A decade of Artistic Directorship

In the middle of 2015, the process started to find new Artistic Directors of the Sewell Barn Theatre. Michelle Montague and Robert Little had jointly guided this wonderful local theatre, which has been creating fine productions since 1980, through five seasons (Robert had also fulfilled the role on his own for nine seasons ending in 2005) and it was time for them to hand over the reins.

At that point, the Tilletts had been in the audience for shows since 2007 (the first being Cider with Rosie), and I had been performing on the stage since my first outing as Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf in 2009. Several people suggested that I might look at the AD role, mostly to a very firm 'no' - we had at that time only very recently moved out to the east coast of Norfolk, rather a distance from the theatre, and as a solo job it felt like a step too far. However, other possibilities were afoot; recently retired drama teacher Clare Williamson was also interested, and (long-story-short) the post was once again accepted as a joint role.

I spent the next seven years (including the COVID débâcle) working with Clare. Every show brought its challenges and delights; seven or eight each year, with each of us directing at least once per season (occasionally additionally and jointly, where another director had to step out of their planned project), as well as planning each season, selecting directors and approving their choices of show, obtaining rights, designing marketing material, supervising each show, supporting directors old and new, attending auditions, meetings, readthroughs and rehearsals, and much more.

Clare stepped back from her role in July 2023, after seven years with me - although she did immediately assume the mantles of front-of-house, props manager and wardrobe assistant! Into that gap came the force of nature that is Sabrina Poole, and for the following three seasons we continued to develop and facilitate the entertainment with what has, for so long, been the Barn's trademark high standards. Both ladies have been an utter delight to work with; I have learned so much from and with them.

My final production, in July 2026 and concluding the 2025/26 season, was J B Priestley's When We Are Married. On the last night of that show, the usual cast exit after the curtain call was paused by the entrance of Sabrina, who explained to the audience the significance of the evening, and asked Clare to retrieve me from my place in the seats. Surrounded by my cast, I was heart-full and beyond grateful for their kind words and gifts. The beautiful book, collated by Sabrina and my husband Selwyn, and designed by the talented Phil Williamson, commemorated all twelve of my directorial outings between 2017-2026; I was gifted two roses ('Peace' and, naturally, 'Drama Queen'!), with a book of poetry (about roses, of course) signed by many audience members from the run of this show.

After the show, Jonathan Redding presented me with the appreciation of the Trustees, with a card, and a refill for his delicious Norfolk Gin; and my beloved final cast gave me a card, another wonderful rose ('Silver Wedding', given the subject of the play we'd just finished) and the image (brilliantly photoshopped by the amazing Myles Crowder) of the three couples in their wedding clothes, signed by all the cast. Oh, and I mustn't forget that Mrs Northrop (the fabulous Helen Wells) wrote, and read, a poem for me!

I could not be more grateful and happy for all the love and support that has been shown to me, across those ten years and at its conclusion. I will of course continue to be around the Sewell Barn; although I'm stepping back from the Committee, I'll continue to be involved in marketing and the newsletter; and, for the first time in many years, I plan to audition for a couple of shows in the new season. If I'm successful, I'll be back on the other side of the footlights!

Oh, and a final PS: as all my casts know, I am an Excel-obsessed geek ("I didn't know I was being directed by an IT department..."). I've indulged myself and worked out that, during the 15 shows that I directed (or co-directed) at the Barn across the last 15 years (which includes three in 2011-2015 before I became AD), I have worked with a total of 90 talented actors - whose appearances number between one and seven of my shows. In addition, I've enjoyed the skills of many patient technicians, set builders, costume ladies, SMs and ASMs, and everyone else who makes entertainment not only possible but joyful.

🎭THANK YOU🎭

With my fellow Artistic Directors:
Clare Williamson (left), 2016-2023, and Sabrina Poole, 2023-2026

Link to more photographs of that final farewell, and my lovely gifts

Link to a video of Phil's beautiful book

(I wanted the video of the book to include the music of The Mosquito's Parade - our curtain call music from the show - but YouTube won't let me... so you'll have to access it separately here!)

Egypt - March 2026

I wanted to gather together images of our recent 'big holiday', and looked for any of my random blogs that might be an appropriate home. I realise that it's been ten years since I used this one, but it's as good a place as any!

Ramses II (statue on right) and his wife Queen Nefertari - with a couple of twenty-first century photobombers. At the stunning site of Abu Simbel.

My husband has had a great affection for the Middle East for many years. His parents met while on national service in the Holy Land; he studied Egyptology (called Oriental Studies in those days) at Peterhouse, Cambridge; and on several occasions between the 1970s and 1993, he was employed as a guest lecturer on various Nile cruises.

Towards the end of his Cambridge days he wrote a small book ('Egypt Itself') about Robert Hay, Esq - an extraordinary character from Scotland, who, in the 1820s, took himself off on the Grand Tour, as many wealthy Europeans did in those days. That book is considered of very great interest to a very tiny niche of the population. During lockdown, and then again since his retirement in November 2023, he has gradually revised and expanded the book, and it will be published this summer by Archaeopress, both in printed and electronic format. (I'll add more information here when this happens.)

Given all this, it's not surprising that he has always wanted his wife to experience the extraordinary atmosphere, beauty, challenges, art and history of the place. It wasn't something that was within our budget for many years; but having received a legacy after my mother's passing (just a couple of weeks before my husband's retirement), we decided to 'go for it'. It took a further year of planning, and making a nuisance of ourselves to the very patient Greg at Orbital Travel, but we finally made it - spending just under a month over there.

This was, of course, a very short time after a certain orange man-baby had excelled himself in havoc, letting slip the dogs of entirely unnecessary and unjustifiable war; and naturally we were apprehensive, as were many of our friends. However, the Nile area was judged to be about the safest place to travel in the Middle East, and in the event we had no problems whatsoever. Western tourists have always been guarded with care in any case, and the fact that two of our evening wanders from our boat were made only with the escort of armed police would have happened anyway. 

We spent the first two weeks travelling on MS Moon River from Cairo to Aswan; we were then driven round the High Dam to a second boat, the impressive MS Omar Kayyam, for a week on Lake Nasser; and finally, transferred by road from Aswan to Luxor, where we spent three days in the beautiful Winter Pavillon Hotel. 

The photo albums linked below are from those three sections. I've tried to annotate some photographs to show where we were and what we were doing! And I'll try to find time to add more detail to this description soon.

Volume 1: Cairo to Aswan

https://photos.app.goo.gl/e7vVjR2WFtwBgoH69

Volume 2: Lake Nasser

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qmMDCeMWF2VkKv6Z8

Volume 3: Luxor

https://photos.app.goo.gl/XUuYUr4d5qKZ4oi48