Dolerite columns tumble upwards in a perpetual state of symbiosis, both fortress and fragile mirror. Time that once danced, flowed and free now co-opted into a state of stillness; an inert fortress to those unready to know the true self. But hidden from view the dolerite sills are intertwined by the most beautiful and delicate thread of time, visible only to those who dare to believe it will hold their ethereal insignificance.

 

This is Fairhead.

 

Standing atop The Prow an abseil rope is set up. The tension and nervousness is subtle but implicit in body language and toned down audio. Good humour and unspoken tenderness takes flight like arrows of reassurance, some striking their targets and others missing, as tension fades somewhat with each meter gained towards the ground.

 

The clank and kink of precious metal cover the silence as yellow flashes and the school-book-brown-paper-cover-tear directs each of us to an appropriate sill. The practiced dance starts and nerves dissipate as there is only energy and kinaesthetics. This act of the play is one that most will never experience, willingly! The rules are different, harsh, true…. there is no hiding… accept or deny… this is you.

 

Hungry eyes pull the strings of hand, foot and body tension as each move is dominated by……breath…….. steady….. precious metal flows into the tapered crack and solidifies into an anchor that shall hold if called upon…. breath…. steady… precise. Fear ebbs away and is replaced by a confidence born from movement as dolerite reflects the true self… insignificant and fragile but also strong beyond measure of atom…. star dust bright beyond comprehension. You are now treading unconsciously on a delicate thread of time.

 

And then you top out…. magnificent and surreal a different dance begins as anchors are set up and calls pour down between sills. A different act begins as duty is foregone and another – the other – has their interpretation to understand….. energy and kinaesthetics.

 

During two days in North Antrim the very best of people gathered together connected by a common thread of unconscious energy. We climbed, we laughed hard, we ate and we pushed beyond the insecurities that enable a cohesive quality to the characters we play. The very best of people believed, looked into the fragile mirror and placed their ethereal being on a delicate thread of time that is hidden within the minerals of all great crags.

 This is Fairhead.