Every end a new beginning

“Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” ~ Cesar A Cruz, poet & activist

Final compilation of feedback for Media Monsters, which had its last night at Alma Tavern Theatre on Saturday, showed thought provoking was the most frequently-used phrase on the forms (which will all be archived on the website of our production company Stepping Out Theatre.) Gratifyingly, this was often paired with comments like 'very funny' and 'great one-liners'. Our audiences drove through monsoon rain and lagoon-like roads to pack the theatre, clap and cheer our cast, and tell us their evening was amazing, terrific, and very entertaining: the performances fantastic and powerful, the direction inspired and imaginative, and the writing first-rate, intelligent, insightful, and truly talented.  
And now, suddenly, it's over. I'm going to quote our director's fb status again:
 "What a great farewell to MEDIA MONSTERS. It's been the best ride, EVER!! And onwards..... Xxx"
Ian McEwen talking about the stage adaptation of The Cement Garden said he found it strange to see someone else's imagining of the world he created, "but you realise you're just watching one of the infinite number of possibilities." Which is also true even when the story was written expressly for staging, and I've been inexpressibly privileged to watch the unique imaginings of this terrific team.  Paddy, Livi, Vincent, Bob, Marc... missing you already.

Martin Dimery brought his one-man show Shakespeare Rattle & Roll to Coopers Hall as a Frome Festival fund-raiser, en route to his next performances at Leicester Square Theatre Lounge.  Martin is a hugely talented singer/musician and wicked parodist as well as knowledgeable about the bard, so you can learn about Shakespeare's life, plays, and use of iambic pentameter as well as enjoying his songs and sonnets as sung by a range of performers from Elvis and Bob Marley to George Formby and Ray Winstone. Some ~ like the Sex Pistols version of the witches chant from Macbeth ~ are hilarious, some poignant, and the John Lennon version of Feste's song Hey, ho, the wind and the rain is simply beautiful.

Final footnote: a glimpse of Frome Library on Saturday for National Libraries Day. High winds meant the market outside was cancelled, but there was hot coffee & cake in the foyer with songs & stories in the childrens' section all morning.  

Topicality and timelessness

Just when you thought I'd never write about anything except Media Monsters (it's still going really well btw, see this stonking review from the Fine Times Recorder) here comes something completely different: Last week was the official premiere of the new animation from Evil Genius:  The Patsy, a clever, witty, and all-round-brilliant animated parody of classic film genres with the topical theme of political whistleblowers on the run.  Previous shorter tales from Grime City are already cult classics but at 22 minutes this story gives a chance for writers Sam Morrison (surname entirely non-coincidental) and Andrew Endersby to develop characters and sustain a complex storyline.  Credit too goes to Ian Hickman, responsible for much of the animation. Massive impact on The Cube's big screen but designed for small-screen too so if you don't get to many animation festivals, look out for it on C4 before long.

And I couldn't miss Chris Goode's Infinite Lives, a Tobacco Factory Theatre production, which opened this week. I saw and loved The Adventures of Wound Man and Shirley by Chris, which was strange, lyrical, moving and funny, so I arrived at the Brewery with high expectations. I wasn't disappointed. If you wanted a 20 word summary I'd say this is a treatise on loneliness, erotica as love, and broadband as the only communication we now know, exquisitely written and brilliantly presented.  Narrated by 'John', an agoraphobic obsessed with a gay porn website (he's played mesmerically by Ray Scannell), this lucid and compassionate story is vividly animated by projections (Alex Wright) and sound (Timothy X Atack) and superbly directed by Nik Partridge. The script is moving, funny, and sometimes sublime ~ as when John plans his futuristic novel: "There's got to be an enemy.. or maybe not, maybe it's like porn: no one says no, and it's beautiful." I don't want to do spoilers as this fantastic piece is on till 15th February, but John may ultimately find that although connection which isn't through technology brings pain, it can bring redemption too.

Still other the topic of other topics, a quick shift to radio now as rehearsals begin for a Frome FM drama project: Quantock Close, an Everyday Story of Fromie Folk. Five local writers have produced 10 scripts for a pilot series following the Archeresque dilemmas of a group of rural townies, with incomers and locals bantering and bickering over beers ~ or rather Pinot Grigio now the alehouse is updating into a wine-bar.  Becky Baxter has on taken the directing role, full cast now assembled, and we have a month to run-through the scripts and tweak them to time for Frome FM producer Phil Moakes's alloted broadcasting slot.  Grayson Perry allegedly paints to the BBC prototype, so this could be good news for Frome's booming artist community.

Finally... two more chances to see Monsters if you book soon ~ the Alma Tavern Theatre has been increasingly crammed all week.  I'll be posting the final roundup of feedback next week and you'll be eating your fist with disappointment if you miss out. 

So what do you think of it so far?

You know the first night went well when your director posts as facebook status: What a freakin awesome night. MEDIA MONSTERS is a smash. 
At the end of the first week we haven't seen the Alma feedback forms but if it's like the emails and texts we're getting, praise is trending. As in: "Thoroughly enjoyed the performances. Great fun, great writing and a quality production from a talented cast. Totally surpassed my expectations. A wet night in January well spent. :)"
Audiences are growing ~ Saturday was cusp of sell-out ~ but still one more week if you haven't yet booked.  Alma Tavern does pretty good pre-theatre meals too, I recommend the trout.

On the subject of feedback, which is audience reviewing really, Rosie and I went along to a Theatre Bristol Writers discussion posted by Richard Aslan as "about theatre and writing" before the show on Friday. We expected a focus on scripts when we joined a circle of about 20 in the stygian gloom of the Old Vic basement where Richard is a writer-in-residence, but the activity in question ~ in fact, under challenge ~ was writing about, not for, performance: viz, reviewing plays.  After a lot of unpacking, agendas became clearer: Tom Wainright, also a writer-in-residence, organises a network of reviewers to comment on Bristol shows on facebook ~ he wants them non-disparaging but Richard wants them non-existent. After all, bad reviews can kill a show, can’t they? That appeal was to Ali Robertson, Director of Tobacco Factory, who demurred. "We find reviews have no significance on sales. Twitter traffic will make more effect than Lyn Gardner."
So why do we need reviews at all? Answers were readily forthcoming: Archives for the company, reference for venues considering a booking, verbal snapshots for promotion.... nothing converted Richard from his aversion. “Critical writing doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. What do writers want in response to their work?”  “Praise,” replied Tom, reasonably.  Sharon Clark developed this: “It's a spread of response. Some will hit hard, and teach the writer a lot - others will love it... Twenty years ago we had 4 newspaper reviewers. Now it’s much more responsive and I think that’s fine, whether it’s Lynn Gardner or Joe Bloggs.”  Ali agreed: “The few voices on a pedestal have been replaced by a multiplicity of voices ~ and good on them. In future, theatre-makers will regard writing about theatre as part of their practice,” which is such a good point we could have ended the meeting on that note and all had a cup of coffee.
But we meandered on and finally came full circle with Richard reiterating "I don’t think a critic is an artist." And then on a personal note “It gets my gall - what right have they to judge my work?" to which Rina Vergano sensibly replied “Because you’ve put it out there for people to pay to see."
And there the debate ended, unsummarised.  Credit to BOV for getting a network of theatre makers and writers together, but quenching subjective opinions would be a Canute project even without internet. We all make judgements based on personal responses every day, and writing is a creative and positive way to process experience.  Lynn on her shaky pedestal and Joe Bloggs in the street can say what they think, and so can we all. 

Preview votes have been counted...

BRILLIANT! BEST YET.  That's our audience feedback for Media Monsters preview nights... and also one of the replies to What did you think of tonight's performance? We've never had such a torrent of feedback forms, all of them super-appreciative. Excellent and thought-provoking peppered responses, with lots of comments that showed how completely our Frome audiences 'got' our intentions. There were positive comments about our scripts ("brilliantly written"~ "Modern Shakespeare") our cast ("sensitively acted"~ "fantastic performances") and Marc's direction ("Loved the staging and movement" ~ "sensitive and nuanced".)  The contrast in tone between our plays went down well too: "Both enjoyable, interesting perspectives" ~ "Good contrast – first satirical, second original with dramatic development, thoughtful and very powerful.")  Our plays are moving & real,  funny, clever, sexy and shocking, meaty & complex, uncomfortable & enjoyable, entertaining, complex & seamless, riveting, challenging compelling & evocative.  And comments along the lines of "created lots of discussion and will keep us talking" are certainly proving true!

As the company gets ready for our run at Alma Tavern Theatre, Rosie and I can take a deep breath until opening night. I've found that for a playwright the process of production is fascinating & deeply terrifying. Your words, like The Prophet's children, leave the home of your imagination and saunter off into the house of tomorrow which you cannot enter, not even in your dreams. That's why we write for theatre, of course, rather than for readers. In my mind, my characters were idealists who  since 1967 had progressively constructed separate lives: their memories ~ heart-breakingly beautifully acted by Olivia Dennis and Vincent Enderby ~ are selective, and their real-time interaction non-connective: a jagged route to their final stand-off.  Marc as director saw the journey slightly differently, and that becomes the writer's journey too. It's a fearful privilege and I've learned much about the vital steps from page to stage. I'm Bafta-gushingly grateful to Stepping Out Theatre for taking on the Media Monsters project, and to this talented cast & crew.

So prepping's done and taster tasted, on now to Bristol for the real feast... After two full-house shows with such a generously enthusiastic supporters, what challenges will next week bring?

Dissenting voices, minor and major

Mark Thomas couldn't get the measure of the Merlin Theatre audience for 100 Acts of Minor Dissent, he said. He only gave us 7/10 but that's apparently close to top score ~ quite right too for a full house and a scrum for his dissenting merchandise. Perhaps he found us a bit earnest, applauding practical political outcomes more vigorously than disgusting definitions for the word Farage. We might not have relished the images of subverting porn as feminist art, but we were wholeheartedly with Mark's avowed motivation: "I love our community, and I hate what capitalism is doing to it".
Most of the acts of dissent are very funny and all have a purpose, which is to claim or reclaim common rights. Mark knows the law ~ with his team of radical lawyers, he should ~ and applied under the Freedom of Information Act to see what data the police have on him. Which is a very long list of his presences at public protests, some with endearing comments ("He seemed happy") and some tersely disparaging. "General rabble-rouser and alleged comedian" is one Mark is considering using as a review quote.  He gave himself 6/10 for the show but after 2 hours of full-on, informative, inspiring, thought-provoking, comedy, most of us would have upped that to at least 9.

Speaking of provocative theatre, Frome Standard out today has a double-page spread on Media Monsters including full interview with Rosie and me on the writing and production process for each of our plays. Big thanks to Your Time editor Dan Biggane for supporting us in our most personal shared theatre project yet ~ and if you've left it too late to book for the Frome preview at Cornerhouse, there are still seats at Alma Tavern Theatre where they've also laid on a pre-theatre meal deal, with prosecco...

... and we're nearly off. Or rather, on!

MEDIA MONSTERS is coming... or should that be 'are coming?' Probably ~ this is a double bill of two very different plays, though both question the relationship of media to morality ~ television media especially. My Big Fat TV Bitch, Rosie's play, is a sharp and funny challenge to documentary exploitation of minority groups, timely indeed as the Benefit Street furore continues to rumble.  Rosie says: "I think of a character who will express what I want to say. That character will meet others... and with them, I create a piece of theatre. Molly (pictured here) was until recently a character inside my head. I can't wait to meet her on Friday night." Which echoes Jolyon Rubenstein, whose show The Revolution will be Televised was Comedy Programme Bafta winner 2013, in interview with Ideas Tap: "If you know your character, you know what they’re going to say. Satire is about noticing what everyone else is thinking and giving voice to it." His ideal recipe is "Ali G in a blender with Panorama."

My play Fixing It isn't a social satire, it's more social reflection about changing social values ~ a love story and a morality play too. The oblique reference to Jimmy Savile (who features only in this drama as an aberrant & abhorrent icon from a very different era) inspired our flyers, which have caused so much controversy that Martin Earley had to remove them from display at our Cornerhouse venue ~ that's the ones not torn down by enraged punters. There was even discussion as to whether Simon Cowell would sue us for the use of his image on the same piece of paper as a pixilated, blurred, half-visage of the biggest monster of all time... I'm not reposting the contentious flyer here, so scroll down a couple of weeks to make up your own mind. Would it put you off coming to see the show? We're nearly fully booked for the preview this weekend so the question is academic, but I'm curious. 

Sketches and preliminaries

Visually speaking, what is a sketch? A rough preliminary to more crafted piece of work ~ equivalent to the writer's 'splurge' draft ~ or is it an expression of the artist's process needing no further development, in the way a theatrical sketch is a complete piece?  SKETCH is the current exhibition at Black Swan Arts, with 54 collections selected from open competition which between them comprise hundreds of glimpses of their artists' interior and exterior lives.  Words at the Black Swan writing group, led by David Davies, skirted definitions with a focus on individual pieces and the private moments they represent.  A stimulating session, producing thoughtful & delightful responses which will be displayed at the gallery and archived online here with the images that inspired them.

And on the subject of using words to sketch reflections, Philip Larkin's "statement" on why he wrote poetry was simple: to preserve things I have seen / thought / felt, both for myself and for others, though I feel that my prime responsibility is to the experience itself... Why I should do this I have no idea, but I think the impulse to preserve lies at the bottom of all art. It certainly applies to all writing ~ stories and dramas too ~ whether challenging, mourning, or fantasty-dreaming: at their heart is a desire to preserve what we have felt, whether through living or longing, or even dreading. Certainly everything I ever write is somewhere on that experiential continuum from intimately known to emotionally conceivable.

My play Fixing It, moving as it does swiftly back and forth along this imaginary continuum, has consequently left me giddy as rehearsals continue. I'm in awe of the actors who have taken these characters and given them dimension, colour, energy, and even private thoughts & emotions I never fully realised. It's like someone's turned up the heating on my inner world. Livi and Vincent are heart-breakingly convincing as the youngsters believing All you need is love, but Paddy and Robert are gripping as their older selves, still passionate about their ideals, but no longer in unison.
I'm loving the way Marc runs rehearsals: a combo of disciplined sessions on key aspects like transitions plus wonderful inclusive times like an hour listening to tracks from their era chosen by all the cast... what a great way to start a long day.  Sarah is still busy sorting out costumes, mindful that quick changes are vital. Here's Vincent as Rick, if this takes you back then you probably remember the summer of love too... So in case you've forgotten, we open for two nights' preview in Frome at the Cornerhouse on 24th January, with the 'proper' run (ie full set and lighting) at Alma Tavern Theatre from 28th January till 8th February.




And then, unbelievably, life will go on, and other things will happen... one of which is that Frome favourite Nathan Filer, who has now made himself a nation's favourite too by winning the Costa Debut Novel award for The Shock of the Fall,  is coming to Merlin Theatre to talk about his shift from acclaimed poet to acclaimed novelist ~ and also tell us why he was deported from his truth-finding mission in the West Bank. This will be a night to remember~ booking recommended, as it's one of our "Platter" nights with everyone onstage in a bistro atmosphere, with real supper option.

Happy new year.... though one week on 21014 is already not quite box-fresh. Jingoistic shots have been fired in an ominous preliminary to the centenary commemoration of WW1, as Michael Gove blithely reinvents history to eliminate the public protests and the records of thousands court-martialled, apparently under the impression that until Ben Elton wrote Blackadder Goes Forth, the Battle of the Somme was a moral triumph and every soldier slavishly supported "the old lie, Dulce et decorum est / pro patria mori."  He should have read Robert Graves' Goodbye to All That: "Patriotism, in the trenches, was too remote a sentiment, rejected as fit only for civilians, or prisoners. A new arrival who talked patriotism would soon be told to cut it out." Or at least listened to Harry Patch, last veteran of that war, who unflinchingly insisted: "The politicians who took us to war should have been given guns and told to settle their differences themselves."  But then education isn't really Mr Gove's thing, is it. 

And as lashing rain with winds of up to 90mph transform roads into rivers, fields into lagoons, and generally turn the land into a vast puddle, maybe Bristol theatrical productions should stop conjuring up dramatic storms as a major plot line.  The weather has never quite been the same since Tom Phillips' play 100 Miles North of Timbuktu last autumn, in which an invention to control the weather by computer got out of control and brought catastrophic tidal waves up the Bristol Channel ~ and now Tobacco Factory is staging The Last Voyage of Sinbad the Sailor, a story about a series of violent ship-wrecking storms.  It's a high-spirited and high-energy show, and demonstrates the superior power of imagination over complex sets and costumes as five charismatic performers do battle with ogres, sprites, and whales as well as high waves.  Saikat Ahamed, Vic Llewellyn, Zara Ramm, Lucy Tuck and the ever-excellent Chris Bianchi share the roles around between them on a kind of rota basis but the clarity of story-telling ensures there's no confusion, and there's enough variety in each sequence, including live music and clever puppetry, to ensure the saga never flags.

Despite this double-dose of spells aimed at submerging all routes between Frome and Bristol underwater, Rosie and I made it to Hen & Chickens in Bedminster for the first rehearsal of our double-bill  Media Monsters with director Marc Geoffrey and our dream-team cast. Day one was for read-through, discussions, and script-tweaks.
It's indescribably exciting to hear words that came out of your head becoming first voices and then people,  who begin to have opinions, and intentions, not all of which you knew about...  Ann shows the set design, which is fabulous, and there's first thoughts about music. Two days on, Sarah arrives to talk costumes and there's excited talk of make-up and hair-curling sessions. Marc is blocking my play Fixing It and devising links between the two different decades, and when, after 8 hours of rehearsal, we reach the end of the first full run-through and he says 'That was a good day's work' I feel as proud as if I'd actually contributed anything more than a besotted and slightly inane smile all day.  So there'll probably be more in a similar vein for the next few postings too... enjoy your January, I know I will.

Festivus & my big fat end-of-year

According to Seinfeldt, or at least to George's father, what non-christians need is Festivus, the festival for the rest of us, to be celebrated on 23rd December. So having already enjoyed my family gift-giving two days early, my boxing-day walk fell naturally on christmas eve, leaving plenty of time for more walks, socialising with friends & wider family, great live music nights and some good viewing too. This included on DVD Ruby Sparks, a rom-com with satisfying streaks of profundity as complicated young novelist Calvin writes his ideal girlfriend into existence. Echoing that familiar syndrome summed up in the Broadway musical I love you, you're perfect, now change! Calvin sets about tweaking his creation only to discover, as so many men do, that his control only causes either disturbing dependency or angry resistance.  Zoe Kazan is captivating in the title role of this movie she scripted herself, Paul Dano seems less comfortable as a nerdy young genius than as a dysfunctional teen in Little Miss Sunshine, also directed by Jonathan Dayton (one of my favourite movies) but it's still all very enjoyable.

Most interesting TV viewing was a documentary: Sex Lies and a Very British Scapegoat despite being narrated by Andrew Lloyd-Webber had some interesting footage from 1963 when the establishment ~ conniving with the press ~ made Stephen Ward fall-guy for John Profumo's affair with Christine Keeler by skewing his contemporary hedonism into a kind of seedy bear-pit into which the philandering War Secretary helplessly fell. Mandy Rice Davis, challenged to defend her youthful insouciance, nailed the era superbly:
"I felt I was part of the vanguard movement to the more liberal future."  Good to see you're still up there with the best in feisty ripostes, Ms Rice "he-would-wouldn't-he?" Davis ~ and if that means nothing, google it without her name... Now THAT's fame.

Which segues neatly to my play in the Media Monsters double bill with Rosie Finnegan at the Alma Tavern Theatre next month (January 28th to February 8th).  Fixing It looks at what happens to an idealistic couple who chose their life values in the 1960s, now that a cynical sensationalist media has begun to search for monsters and portray the relationships of that era as either naïve or evil. Maybe we should remember Nietzsche's words:  He who fights monsters should take care lest he thereby become a monster. If you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.  If we focus on the terrible world the monster inhabits, does this inevitably become our viewpoint too?

Alma Tavern Theatre is already taking bookings so you can buy tickets online here ~ or if you're reading this you count as a friend, so contact me for seats with a small discount! Smiley face.

 So farewell 2013, the year that pushed fracking and twerking into our faces, verbally speaking, made Dickensian poverty the norm, and bought another nuclear reactor for Somerset even as Fukushima radioactive debris washes Californian shores. Afghanistan while officially 'not perfect' is near enough to stop bombing by the end of next year, and £50million will see our own war centenary a celebration 'like the diamond jubilee.'  Nevertheless, let's welcome 2014 and try to take good care of it.

Midwinter Magic... and Monsters on the move!

Moominland Midwinter is the seasonal show at the egg in Bath, though Moominland isn’t a place of sparkling lights and jollity in winter. There’s solitude and scary trolls and a fearful Grope seeking solace she will never find, there’s slippery snow and breaking ice and people who eat all your jam. There’s loneliness and anxiety and danger and even death. Hattie Naylor’s brilliant adaptation baulks at none of Tove Janssen’s Nordic existentialist melancholy, creating quirky dialogue that can range from absurdity to despair without losing the rapt attention of the watching children. Pace of dramatic storytelling ~ aided by magical lighting effects and funky music ~ never flags, despite set pieces swooping on and off stage and characters changing size as they race from close range to mid-distance. The puppets themselves, made and manipulated by  Horse+Bamboo, are magical creatures full of personality and pathos, and effortlessly became the focus of our watching and listening; Little Mi, though clearly held on to a tea-tray by a jerseyed young woman, was as much in peril in the thaw as if she were a real child skating cracking ice. 
 I loved the show, and the four children I brought all loved it too: although three are considerably younger than the recommended age of 6, they remaining engrossed and fascinated throughout ~  even dashing out of the foyer Wendy House as soon as they heard the bell ring for Act 2 ~ now that’s an impressive indicator. Congratulations to all the creative team.

As snow falls on the egg stage, my mobile is silently bringing me the news that Media Monsters is now fully cast. Marc Geoffrey our director has a Yes from a fantastic trio from last week's auditions: Vincent Enderby, Robert Myer, and Paddy Navin are joining Olivia Dennis. Rehearsals start 6th January, preview in Frome 24th & 25th and then two weeks at Alma Tavern Theatre in Bristol from 28th January... It's all fantastically exciting, not least because becoming involved in production process is the best way to learn the craft of script-writing ~ I can already see some exchanges the actor doesn't need verbalised, so my red pen will come with me to first rehearsal... can't wait.

Mainly about performance..

Frome Poetry Cafe is always a sparkling way to start the week, like having champagne for breakfast, and this Monday night was a very special cuvée. Mell Oliver, our 'festival poet laureate' was on fizzing form, and Daisy Behagg, slightly startled herself to discover she was our 'surprise guest', showed exactly why she's this year's Bridport prize-winner. As this was our annual tie-in with the Merlin Theatre Christmas show, open-mic poems were on a theme of Alice's travel into the wonderland of imagination, and nine poets shared journeys lyrical, cynical, dramatic, witty, and full of rich imagery. Ali Campbell, actress and Merlin marketing officer, came to pick her personal favourite for 2 free tickets to the show, choosing Rick Ryman for his beautiful dreamlike Sonnet with rain. (I didn't get a good picture of that, so here's me with Mell, taken by Skip.) It was great to see new faces among the full-house at the Garden Cafe, and hear poetic voices both local and travelling specially to join us. The evening ended with Mell's unforgettable poem Learning the language of the sky: "basically about connection and learning to be together as one - the only thing I really know how to write about." Thanks to all who came, performed, and listened. 

Meanwhile at Merlin Theatre, Alice's journeys have begun. Tiny animals and playing cards are performed by different teams on alternate nights: I saw Team Hearts, all delightful especially the dormouse and the enchanting little Alice. The set is charming, enhanced by great lighting and effects, and the Cheshire Cat unforgettable: a vast Tenniel-style grin combined intermittently with enormous eyes and a tail, manipulated with feline slinkiness by a sextet of young puppeteers. Add a lugubrious Mock Turtle song, flamingo croquet dance and other fantasies from the imagination of Lewis Carroll, this added up to another show that producer Claudia Pepler and the whole creative team can be proud of.

Over in Bristol it's family-show time too, with The Little Mermaid at Bristol Old Vic, based on the Hans Anderson story but without the sombre ending. This version is billed as a tale of adventure, courage, and the pursuit of true love.  It’s also a tale of family dynamics psychologically explained as Mer-dad and Queen-mum analyse their interactions to us, and it's a Richard-Curtis-style hero’s journey with the shy Hugh-Grant-ish Prince questing a bride, and there's a bit of a trad panto as we hiss the witch and clap the mermaid back to life from her disintegration into bubbles (don't have nightmares on bath-night, kids!) with a nod to X-factor in the singing competition and a Jackanory thing going on too as the action is explained in voice-over...  So there's a lot in it, and despite fabulous sets, exquisite lighting, and some good comedic moments, it doesn't really flow.  Katie Moore is simply dazzling in the title role: she looks, sounds, and moves superbly ~ which makes it all the more of a mystery why she wasn’t allowed to move her own tail like her sisters instead of being carted around like a rolled-up rug delivered by two bell-hops. The nine actors were all faultless, but the adaptation and script didn’t do them justice and the production, at 2 hours 20 minutes, felt too often laboured and long.

Media Monsters update: Rosie & I spent Saturday at the Hen & Chickens in Bristol with director Marc Geoffrey at auditions, with the people who might become our characters in January when our double-bill goes onstage (24th & 25 in Frome then two weeks at the Alma Tavern Theatre, for those of you with next year's diary to hand). It's a strange experience, encountering different incarnations of people conceived in our heads, wondering which one will birth into our dramas. Olivia Dennis is already cast for both my play Fixing It and Rosie's, My Big Fat TV Bitch, so she had the surreal experience of flirting with seven Ricks and challenging three Glens. Marc was mega-impressive, running the day like a military operation from a corner-table smothered with CVs and printouts of selected scenes, while Rosie and I sat like kids at a panto, all big-eyed with excitement.  A fantastic shortlist, some awesome performances ~ final decision to be announced on Wednesday.... 

Nevertheless ventures and adventures

"Women have been taught that for us the earth is flat, and if we venture out we will fall off the edge. Some of us have ventured out nevertheless, and so far we have not fallen off."
I don't often quote Andrea Dworkin,  anarchist, feminist & anti-war activist, but it seems appropriate for this posting which is all about Nevertheless Productions.  It's only three years since my amazingly dynamic, entrepreneurial and all-round gorgeous friend Rosie Finnegan asked me to join her in bringing pub theatre to Frome...  we had no funding, no production company, and no idea how this would work but nevertheless we went ahead using an upstairs room at the Lamb, now The Cornerhouse and probably the most popular venue in town.  Rosie and I made countless theatre trips to find shows with the kind of edgy writing and professional production values we wanted, and last year founded our own group, the brilliant Frome Scriptwriters, and also linked up with Bristol's inspirational Stepping Out Theatre Company.  We've now given Frome 12 productions, mostly sold out and all receiving enthusiastic audience feedback, and there's another show simmering: On Thursday & Friday December 19th & 20th you can enjoy an hour's original entertainment comprising short plays written by Frome Scriptwriters ~ and this one is definitely the best yet.  Festive Stockings features four 15 minute plays chosen by director Chris Loveless: Kate's Story by Eddie Young, Who is Santa? by Tim Addams, and Letter Home by Emma Stadon will be performed as rehearsed script-in-hand, and Ackroyd's Christmas Stocking by Alison Clink fully produced.  And we have a dream-team of actors: Olivia Dennis, Danann McAleer, Gerard Cooke, and Kim Hicks ~ so get your name on the list for a seat now!

And even before the tinsel is down Rosie and I will be deeply involved in another drama, which will be be premiered at The Cornerhouse before its 2-week run at Bristol's Alma Tavern Theatre 28th January to 8th February.  Rosie and I were commissioned by Stepping Out Theatre Company to write a double-bill, and Media Monsters is the result.  Director Marc Geoffrey is holding auditions on December 6th and rehearsals start early in the new year! Is there anything as exciting as seeing your play in a Casting Call in Theatre Bristol 'Jobs' section? Talk about Christmas coming early...

ACTORS WANTED - MEDIA MONSTERS

Salary: £300 per week Application Deadline: 30.11.13 17:00

Bristol

DREAMWEAVERS IN ASSOCIATION WITH STEPPING OUT AND CHRYSALIS THEATRE PRESENTS 

MEDIA MONSTERS

A double bill of new writing

Directed by Marc Geoffrey

MY BIG FAT TV BITCH by Rosie Finnegan

An original and comic satire on Reality Television 

and 

FIXING IT by Crysse Morrison

A complex, subtle and fascinating look at the erosion of personal ideals and the changing face of sexual mores over the last 40 years set against the background of the Jimmy Saville scandal.

Rehearsals begin 6th January 2014 

Performance dates : 

Fri 24th & Sat 25th January 2014 at The Corner House, Frome. 

Tue 28th January to Sat 8th February 2014 at The Alma Tavern Theatre, Clifton.