. And if we can support that many people and that many pieces when it’s just me faffing about on me ones with no money, imagine what we can do now that it’s a proper funded operation.

I really am buzzing to be back at The Tin, with a fab new team, and obviously thrilled to have a few bags from the Arts Council - ta very by the way. We’re in such a good position to take these events from where they started and build them into something really brilliant. That’s the idea anyway. I’m glad you’re coming along for the ride.

I suppose I should do this shouldn’t I, as I was the only one here before? Sound.

Hello, I’m Georgia, Producer for Blindspot Nights.

We have a nice little team now, but it was just me on my ones when it started in 2019. I ran the nights down at The Tin because firstly, they’re great, and secondly, because I sort of knew it wouldn’t have the right vibe if I did it in a theatre. It would get all formal and weird and we’d all sort of tighten up and try and be on our best behaviour, y’know?

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