It's been a while since Games of Love and Chance and the Edinburgh Fringe but I have been working. Honest.
For a start, there's this:
For a start, there's this:
© aliceboreasphotography.com
After the success of Games of Love and Chance - which continues to be developed for further performances next year - Zut Alors Theatre asked me to dig out an old radio serial I'd written in 2012 for a new and professional recording at, of all places, the National Theatre Studio. Blimey. I was delighted to return to Drayton Trench: Great Caesar's Ghost, which has always been one of my favourite scripts from my back catalogue, though I was slightly less delighted to discover that it contained rather more plot holes than I'd remembered. The script has been revised and rewritten from the ground up - since I've obtained rather more experience (and an MA) since the last version - and subsequently placed into the hands of a (mostly) brand new cast.
When you’re in desperate peril and working within a tight budget, there’s only one man who’ll take the case – Drayton Trench! The diminutive detective and his plucky young secretary Marjorie are on the trail of drunken archaeologist Sir Percy Price, kidnapped for his knowledge concerning the fabled lost Tomb of Caesar. Their journey will take them all over Europe, from a fight at the top of the Eiffel Tower to a showdown in the centre of Rome, as they do battle with a sadistic assassin, a Transylvanian countess and a gaggle of mad classicist cultists!
A brand new and hilarious globetrotting adventure epic in six episodes, coming soon…
It's a mish-mash of lots of my influences and personal favourites, including Columbo, Poirot, The Avengers, Doctor Who, the Hammer Horror films, and the Broken Sword series of adventure PC games I used to play in my younger, better-looking years.* The recording at the National Theatre Studio was an exhausting but intensely rewarding day and I can't wait to hear the results. All six episodes should be available for download before Christmas.
* - That reminds me, I need new publicity photos taken. That picture of me at the top of the page, on the far right? I don't really look like that anymore. I'm fatter. And grumpier.
When you’re in desperate peril and working within a tight budget, there’s only one man who’ll take the case – Drayton Trench! The diminutive detective and his plucky young secretary Marjorie are on the trail of drunken archaeologist Sir Percy Price, kidnapped for his knowledge concerning the fabled lost Tomb of Caesar. Their journey will take them all over Europe, from a fight at the top of the Eiffel Tower to a showdown in the centre of Rome, as they do battle with a sadistic assassin, a Transylvanian countess and a gaggle of mad classicist cultists!
A brand new and hilarious globetrotting adventure epic in six episodes, coming soon…
It's a mish-mash of lots of my influences and personal favourites, including Columbo, Poirot, The Avengers, Doctor Who, the Hammer Horror films, and the Broken Sword series of adventure PC games I used to play in my younger, better-looking years.* The recording at the National Theatre Studio was an exhausting but intensely rewarding day and I can't wait to hear the results. All six episodes should be available for download before Christmas.
* - That reminds me, I need new publicity photos taken. That picture of me at the top of the page, on the far right? I don't really look like that anymore. I'm fatter. And grumpier.
Beyond that, I've also been flexing my dramaturgical muscles by working on an immersive theatre experience at Central St. Martin's, University of the Arts London, which should be on in February. Traverse is "an auditory immersive experience that relies on multisensory stimulation, interactive performance and captivating set design, to capture and transmit the essence of three complimentary journeys taken within the three courses of the Culture & Enterprise programme." So there you are.
I was drafted in by its director, Ramy Elnagar, to re-write the script and to help in shaping and structuring the whole experience. It's all rather complex and I can't admit to understanding all of it - Mr. Elnagar is a very clever man, you see - but I've been told that everybody involved is jolly pleased with what I've done. There'll be more on this in 2015 but you can keep up to date on the project by visiting this page here.
And, last but not least, I've written a film! A short one. It's a loose adaptation of my stage play Gin & Tonic and concerns a terribly nice man who throws a birthday party that nobody wants to go to. The production team told me in no uncertain terms that what I thought was a chucklesome light comedy was, in fact, quite desperately sad, so I do believe I'll have filmed my first drama. Either way, I attended part of the filming back in September and it all went very well indeed. Directed by John Rushton, and starring Brendan Hellier, Rhiannon Neads and Alexandra Wetherell, Gin & Tonic is currently in post-production and will be coming soon. Gosh.
That's all for now. I hope you're all buying your Christmas presents early this year. Don't leave it to the last minute like you normally do. Get it done now and have a relaxing December. Go on.
I was drafted in by its director, Ramy Elnagar, to re-write the script and to help in shaping and structuring the whole experience. It's all rather complex and I can't admit to understanding all of it - Mr. Elnagar is a very clever man, you see - but I've been told that everybody involved is jolly pleased with what I've done. There'll be more on this in 2015 but you can keep up to date on the project by visiting this page here.
And, last but not least, I've written a film! A short one. It's a loose adaptation of my stage play Gin & Tonic and concerns a terribly nice man who throws a birthday party that nobody wants to go to. The production team told me in no uncertain terms that what I thought was a chucklesome light comedy was, in fact, quite desperately sad, so I do believe I'll have filmed my first drama. Either way, I attended part of the filming back in September and it all went very well indeed. Directed by John Rushton, and starring Brendan Hellier, Rhiannon Neads and Alexandra Wetherell, Gin & Tonic is currently in post-production and will be coming soon. Gosh.
That's all for now. I hope you're all buying your Christmas presents early this year. Don't leave it to the last minute like you normally do. Get it done now and have a relaxing December. Go on.
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