The stories I’m working with for this piece have become increasingly woven together, which is satisfying – to see a shape emerging that makes something new of its various parts. But for this piece, I’m really concerned that all the stories in its fabric also work by themselves in my telling. There’s a magic in creating a performance that combines stories, and sometimes other elements, into a cohesive, immersive journey for the audience and teller; but I’m also aware that I can lean on the composition as a crutch during the telling of a piece – it can allow some sections to remain slightly weak or neglected in favour of an emphasis on the greater whole. To avoid this I’m finding opportunities to tell all the stories in their entirety – even those where only a small section may end up being present in the piece. Last night I told two of the stories at Fabula’s stage in Stockholm – and in ways very different to how they’ll appear in Trickster. Telling them ‘in the original’ seems important in ensuring I can try and get to the heart of what really makes each of them tick, and what it is that allows each story to do its work onstage.