Day 2 @Latitude

Still from today's show. All photos by Matthew Twaddell

After being woken up by heavy rain and presuming that the day ahead would be a rough one, everyone is all smiles today because the sun has put his hat on once more and provided us with another glorious day for festival going.

The second show went brilliantly. Everything felt slicker and tighter and the audience were much more responsive – we even got giggles and sniffles, and a big cheer at the end.

Following the show we had a bit of a panic because our representative at The Helen Bamber Foundation rang to say that she was having problems with her transport and that she subsequently wasn’t going to make it to the festival in time for the scheduled post-show discussion. So, after an emergency meeting we decided to chair it ourselves putting the emphasis on what we are trying to do as a company and how art can provoke change, raise awareness and change social conscience.

With a modest crowd in The Literary Salon we covered how Shatterbox is trying to tackle the huge problem of sex trafficking “from a different angle” and the dilemmas we are faced as a theatre company exploring such a sensitive topic: “are we trying to raise awareness or simply entertain?” We aim for both.

The audience soon warmed up and we were pleased with the level of engagement and passion the audiences have for the subject. We discussed the help that exists for victims of sex trafficking and handed out leaflets for unseen(uk) who give safety, hope and choice to people affected by trafficking, and are currently running a campaign called “Sponsor a room” which allows you to directly play a part in helping tackle the problem.

The cast, crew and audience enjoy a chat.

Highlights of today include Frisky and Mannish on the Cabaret stage – the decadent duo slickly performed material old and new and were as funny as ever! We also really enjoyed  Peter Hall in conversation in the Literary Salon discussing the state of British theatre and the impeding cuts to the Arts Council. “I believe passionately in subsidy,” he said – don’t we all! Director Thea Sharrock, who was leading the Q and A then added, “these are the beginnings of very dark times for British theatre.” Dun dun duuuuuuun!

Celeb Watch: Jarvis Cocker.

Trends: floral jump suits

What we’ve been talking about: THE BODY SHOP’s campaign against sex trafficking.