whatleydude

This week I’m cheating again. Things written on Monday and then backdated to Friday.

Shrug.

Sue me.

5 things of note from this past week -

1. Travelling Light @ The National Theatre. Admittedly my tickets were freebies from a friend but still, it’s still definitely worth seeing. So what if the accents are ropey at times and who cares if the script is slightly clunky in places – it was lovely little piece of theatre.
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2. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol @ The IMAX!! Bloody good and again, well worth seeing  (at THE IMAX though, obviously).
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3. #DriveTime – aka ‘tweet along with Drive’ – came and went. It was fun, but could it have been better?
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4. The Descendents (w/ G Clooney). Dead good.; it just kinda… happens. He’s bloody brilliant actually, best thing/most nuanced performance since Michael Clayton. Yep. You should see that too.
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5. The future arrived, via my iPad. Still learning. Amazing.
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Bonuses: Sleb spotting in Soho, covered in snow at Speakeasys in Clapham and some gorgeous MEGACITY photography up in Leeds.

This isn’t a rant about how much I despise prose and rhyme in all its forms, no, no. Of poetry, I am a fan.

Something else I am a fan of is bloody good theatre and bloody good theatre is something that I saw last night.

Bloody Poetry – a play written by Howard Brenton and currently showing at the White Bear Theatre in Kennington – is not a play I’m familiar with, however I must say that it was thoroughly enjoyable. Good theatre is often difficult to seek out in London. Often you find yourself paying way over the odds to watch a cast that would be lucky to get a walk-on part on Hollyoaks (the West End production of Lord of the Rings for instance). However, with Bloody Poetry, I was fortunate to be entertained by not only a bloody good script, but also a fantastic troupe of bloody good actors.

The piece itself tells the tale of two great poets of our time – Shelley and Byron – and how they first met on the shores of Lake Geneva, then of the subsequent summer of love that followed…

I’ll admit I originally only went along to support my dear friend and old acting partner, Alex Barclay. He’s a damn fine actor and appears in the play as Doctor Polidori, biographer to Lord Byron. I haven’t seen Al in a few months, so I saw last night as a chance to catch up and say hi etc…

But I’m not writing this post for him (sorry Al – I love you really).

I’m putting this post together because the play really is that good. I came out beaming. Byron is perfectly pitched as the horny, swashbuckling cad he no doubt was back in his day. Providing some humorous asides throughout the performance, just think of Rik Mayall’s Lord Flashheart, add in some poetic pathos and you’re there. Ellie Turner – cast as soon-to-be author of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley – brings a fantastic realism and stoic worldly-ness to a woman who no doubt would have felt almost on the outskirts of the strange quartet that forms around her. Wise beyond her years, her talent is plain to see and was played perfectly. It feels rude to neglect the rest of the cast (who were all excellent) but I fear I am rambling so will leave you with a piece of blurb from the website and booking details too.

If you’re in London and you fancy something different one night this October, go and see Bloody Poetry, you won’t be disappointed.

“Percy Bysshe Shelley, radical nonconformist, poet, essayist, and committed vegetarian, fled England in 1816 with Mary Shelley and her step-sister Claire Clairmont.

Faced with unrest at home and Revolution abroad, England in 1816 had become a repressive surveillance state; exile was both a choice and a necessity for a poet who advocated for social justice, practised free love and opposed inherited power in any form.

On 25th May 1816, the Shelleys met Lord Byron on the shore of Lake Geneva. Together with Byron’s physician, Dr Polidori, the group spent the summer together, during which Mary began writing ‘Frankenstein’ and Byron and Shelley deepened their friendship. ‘Bloody Poetry’ explores the personal and political passions which drove these young writers and the obstacles they faced. It celebrates their daring while revealing their humanity. As a qualified idealist, Shelley still dares us to dream:

“The great instrument of moral good is the imagination. We must not let it become diseased…We might be all we dream of, happy, high, majestical. Where is the love, beauty and truth we seek, but in our mind? Poets are the legislators of mankind!””

The play runs Tuesday – Sunday until the end of this month. Tickets are £12.00 (£10.00 concessions) and are available from the White Bear Box Office website.

Enjoy!

02:36 -�The Office Party
Current mood: bouncy

Hey folks – see below for details about my next production!

)

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE come and see it!
It’s really quite good and I know for a fact that a few of the characters in this play are probably working in your office RIGHT NOW.
Hehehe…
This is the same group that I worked with back in November..
..and I can safely say that the standards set then will (hopefully) be exceeded now – would love you to come…

It is quite a good play, with a good cast and fantastic Director and I also know for a fact that most of you have probably worked with the some of the ‘characters’ that appear in this play…
Definitely!

I’m in it – I’m playing Gavin Chapman, MD of Chapman & Howard.
The Office in Question.

Click here to buy tickets for show…

Click here for a map to the Theatre…

Click here for a map to the party on the 9th – NOT the 8th as the poster says below… GRR!

Oh and also – if you can make the party on the 9th that would be even cooler than a snowman’s cool bits!

See below for more details!

Ladies & Gentlemen -

I know – my blogging skills have been somewhat lacking of late – but I’ve been acting dah-ling!

On that note…

Short notice I know but…

Next week I am appearing in another play (no more now ’til next year – promise!)

THE NATIVITY,
by Tony Harrison

At:
The cornerHOUSE:
Wed December 6 to Sat December 9.

About the Play:
A company of local actors, singers and musicians are bringing a unique theatrical experience to the cornerHOUSE in Tolworth from December 6.

Collectively known as The Cloud Factory Theatre Company, they will be presenting

The Nativity – the first part of ‘The Mysteries’ trilogy – by poet and
playwright Tony Harrison.
It was first performed in the early 1980s at the National Theatre, to rave reviews, although its roots go back many hundreds of years.

The script is based on the mediaeval Mystery Plays, which were performed in the streets of many English cities and not only gave ordinary people their first taste of theatre, but also brought the Biblical stories to life as never before.

The Nativity captures the flavour of these open air performances – not only through the rich, poetic language, but also in the fact that it is performed ‘in promenade’. In other words, the audience will be led around the cornerHOUSE, with scenes unfolding all around them.

The production also features a live folk band, who are recreating the
original musical score – a rare event in itself, for it was created by a
band, led by top folk musician John Tams, who played by ear. Nothing was ever written down, and it survives only in recordings.

The Nativity takes you on a journey into the past, from the creation of the world through to the birth of Jesus, blending comedy and tragedy, song and dance, and Christian and ancient English traditions in a way that is totally unique. It promises to be a memorable theatrical experience.

Details:
Performances: from Wed December 6 to Sat December 9.
Doors open 7pm. The show begins at 7.30pm.
Tickets cost £7 (£5 concessions).
To book, call 07949 800929 or email cloud-factory@hotmail.co.uk

Please email me back if you don’t know where this place is – or failing that – check here:
http://www.thecornerhouse.org

A bit from me:
This play is unlike anything I’ve ever been in before and will be very different (I’m sure) to anything you’ve seen before – it’s a lot of fun and if manage to make it along I’m sure you’ll have a fun evening… The cast are great and the live band really adds to the whole atmosphere of the piece…
Those of you that came to see me in Mum’s Legs/Alone earlier this year – this production is at the same place…
(so you know where you’re going!)
Those of you who came to see me in Our Country’s Good – this production is NOT at the same place – it’s a bit further on past Kingston, through Surbiton and nearly into Tolworth – a 281 from Twix will sort you out no bother!

Email/Text/Call me if you have any questions etc…
Obviously – this is extremely late notice and it’s my own fault for leaving it so late for posting this blog so if you can’t make it I’ll understand – but if you can – then WHOOPEEEEE!
I’ll see you there!

Ladies & Gentlemen!

You may wonder why I have disappeared from the MySpace scene somewhat of late…
Well – there’s a bloody good reason – I have been rehearsing..

Rehearsing for a play no less
Which play?

Our Country’s Good
…by Timberlake Wertenbaker

To be performed by The TACIT Theatre Company
(of which I am now a member)

At:
The Arthur Cotterell Theatre
Kingston College
Kingston Hall Road
Kingston Upon Thames
KT1 2AQ

On:
Wednesday 8th to Saturday 11th November at 7:30pm.

Tickets are £9.50 (£7.50 concessions)

These can be purchased online at
www.tactittheatre.co.uk

By post from:

In effort to raise flagging morale and to create a more humane society in the makeshift colony, the Governor suggests the convicts stage a play. A young lieutenant is chosen to lead the rehearsals, with only two copies of the text, a cast of convicts, and one leading lady who is about to be hanged.

This entertaining and life affirming play tackles the controversial and very contemporary issues of prisoners’ rights, community development and national identity. Our Country’s Good was winner of the Laurence Olivier Play of the Year Award in 1988.

A note about TACIT and what they stand for/believe in:
TACIT Theatre is an exciting new type of company based in Kingston-upon-Thames, dedicated to producing rewarding theatre for today’s audiences.

The company membership comprises professional and amateur actors, directors, designers and technicians who, together with their audience, seek to understand ways in which selected classic and contemporary works can inform our modern lives.

By fusing amateur and professional talent, TACIT Theatre creates both touring and community productions, which allow everyone in the company to realise their own theatrical ambitions.

The company also runs a series of workshops led by theatre professionals, enabling all members to develop new skills and achieve the highest possible artistic and technical standards.

In this distinctive way, TACIT Theatre serves both its members and its audiences; but above all brings high quality, accessible and entertaining theatre back to the local community.

AND FINALLY!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!!

COME AND SEE MY PLAY!!!

Cheers.

James.

PS – If you can make – let me know.
That way I’ll know to stick around afterwards so I can buy you a drink… ;o)

Well – first night all done!

(and I’m STILL detoxing! I had some Almonds earlier – NICE )

Anywhooo…!

Mum’s Legs had its Premiere this evening at the Cornerhouse in Surbiton.

It went down very well indeed! We (Jim and I) easily got the most laughs of the evening!

In fact – it actually threw us at one point! We werent expecting them – I mean we knew we’d get them at some point but not straight off the bat and also – y’know, you dont get that in rehearsal.. so yeah – when the first laugh came – I nearly cracked myself!

Thank God I didnt.. but I nearly did.. I felt it y’know? But then – once we’d settled into the rhythm of the piece we managed to milk it a bit more.. trying to keep the whole thing as deadpan as possible y’know? ..and some of it really worked!

The writer of the piece was there tonight too – he was very complimentary. .. Our Director was chuffed with it too.

So yeah – it wasn’t perfect – I think it’ll be better on Wednesday night and then fantastic on Friday night.

But! Mustn’t think about that now! I’ve got to open Alone tomorrow night! Oooer! Should be good – I’m quite lookin forward to it actually.. its a bit bleak and nowhere near as funny.. but its still equally as challenging as an actor.. y’know? So yeah – got that to come..

OO ooo! While I remember -

So I’m standing there chatting away to the Director and this woman comes up to me and says -

“Where did you get the legs?” (we have to prosthetic legs on stage with us the whole time)

I begin to explain and then Andy (the Director), butts in, carries on the story and then says:

“Yeah.. they belong to a bloke called Dave, he’s coming on Wednesday night and he’s bringing some friend from his amputee group…”

WHAT?!

Brilliant.. Got THAT to look forward to! Hopefully they won’t be offended by any of it!

____

Anyway – must get to bed now – gotta be at work bright and early to keep things sweet with the boss. We had words today.. I think we understand each other – things are just a bit tender between us at the moment y’know?

So yeah – must dash – need bed.

Speak soon.