Lun to Brum

I have been feeling a little odd all day; dizzy, swimmy, a bit head-achey. I think this must be that fabled thing called jet lag that seasoned travellers talk about.

I've been at Westminster Under School all day, auditioning 90 or so young people with the NYMT team. We saw them in groups of up to 30, which nearly made my head explode. We met some great people, however, some of whom were greatly talented. I recalled about 14 for Brass, which is a fairly high number by my standards. We were without our director, Sara Kestelman today, so I recalled a couple of kids I wasn't altogether sure about so that she could give me her professional opinion. She is, after all, the person who will be tasked with getting the best performances out of them. I have to say, it's so marvellous to have Sara on board with this project. It's Sara-bloomin-Kestelman after all, the Olivier-award-winning, grande dame of British theatre. How lucky does that make me?

We're off to Birmingham tomorrow to see what the Midlands has to offer in terms of talent. I shall be asking every single person where they're from in the hope someone says Northamptonshire or Warwickshire. There's a character in Brass who actually comes from Coventry, so I'd love to find a legit Coventrian to play him. Up the Midlands.

That said, auditions in Birmingham mean a very early start and the concept of 6am on a Sunday isn't exactly filling me with joy, so I better get myself off to bed. I shall sleep like the dead, no doubt.