Tam Gilbert

I first saw WCT at Kingston Lacy. The idea of watching a play whilst eating a picnic greatly appealed to me. I hadn’t quite realised how much the action would take the audience from place to place, and exploring the beautiful grounds in this way was mesmerising.

At the time, I was a member of DATco, part of Double Act Theatre Company, a community theatre group with which Tony and Gill Horitz were heavily involved through their work with Bournemouth Borough Council and Theatre in Education. I loved theatre, though I had not been in a full production since school. Over the years I performed in nine productions to schools, arts centres and other venues and my confidence and passion for educational/community theatre grew.

I was always keen to join WCT, but was hindered by the distance. Now, having recently established myself working professionally in the field of disability/community theatre as a workshop facilitator, I find myself missing something; the regular opportunity to perform with like-minded people.

I finally joined WCT last summer and my first experience was exploring WW1 with Periplum. I had never worked site-specifically before and loved playing with ideas in different locations: popping into a shop for one improvised scene, the museum for another, finally creating a short piece which moved around the exciting if challenging Forest Garden.

I’m really looking forward to getting stuck in to a full WCT production and creating some magical and historical theatre!