And so, October.
There are a couple of CD releases this month which I've been involved with and which I'm looking forward to listening to, but first, I just want to mention last month's release of
The Doomsday Quatrain. I've now had the chance to listen to it twice through and have really enjoyed the story and some great performances.
Invidious as it might be to single anyone out, particularly as each actor did such a fantastic job with their respective roles, I do think Derek Carlyle deserves a special mention. It's been my great good fortune to have worked with 'Del' on a number of BF stories and once on-stage in a short play at Theatre503. He's one of those actors who, without any fuss at all, always delivers an interesting and totally believable performance. His role as
Kren is played with such finesse that the authenticity and credibility he brings to it almost goes unnoticed - as, perhaps paradoxically, ought to be the case with all great performances. In my opinion, as soon as an audience becomes aware of the mechanics of the acting, the spell is broken and one is then simply left to admire 'technique'.
Added to that, Del is one of the nicest people you could ever wish to meet and as a company, we had great fun working on this story. Everyone involved was just such a pleasure and a 'treat' to work with. I say all this quite genuinely and don't consider myself to be a 'luvvie' who thinks everything and everyone in the theatre is 'marvellous' and 'extraordinary' - far from it! Just credit where it's due.
A few images now to break up this block of text. First up is the release of a new
Sherlock Holmes double bill
of audio dramas,
The Final Problem and
The Empty House:
Nicholas Briggs (Sherlock Holmes)
Richard Earl (Dr Watson)
Alan Cox (Moriarty)
John Banks (Lestrade/Moran)
Beth Chalmers (Mrs Hudson)
The Final Problem
By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Adapted by Nicholas Briggs
Sherlock
Holmes visits his good friend Dr John Watson… but Holmes is not his
usual, composed, supremely confident self. He is a hunted man. Having
unearthed the criminal mastermind behind the greatest crimes in the
land, Holmes has found himself a fugitive. But, the Great Detective
already has a plan in motion. It will not be long before his arch foe,
Professor Moriarty, is in custody.
If only Holmes and Watson can manage
to stay alive in the meantime.
The Empty House
By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Adapted by Nicholas Briggs
Still
lamenting the death of his valued friend and colleague Sherlock Holmes,
Dr Watson finds himself intrigued by a murder case. But as he begins
his investigations, a strange old man enters his consulting room. Could
it be that Sherlock Holmes is back from the dead, and even now working
to solve a murder? The game is once again afoot!
Online reviews & comments:
'A truly wonderful adaptation that’s bolstered by an incredible cast.'
'Superb.
Simply superb…'
Tim Mass Movement
...followed by The Elite, a Doctor Who audio drama, taken from an original story by Barbara Clegg and adapted by the super-creative talents of Mr. John Dorney:
The Elite
Peter Davison (The Doctor)
Janet Fielding (Tegan Jovanka)
Sarah Sutton (Nyssa)
Joe Coen (Aubron)
Ryan Sampson (Thane)
Derek Carlyle (Alaric)
Joannah Tincey (Stemp)
John Banks (Garthak)
Ellie Burrow (Ella)
The Doctor offers Tegan and Nyssa a trip to the paradise
world of Florana, but instead the TARDIS takes them to a domed city on a
planet scarred by warfare. A world where everyone is young, and
fighting for the glory of the Elite...
Hidden away in The Cathedral of Power, the High Priest is watching. It knows the Doctor, and his arrival changes everything...
Joe Coen, Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, John Banks, Sarah Sutton, Derek Carlyle, Ryan Sampson,
John Dorney and Ellie Burrow
_________________________________________
On October 13th, I'll be taking part in a rehearsed reading to raise funds for
Emergence; details here:
Emergence and taken from their website, below:
In 1892 no one would believe that a well-bred young woman could have
committed such a violent and bloody crime. Lizzie Borden was accused,
tried and acquitted. Based on these events, Blood Relations is a
powerful exploration of the fact and fiction that has become the Lizzie
Borden legend. Given a certain set of circumstances, is anybody capable
of anything?
Sharon Pollock’s award winning play finds Lizzie, years later, in the
same family home, entertaining a friend and playing with the endless
question… Did she, or didn’t she?
The staged reading of
Blood Relations by
the Resurgence Theatre Company
will be a script-in–hand performance with some movement - performed in
aid of Emergence's first national fundraising month. The experienced
professional cast will have had a few rehearsals where the emphasis will
have been on characterisation and the emotional content of the piece - a
recipe for a dynamic, spontaneous and powerful theatrical experience in
an intimate space.
The cast features West End actress
Lisa Bowerman (right) as
Lizzie’s sister Emma Borden. Lisa is best known for roles in two series of
Casualty, Dr. Who, Spooks, Bad Girls, Doctors and has just finished filming the role of Jennifer Lingwood in
Coronation Street. Also, 13 years as title role in the cult audio series
The Adventures of Bernice Summerfield.
The cast also includes
Susan Franklyn (
Soldier Soldier, Casualty, The Governor), and
Max Gold (
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, EastEnders);
John Banks, Regina Reagan and
William Whymper.
The staged reading of
Blood Relations will take place on
Thursday October 13 (7.15pm) at The Irish Cultural Centre, 5 Blacks
Road, London W6 9DT and tickets are £10. To purchase tickets go to
https://www.brownpapertickets.com - key in the event you wish to attend and follow the instructions on the site.
This is an emotional piece with resonances relating to
personality disorder which people may find unsettling. There will be a
space to discuss this performance at the end.
_____________________________________
...and finally; having now recorded four of six Stargate SG-1 episodes with Michael Shanks, there are two more to go before the series is complete and post production work can continue in preparation for release.
...and finally, finally; much enjoyment was had by all in Big Finish's latest venture, which I had the pleasure of being involved with last week. Details to be released later this month!
More news on everything as it happens...
