By Shona Babayemi

Gator fans decked out in fiery oranges and dazzling blues would give Malvolio and his yellow stockings a run for his money this week. As the roads, and more importantly, the parking lots, flood with tailgaters this Gainesville homecoming. Homecoming is a tradition, especially in the US, that typically takes place in the autumn. It welcomes former students, alumni, or community members to their school or hometown and Gainesville was buzzing with people and their cars! For us Brits the equivalent would be a knees up in a pub with squelching sticky carpet followed by grumpy walkouts if there was even a sniff of losing the game.

AFTLS had our own homecoming of sorts this week with alumni Waggy, Michael Wagg – last starring in AFTLS’ Macbeth (spring 2024) and joining his Mrs., our very own and very brilliant Sarah Finigan. Waggy brought a grounding comfort and keen eye to our rehearsal room back in Brixton, London and it was nice to be reminded of that here in Florida. We dragged ourselves to the Swamp Head Brewery to delight in Banana Bread IPAs and Key Lime Pie Cider for a well-needed catch-up. Thanks for sharing him with us, Sarah!

I went to Santa Fe College, where I met some outstanding theatre majors. We ripped some Shakespeare to shreds and then respectfully put it back together. I thank the students. Florida is bursting at the seams with wildlife. If it’s not a bear or deer, it’s a gator; if it’s not a gator, it’s an exotic bird or a butterfly. You really do feel like you’re encroaching on their space. Speaking of which, we also had an unexpected friend of the lizard variety take the best seats in the house (see below). On that note, and as I bat away an insect that is currently trying to take over this blog. Goodbye Gainesville! x