Biffy Clyro

I created this piece to document what we've been missing out on during lockdown; what I've missed most of all is live performances. Performance makes up so much of my identity and it's been difficult to adjust to having such a huge chunk of my life torn away from me, and I'm sure many people feel the same way as I do. Sure, there have been online performances, but nothing replicates making an audience laugh, crying your eyes out in the audience, or that weightless feeling when your favourite band steps out on stage. I live for the interaction between a performer and their audience; it fascinates me that you're all strangers, but you're all so invested in each other that you can let that subside for 3 hours and become lost in the moment that you've all been so excited for for months. It got me thinking, if that's what I want so much, then couldn't I just be both the performer and the audience? It sounds ridiculous, but that's a good thing! I didn't want to sit in front of a camera and take myself completely seriously: I wanted to be lighthearted about it, I wanted to give myself and others reassurance that things will be normal one day, I wanted to try to cheer people up, in my own clumsy way. This is entirely beside the point, but I have actually got tickets to see Biffy Clyro now. Maybe the show will be cancelled, but it just goes to show that if you're so passionate about something that you decide to act on it in the form of art (even if it involves drawing on a beard), then you never know what might be around the corner!

This piece is part of Company Three's One Minute in the Middle of a Pandemic challenge and was created as part of Arts Council England's The Way I See It project which captures the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on the lives of children and young people, articulated in their own voices, through their own creativity.

Company Three, is a theatre company based in Islington, North London and is a leading force for change for teenagers in its community and around the world.