Karen Koren: As one festival finishes, another begins

I’ve had a relaxing weekend in Norway and can’t tell you how lovely the weather was there. I don’t know why I haven’t been at this time of year before.

It is so beautiful and mild, sunny and not cold for the time of year.

It’s always hard to finish a Festival that has been so full-on. Across the month of August hundreds and thousands of people visited the Gilded Ballloon, enjoying the hundreds of shows that were staged. In order to manage all of these shows there was a host of staff who all wanted to party when the Festival ended without a thought in the world.

The only thing is, the few managers who run the venue with me have to think of the future. So, first we do the big clear-up, which is hard. It is amazing how many sets get left behind, how much lost property there is and how much rubbish accumulates in such a short space of time.

After all the goodbyes, there is a small supportive staff left to write reports on how things can be improved and also to make sure that the venues are left in good shape.

We have to be out within the week, as Freshers’ week starts so quickly after the Festival. We can then look forward... What we are working on now is the tour of a show that did brilliantly at the Festival, Casablanca – The Gin Joint Cut.

It is a true homage to film noir, with wonderful twists and turns, imaginatively written and directed by Morag Fullarton, she really knows her stuff.

It’s a show not to be missed.