This past bank holiday, I did something pretty amazing that was a massive tick off my personal bucket list. I helped fundraise, something I’ve always wanted to do but struggled to find the right outlet due to my physical limitations, and indeed the sheer amount of logistical planning it would take given these to find somewhere where I could, say, skydive puts me off a little!

That’s why I was overjoyed to have found Read For The Globe – a 48 hour readathon of 16 Shakespeare plays, streamed live to Youtube, organised by a group of students from the Globe’s MA in Shakespeare Studies to raise money for the venue. The pandemic has brought the arts industry to its knees, and as it has always been such a source of positivity and I place where I feel accepted and at home despite my limitations, I wanted to be a small part in helping the industry I treasure so much. Plus, I count myself as a lover of the bard’s work, so what better way to do so? At last check  writing this, the fundraiser had smashed its original goal and is now on closing in on an incredible £13,000!  Please donate if you can, and go to Youtube searching Read For The Globe to see all of our efforts.

I read  in Henry V on Sunday, and Romeo and Juliet on Monday – playing Exeter and Bourbon, and Gregory & First Servant. Despite some technical hitches on my end and missed cues due to nerves, I felt I did a fairly good job – and had forgotten what a thrill I get from reading Shakespeare aloud! Special shoutout to Phillipe Bosher, who was an absolute marvel in the titular role of Henry V.

I say with total sincerity that it was the most fun two days I’ve had since lockdown began. I’ve been feeling the loneliness and negativity creep back in slowly as the months have progressed, particularly in terms of missing my theatre community, so to have been a part of a mammoth creative undertaking with a group of passionate, likeminded and immensely talented people – both in the industry in various ways and supporters like myself has really been a massive help, and I’ve noticed a marked improvement  in my energy levels and mood since.

That positivity has given me great pause to reflect, and got me thinking about life post lockdown; how I want this to translate! 

My podcast: Circumstances pre pandemic have left my podcast without a producer, and the kit to record; as well as a massive sense of fear that nobody will listen to me prattling on about theatre on my own, but I miss doing it so, so much. So, I’d like to order myself a mic and remedy that as soon as theatre can return!

Theatre: See it even if no-one wants to go with you – I’m so guilty of not seeing enough shows just because I don’t want to go without a friend. I think a huge element of that is insecurity just from a logistical point of view – London in particular isn’t the easiest place to navigate with confidence on your own as a wheelchair user, but I’ll continue to work on building that. I want to spend more time at smaller venues seeing work too.

Continue to fundraise in ways I can: Given my physical limitations, and what an absolute ball I had doing Read For The Globe, I think read-athons might be a great way forward on this score. Holler if you want to get together and do this virtually sometime – it doesn’t have to be Shakespeare, either!

Keep investing in myself: I appreciate this won’t work for everyone, but I’ve found lockdown much easier to cope with by being creative – I’m on a course run by a bestselling author planning a novel of my own with a view to publication once it’s written, and learning French. I want to continue doing the things that make me happy and also look for new things that challenge and maybe even scare me a little bit… be that through classes, or anything else.

Make New Friends: Having my disability can be very lonely as accessibility is so often a problem. Seeing so many people from all areas of the world come together to celebrate our love of Shakespeare and the arts industry as a whole was really heartening and has inspired me to keep working to get to know people and find those places where I feel most at home.

To quote Cymbeline: Boldness be my friend. Thankyou all at Read For The Globe for reminding me of that.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends! -Just prior to reading Henry V.