Introduction
I have just discovered the Genesis Theatre website, which I have really enjoyed looking at. It has brought back so many wonderful memories, and when I contacted Chris Dumigan to congratulate him on putting it all together so brilliantly, he suggested that I might contribute something for it from my own perspective, so here goes. I apologise in advance if I get facts and dates wrong or muddled up*, but what follows is how I remember it...
(In fact, since beginning this memoir, I realise that I have indeed muddled dates up, so if there appear to be discrepancies over chronology between my account and Chris D's, ALWAYS defer to Chris! His dates are definitely correct. However, although at times I may have got the order of events wrong, I hope I have been true to the spirit of the extraordinary adventure that was Genesis...)
I realise that it is now almost 30 years since the last Genesis production – 30 years! That's a very long time; it means, I now realise, that I was only 30 myself when that last production took place, and yet, in spite of all the time that has elapsed since, it is clear, from reading the various entries on the website, just how important those few years of its existence were for all who took part in some or all of its work. Chris mentions that it touched the lives of well over 150 people in the Greater Manchester area between 1975 and 1982 (not including all the audience members who came so loyally to all of the shows) and indeed it did: Genesis Theatre was an extremely formative period in my own life, for not only did I make so many great friends, I also met my wife Amanda through it, and last month we celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary! So what are my own memories of that time? Here follows my own set of reminiscences, which I hope might prompt further recollections from any readers who might encounter these...