London, 30th of June 2026

👋 Greetings, dear readers.

It’s been so hot in London last week, it made me miss Bulgaria. Energy’s been draining constantly due the heat. Furthermore my partner is away for a long retreat in the other side of the world, so I’m home alone these days. An autistic person with ADHD traits alone without adjacent schedule is one warning to add to no bright light, no contact with water and no eating after midnight.

Seriously though, with no gigs this week so much freedom feels overwhelming, my sleeping pattern is a mess and I’m literally haunted with nightmares about the current state of the world. Heatwaves, earthquakes, and the constant prominence of the far-right. My misanthropy levels are through the roof.

I’m forcing myself to go out though, to the coffee shop, to the theatre… stepping outside the door frame is a huge success for my mental health. Plus, I like to walk through an adjacent street connecting Camden Road and Kentish Town Road, where I know and have befriended the local cats.

Why am I telling you all this? We all go through periods of low motivation; sometimes it hits right after a big, successful gig that took a lot of energy. We absolutely deserve time to recharge, specially neurodivergent people.

However, it’s crucial to recognize these moments so we can gently push ourselves forward. No matter how much we love what we do, whether it’s Playback Theatre, improv, or anything else, we sometimes have to dangle the carrot ourselves before we slip into a spiral that pulls us further and further away from our passion.

Since getting my diagnosis, I’ve gotten better at identifying these moments. Even if I don't always take immediate action, at least I can sound the alarm. I don’t have an actual accountability buddy or anyone to practice body doubling with right now. In a way, you all are exactly that, since I treat this newsletter as my one constant. Reach out if you ever feel the same, maybe we can work something out.

To sum it up, this week I’m just gathering energy, for both myself and you, for those moments when we need a little extra push. But, hey, we made it through the first half of the year, now it’s downhill, hopefully smooth.

Sorry, this one got a bit personal.

Stay hydrated, love to you all. 🫶

🎭 The Theatre bit

When I moved to the UK and started to learn a bit more about the theatre scene, I found it curious that so many shows were labelled as 'WIP' (Work in Progress). That is something very uncommon in Spain (at least in Valencia), even in independent theatres. Every show is presented as intended.

Theatre “Fringes” are used as a testing ground for many performers to showcase and get feedback for their shows, hoping for a proper theatrical release eventually.

Last week I attended one of those WIP shows at The Divine Fringe, in North London. And I really enjoyed it.

Welcome to my Death is a one-person show from multidisciplinary Chinese performer Hui Chen. As the title suggests, this is a piece that speaks about our ultimate destination through metaphor and a brief moment of audience interaction at the beginning, which I felt leaned softly into Playback Theatre. The show felt deeply personal and compelling, and I also got to learn about Chinese folklore surrounding death.

Besides the use of movement and spoken word, the show very effectively blends live performance with audiovisual displays, producing deeply inspiring and evocative imagery.

Definitely, keep an eye on Hui Chen. It’ll be worthy to see a fully developed version of their show.

📆 What is coming up

• 🇬🇧 10th of July - Acaprov at Shoreditch Balls (London, UK). Stranded in the city with no holidays? So are we! Come and have musical fun with us. Get your tickets.

• 🇬🇧 14th of August - Acaprov at Shoreditch Balls (London, UK). August tends to be a void for those staying in the city, why not filling it with fun and music? Join us for a good time. Tickets here.

• 🇬🇧 11th of September - Acaprov at Shoreditch Balls (London, UK). For so many people, September is a time for another beginning. Kick off the academic year with a musical. Secure your sit.

• 🇲🇹 18th of September - Intro to Playback Theatre (Valletta, Malta). I´m honoured to be part of the facilitator roster attending the Improvizza! festival in Malta. I´m excited to introduce Playback Theatre to improvisers there. Tickets here.

📚 🎮 🎥 📺 The geeky dessert

I bet you didn’t know this geeky fact about me: during the early 00s, I was deeply into Japanese TV dramas while I was learning the language. Since mostly these series are limited to around 10 episodes, I watched dozens of J-dramas during the first decade of the current century, and even wrote reviews on my blog back then.

It wasn’t easy to get them. I had to visit specific IRC (Internet Relay Chat) servers and channels where people exchanged files with this content, mostly ripped from Chinese bootleg Video CDs (yes, kids, that was a format).

The reason I’m bringing this up is that Netflix recently added a huge selection of dramas from the 90s and early 00s to its catalogue. Nostalgia completely took over, and I decided to rewatch one of the very first ones I ever saw: Long Vacation.

Long Vacation is a 1996 drama focused on Minami (Tomoko Yamaguchi) and Sena (Takuya Kimura), alongside a supporting cast of characters. Minami is a 30-year-old woman left by her partner on their wedding day, and Sena is a 24-year-old aspiring pianist who shared flat with the runaway groom.

Minami has to learn to get her life back on track after this setback by occupying her ex’s room, while Sena faces professional dilemmas. Of course, there are personality clashes, love triangles, and misunderstandings.

This series serves as a good snapshot of Japanese society back then, where a 30-year-old woman needed to fulfill expectations while challenging the possibility of a real friendship between opposite genders. Spoiler: some things are quite cringe. However, the themes of reinventing oneself and following one’s passion are there.

Despite a few dated elements, I had a good time with this throwback, and I’ll probably keep the nostalgia train rolling for a few more dorama re-watches. Head over to Netflix if this has raised your curiosity. Fun fact: the final shots of the series were filmed right here in London!