Oxford Playhouse approaches me about a script written by their then stage door keeper, under the name of David Hastings.
It is a meticulously researched two-hander, that tells the story of the Space Race, from the launch of Sputnik to the first landing on the moon.
Would I be interested in directing it, and, if so, how would I do it?
In the interview I find myself talking about three things that are fundamental to what I do, but that, up to this point, I have not fully [[articulated]]:
[[Theatre]] is about telling stories, and I like to tell stories about things that seem impossible. I then like to see these things achieved through the power of human invention.
[[Imagination]] can transform anything into anything else. Everything in theatre is pretend.
And, because everything in theatre is pretend, then the audience do all the hard work. All they need is the right invitation to play.
I get the job and, guided by these fundamentals, the actors and I create the show. A beachball is the orbiting Sputnik; a can of Spam is Alan Shepard’s space capsule; and Neil and Buzz climb down a filing cabinet on to the surface of the moon. At that summer’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, we win an award for the best prop – a [[brown 60s Thermos flask]] that is Eagle and Columbia.
One Small Step is revived three times and tours to twenty two countries. It is my first really successful directing job.