.

Wonderful . . . and colourful . . . the night we opened there were gombeys in the art gallery above us; it sounded like 400 elephants were tap dancing above the theatre. They were performing for an opening, and we were getting ready to open the play, and it was like "booga, dugga, dugga, shug, shug" above us. But they stopped at 7 ? so we didn't have to worry. Absolutely, yes, it's been unusual for the Festival to have a professional show brought in from away specifically produced for the Festival. It was really exciting and it was a challenge, in some ways, because of the logistics. We had to consider rehearsal time, and all the things that go along with that, and the casting process.

But speaking to Karen Pollard, the artistic administrator of the Festival, after we opened, she was very pleased at the outcome. She thought it was exciting for local audiences to come to this show, with actors of this calibre ? and know it was produced just for them. This was the very first time they (these actors) had ever done this show in front of an audience.

: Charles (Shaughnessy) is a very recognisable face to Bermudian audiences. is on TV, like, three times a day and it's a show with a younger demographic. But Charles, being English, also has appeal to the standard Festival audience because of the work he's done in theatre in England.

We chose Judy (Kuhn) because she's been associated with so many of the Broadway mega-musicals. Her voice is on many of the high-selling cast albums of the past decade. We thought that theatre fans would be truly excited to see her live.

And she provided the voice of Pocahontas in the Disney cartoon, which is so cool.

: Charles and Judy are really keen to do it again. Charles has been brainstorming for the past couple of days ? after the terror of getting it up once. It's a very daunting production for actors, it's a huge, huge undertaking.

And now that they've done it they're like, "Wow, that was a lot of work, we've got to do it again." So, yeah, we are definitely looking at taking it to different venues in the States which are interested in actors of this calibre.

You have to be very careful where you take this play. I picked it very specifically for the Festival audience having grown up here and knowing the demographic of this place. It's quite a literate, worldly, well-read audience.

Opening night people had a very passionate response to it. I was really pleased. The kind of people that I hoped would respond to the play were very moved by it, not just by the production but by the writing itself.

It requires an audience of a certain palate and culture. And that audience adores this piece and adores the characters and becomes very involved in the story. People who are less so, it seems to fly over their heads a little bit.

It requires patience, which is one of the messages of the play.

: It's about a famous author who is on a nine-hour train journey from Paris to Frankfurt. In his compartment is a woman who has loved his work all her life and all she has to read is one of his books. Does she take out the book and read it, or talk to him? The two characters start by speaking to us, and then about halfway through, begin to contemplate each other.

I think for me it's about the life long search for the person who 'gets' you. I think of soul mates as jigsaw pieces. They are two different shapes ? they are never going to be two identical people ? and these two characters are very different. It's about the desperate longing to find the other piece that completes a picture in your life. The very core of this piece is really about loneliness.

: I have been called upon, more often that I would like, to do multiple duties on projects, usually because of the simple financial advantage. When people find out you can do more than one thing, and they don't have to pay two or three salaries, that's a very attractive prospect for them; so it makes me somewhat more marketable.

However, theatre is one of the only truly collaborative arts. The lighting designer I brought with us is brilliant, but he also enters into a true collaboration. He questions and really encourages discussion. It's not a matter of me dictating. I think theatre is a place where you can have many cooks, as long as there is one head chef deciding the final presentation of the dish.

It's my job, as director, to shape it into one viewpoint. I always try to work with people who are smarter and more talented than I am, as they will always challenge me.

: I think I'm smart about some things and really dumb about others. I think the best thing for a person to learn is when they can learn from another person's input and assistance.

I have found that the most successful and exciting collaborations I've had have been with people who are truly, truly brilliant. I find it much much less frustrating and daunting, being the person trying to reach their level of expectations.

: I feel very lucky and fortunate about the education I received; I had some wonderful mentors. I didn't have an easy developmental process here, but I went through a superb educational process being able to look up to people like Nigel Kermode, headmaster of Saltus and English teacher, and one of the finest actors I've ever known, and the late (director) Carol Nichol, (theatre critic) Patricia Calnan and (actor) Wendy Wilkinson.

There were very special people who recognised my potential and challenged it, which is not an easy thing to do, particularly in theatrical arts.

I honestly don't think it's easy being a 14-year-old, gay, ballet class attending, lover of musical theatre anywhere in the world. Bermuda didn't make it any easier. I'm extremely grateful for the people who encouraged me, developed and pushed and taught me.

I left when I was 18 to study theatre, and design, at the University of Southern California. I have staged productions in regional theatres around America and designed on London's West End.

I came back every Christmas and I've wanted so much, maybe too much, to come back and work theatrically, but the (Bermuda) Festival has been the only venue that encouraged me.

I previously put feelers out when local companies were searching for professional directors. The Bermuda Festival was the first organisation to respond with enthusiasm. I'm very grateful to them.

I have really wanted to bring theatre back to the island, to try to give back to the audience that was supportive to me when I was young and developing.

It was frustrating to not be able to come back, and thrilling to have the opportunity. Each and every chance I'm given to come back I'm delighted to leap on it. I'm pleased the Festival is happy and that their trust wasn't in vain and that they are keen to have us work together again.

I think my exuberant temperament and my artistic enthusiasm have not tempered one ounce over the years ? but I think it's more welcome from a 31 year old than from a 14 year old. I had to grow up. I think my people skills have improved ? that's what directing is all about.

It's about how I communicate with people in their own individual voices, Charles and Judy, for instance, were directed differently. You can't learn directing, you either have it, or you don't.

: I love being a member of a theatre audience. I love seeing theatre as much as doing it and attempting to give people a theatre experience ? and to make them think. The thing I love about this play (is that it makes people think. The opportunity to try to give people that is really delightful.

I love being entertained and I love actors. I enjoy and respect working with them, it's such a huge joy. Working with these actors I have to take a big gulp when I think, "I'm going to take these actors I've admired, and tell them what to do, and shape them." That's a lot of trust.

: (cartoonist) Peter Woolcock. For a long time, when I was young, he took me under his wing.

Peter is not only a brilliant artist, but also a brilliant actor and musician and people don't get to see that very often. I treasure that relationship enormously. I think mentoring is incredibly important, which is one of the reasons why it is incredibly frustrating that it's been ten years until I've had a chance to come back. There's a lot of talent on the island, and there's a lot of young talent, and it deserves to be encouraged.

That sounds kind of egotistical. What I would say is, that I have something to share. I've been fortunate enough to learn from people who are far more brilliant than I am. It's about passing it on.

I don't think that anything I have to teach is an original thought of mine. You try to be a sponge, so it's awfully nice when people want to squeeze the sponge. It's a trickle-down effect.

: I'm currently working on the first draft of the stage adaptation of the movie for someone who I've previously worked with, a West End producer.

He's asked me to begin the process of adaptation, so I'm currently trying to trying the find best place in a dramatic story to put the song , which isn't the easiest thing in the world to do. And I'm also working on a new musical based on a book called , which is a big American Civil War novel.