January 2011

A new year, a new decade and a new job!


Despite December's extreme weather and consequent travel chaos, all three Doctor Who audio dramas were completed on time; in fact, just before the remaining few of us finally succumbed to the 'company cold', which had been doing the rounds - joy!


...moving on: 


Above right, is the newly released cover art from  
To The Death, with further artwork below.

'After a last, futile fight-back against the Daleks, Lucie, Susan and Alex are heading home to England in the desperate hope of saving the Doctor's life. But the true, terrible nature of the Daleks' plan is beginning to emerge and the Monk has blood on his hands. To defeat the Daleks, it can only be a struggle… to the death.'

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The Children of Seth, by Christopher Bailey and Marc Platt is being recorded this week and I'm playing Radulf Varidi, an arms manufacturer. As will be revealed at a future date, the cast for this production is truly amazing and I'm absolutely delighted to be taking part.

Who was it who mentioned always relying on the kindness of strangers? Well, not exactly strangers in this instance but someone I met quite recently, who very kindly 'put a word in' for me at a production company he's working with at the moment. 

The day after the initial suggestion, having submitted a couple of audio clips overnight via email, I was offered the job of  voicing William Wordsworth for The Open University, in a programme called Placing The Author: Wordsworth, De Quincey and Dove Cottage. Amazing! We recorded on Friday and I found the work to be quite detailed and exacting but enormous fun and highly satisfying to 'get right'. This was my first professional  'voice over' and I want to thank everyone involved for making it such an enjoyable experience - here comes the Oscar speech! - firstly, James McDonald and director Sarah Carr at Angel Eye Media, Bernie Attwell for The Open University, Sarah Faust at The Sound Company and last, but very definitely not least, Gareth Strachan for suggesting me in the first place; thank you all!

To conclude this update, January 2011 marks the 30th anniversary of my first professional engagement as an actor. Four of us in a van, touring schools, three short plays or one longer play, twice a day, doing all our own get ins and outs, everything in fact; all for £80 a week!          ...Ah, the glamour!