I’m readying myself for my debut at the National…

This week Talking Birds‘ touring tin Whale makes an appearance on the South Bank as part of Watch This Space, a summer-long Festival of Outdoor Performance.

For a few minutes at a time, The Whale swallows up its audience – who become privy to a narrative in which a lonesome submariner pines for his distant land-lubbing lover. Like its travelling cousin The Black Maze (Stan’s Cafe) The Whale has beguiled outdoor audiences in the UK and beyond for several years, but has been rarely spotted thus far in 2010. Performance times will be 1pm – 6.30pm (28th July) and 12.30pm – 6.30pm (29th July). See the WTS programme for more details.

The Black Maze, a pitch-black labyrinth built onto the back of a truck, will make an appearance in the same festival next week (4th – 8th August, assuming I can safely despatch it from its MOT depot later this morning) and Stan’s Cafe will also be installing a latest version of the Steps Series at the NT, titled Revolutionary Steps, as a complement to the current production of Danton’s Death, in the Olivier Theatre.

Meanwhile you can befriend a Whale’s Facebook page, which is fast gathering a collection of fine images captured from former destinations. The page will also provide a running Whale-watch from the South Bank.