It seems I've created a thing.

Not the new play, that's still very much to be created, but it occurred to me that many of you would probably like to go to Edinburgh and see our show (once it's created), but can't, whereas there are just as likely to be many people going or already up there, but somewhat overwhelmed by the vast choice of shows, and nowhere near in a position to afford the ones they would love to see.

So I thought, why not bring you two together. 

And I think this is a unique thing, I've certainly not come across it before. But if you have done the same thing or seen it done elsewhere, then in the spirit of the thing itself, I hope you will consider it pure synchronicity. Or the Zeitgeist.

The idea is super simple: if you can't make it to Edinburgh but would like to allow somebody else to see it on your behalf, and at the same time support our show, then you can now give a seat.

The seat will be made available to anyone who for their own reasons can't afford to pay for a ticket themselves. All they have to do is tell us what that reason is and they also have to agree to do a short write-up of the play, so we can share their experience with you and with the rest of the world. 

Both can happen anonymously. But if you give a seat you can also have your name mentioned on the credits page as a special thanks and if you take a seat you can choose to do your write up under your own name so the person who's given you the seat can get in touch with you if they want.

That's it. There are no means tests and no terms and conditions. It's just a straightforward 'pay-forward' scheme which allows those of you with a generous disposition to put some good vibes into the universe, which the universe, I have no doubt, will find a way to send back to you.

As for us:  we have plenty of seats and a show that only exists with an audience, so everybody wins.

If you want to give a seat you can do so here. If you want to take a seat you can do so here. If you have any questions, they're probably answered here. And if you want to share the love, please do!

It's official: we're going to Edinburgh.

We're taking a piece that I haven't yet written but that everybody in a sense already knows a bit, because woven into it will be some of Shakespeare's Sonnets, and we're just a little excited because we'll have a big performance space to play with at Greenside Nicolson Square and just the two of us on stage. 

Plus some projection. Which also has yet to be created.

Plenty to be getting on with then, but I do want to give a special mention to Ben Fleetwood Smyth who started the whole thing, with a simple but inspired bit of lateral thinking. 

Some time last year, out of the blue, he posted on Facebook the fact that he'd just realised it was 154 days till Christmas, and that this happened to be the exact same number as there are sonnets. 

So he created a group and proceeded to post one sonnet a day every day until Christmas, and that's what got me going, because I'd never read all of them before, and therefore I'd never realised that within them contained lies a thrilling story of passion, power and possession. The one that I'm about to work into a play.

So cheers, Ben, we'll buy you a drink when you come to see us. (And there's another coincidence: Ben and I know each other through the Landor Theatre, where Ben played a part in a musical to which I'd written the book. It so happens that the Landor is also where The Sonneteer will have its London previews. I love quirks like that...)