So this is Christmas...

...and the pages of my Equity diary are rapidly coming to an end. From a professional point of view, I've had a varied and enjoyable time in 2013 and several highlights come to mind. Having spent five months or so at the Royal National Theatre, ending in March, I then thoroughly enjoyed working with director Benji Sperring of Tarquin Productions at The Tabard Theatre, performing two Maeterlinck plays, The Blind and The Intruder.

In some ways, I could easily regard 2013 as 'the year of the audio book'. Before Big Finish gave me the opportunity a couple of years ago to work on a series of Dr Who Short Trips and the Warhammer story The Madness Within, I'd never recorded a solo audio book. Quite unexpectedly, during 2013, I've somehow found myself being asked to record what has turned out to be seventeen of them, for a variety of companies and organisations. The 'learning curve' has been quite a challenge but certainly one I've enjoyed and the experience of it, I hope, has fed back into full cast audio work. Sitting in a recording studio, alone and performing an unabridged and undramatised text for seven or eight hours at a stretch certainly makes one appreciate dialogue, the input of others and the sound of different voices!

Some of this year's recording highlights for me include The Ordeals of Sherlock Holmes, scheduled for release this month, The Avengers, which I'm very much looking forward to listening to next month and, of course, Survivors, which is to be released in June. I am genuinely thrilled to be a part of all of these series, although perhaps for obvious reasons, I feel a particularly close involvement with Survivors. It's always good to do a bit of comedy and in February, I had a fab time playing Mervyn Stone in The Mervyn Stone Mysteries: The Axeman Cometh, written by Nev Fountain. I also enjoyed doing a 'voice over' for the movie Shadow Industry, directed by Henry Vought, which is being entered into the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival (6 - 16 February) - so, exciting times ahead!

I thought February's Big Finish Day 3 was a great success, although I was sorry to have to leave early and hurry back to the NT for the Saturday matinee. Janet Fielding's Project Motormouth was also great fun and raised lots of money - and of course, the three days of the Dr Who 50th Celebration in November were amazing; it's always a pleasure to meet so many Big Finish fans.

And so, as this year comes to an end, what's next? More BBC Radio? That would be good. Bit of telly wouldn't go amiss either - back to the NT - who knows? In terms of future Big Finish stories, details are of course a closely guarded secret, but I can say there are quite a few things in the pipeline that I have had something to do with and I'll talk more about them as they become available throughout the year. I've also got some preparation to do over the holidays for a new audio book which starts recording in early January and I'm very much looking forward to Big Finish Day 4 on 18th January - not long to wait now!

In the meantime, many thanks for 'stopping by' the web site this year, your support is very much appreciated 

- enjoy the festivities and have a very happy 2014! 

The Escape

And so, hot on the heels of Politics, I recorded another Adam Thirlwell novel The Escape, which is released today as an unabridged audio book from Audible.co.uk

Here are some details:

 

 Publisher's Summary

The more I knew of Haffner, writes Adam Thirlwell in The Escape, the more real he became, this was true. And, simultaneously, Haffner disappeared.

In a forgotten spa town snug in the Alps, at the end of the 20th century, Haffner is seeking a cure, more women, and a villa that belonged to his late wife. But really he is trying to escape: from his family, his lovers, his history, his entire Haffnerian condition.

For Haffner is 78. Haffner, in other words, is too old to be grown up.

What the Critics Say

"A witty, irreverent and elegiac new novel... Haffner is a Quixote of our time" 

(New York Times Book Review)
"A novel where the humour is melancholic, the melancholy mischievous and the talent startling"

 (Milan Kundera)
"In The Escape, you can practically see Bellow's Augie March, Roth's Mickey Sabbath and Martin Amis's John Self applauding, ghost-like, from the margins... The novel fizzes with intelligence, verbal skill and humour"
(Simon Baker, Observer)
"Beautifully written, poignant and clever... Thirlwell has a genuinely unique insight into humankind" 

(The Times)
"The Escape is one of the best British novels I've read this year for one reason; Thirlwell's prose. At once effervescent and elegant, his narrative voice lifts the novel's lecherous comedy beyond the sublunary lovers' antics into a more rarefied sphere" (Sarah Churchwell, Guardian)

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As with Politics, if you would like to listen to a short extract from the audio book, please go to the Audible web page.

Politics

Released today from Audible.co.uk is Politics by Adam Thirlwell, which I recorded a few weeks ago as
an unabridged version of the original novel. If you go to the relevant web page on the Audible site, there's a sample to listen to; however, I must 'warn' you, that the excerpt chosen to represent the book is not for the faint hearted and pulls no punches in terms of its very explicit and graphic nature.

I found the book a very interesting challenge to record: I enjoyed the telling of the story and hope I've conveyed the essence of the narrative effectively - I'll have to buy a copy to see how it all went! If you do give it a try, I think you'll find it a worthwhile and a very 'stimulating' listen.
                                                                                        

Publisher's Summary

The sharp, funny, entirely original and explosive debut novel by Adam Thirlwell - twice named one of the Best Young British Novelists by Granta magazine.

In case you had not noticed, writes Adam Thirlwell in his first novel, Politics,, in this book I am not interested in anything so small as the history of the USSR. I am not writing anything so limited.

In this epic miniature, therefore, Politics tells the story of three kids in their twenties falling in love with each other in London. And, simultaneously, it tells other, smaller stories: of Stalin on the phone, Mao in the bathroom, Osip Mandelstam in another bathroom, Adolf Hitler on all fours, and Milan Kundera in an argument. Politics, is not (quite) about politics.

Adam Thirlwell was born in 1978. He is the author of Politics, The Escape, Miss Herbert and Kapow. He was named as one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists in 2003 and again in 2013. He lives in London.

What the Critics Say 

"Extremely accomplished...very sophisticated" (A S Byatt, Guardian)
"One of the funniest, most stylish and utterly original debuts in years" (The Times)
"This is a clever book. Fantastically clever...funny and strangely insightful... A genuinely original book" 

(Daily Mail)
"Dazzling...clever, funny and original" (India Knight, Observer)
"Allusive, barbed, cocky, flamboyant, reckless, obscene and very funny" (Time Out)

Trial of The Valeyard

Released this month, Trial of The Valeyard, in which I play the 13th Doctor/Hermit, complete with its official cover art created by Simon Holub:

Here's what Big Finish have to say about this pivotal story:

There is some evil in all of us – even the Doctor. Transported aboard the Time Lords' orbiting courtroom, the Doctor once again encounters the Valeyard, an amalgamation of the darker sides of his nature. This time, however, the Doctor isn't in the dock. This time, the Valeyard is the defendant, accused of a crime so terrible that the presiding Inquisitor is forbidden to reveal it even to the court, nor even to his counsel for the defence… the Doctor.

If the Valeyard is found guilty, he'll be executed. Execute the Valeyard, and the secret of his origins dies with him. A secret that the Doctor is desperate to know… and which the Time Lords will stop at nothing to protect.

Colin Baker The Doctor   Michael Jayston The Valeyard   Lynda Bellingham The Inquisitor

John Banks 13th Doctor/Hermit

Written by: Alan Barnes and Mike Maddox

Directed by: Barnaby Edwards 

Who's on trial...

Another month - and this one is December - almost the end of the year! And what a busy, varied and interesting year it's been; theatre, audio drama, radio and audio books - who'd have thought it!

The most recent highlight for me has been the Dr Who 50th Celebration event; the level of excitement it generated slightly overshadowed other professional activities and it feels odd this week to be getting back to 'normal' - if such a state exists!

So this week's 'normal' consists of recording the final chapters of a RNIB Talking Book, Author, Author by David Lodge and the recording of two audio dramas with Big Finish. I'm very much looking forward to all of that; final preparations today and the fun starts tomorrow.

But what else is happening this month? Well who knows what might turn up.What I can say, is that this month sees the release of a Sherlock Holmes box-set from Big Finish and here are the details:

 The Ordeals of Sherlock Holmes

Four decades. Four cases. One solution.

From the plains of Afghanistan to the alleyways of Victorian London, from the dark heart of the English countryside to the ruin of Europe after the Great War, join Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson in a quartet of astonishing new investigations which span their lifelong friendship – and beyond…

Nicholas Briggs Sherlock Holmes   Richard Earl Dr Watson   John Banks Inspector Lestrade  

Derek Carlyle Wherry   Blake Ritson Christopher Thrale    
Michael Cochrane Winchester Bartley-Gower   Amy Ewbank Eliza Hinderclay/Judy
Eve Karpf  The Gracious Adelina/Mrs Chaunt Maclise/Mrs Hope    Ken Bones Jim Hinderclay 
 Caroline Keiff Tess Dorno   Tracey Childs Mrs Edgar Curbishley  

Marek Oravec Griesser   Andrew Fettes Tlitzlmann Blench

 Written by: Jonathan Barnes
Directed by: Ken Bentley 

I've always enjoyed listening to BF's Sherlock Holmes adventures; Nick and Richard capture the essence of the characters so vividly and the stories are such faithful evocations of the original Conan Doyle style. We recorded the four CDs that make up this box-set back in March, so when I come to listen to them, sometime in the next few weeks, they should sound very fresh - can't wait!

	* * * * *
	There's another very interesting release this month, which is currently only available as a Big Finish subscriber bonus. In December 2014, the story will become available to all:    Trial of The Valeyard

BF have released the above image upon which, presumably, the cover art will be based; we shall see! For the keen listener, there might also be a surprise or two which BF haven't so far mentioned. If you are a subscriber, I hope you enjoy the story when it becomes available later this month.

* * * * *

And now, back to preparation for tomorrow's audio book, but before I go, I just want to mention a production of Ionesco's The Bald Prima Donna, which opens on Thursday 5th December at The Old Red Lion in Islington. This alternative Christmas show from Tarquin Productions, is directed by the team responsible for The Blind and The Intruder, Benji Sperring and Rachel Illingworth. I'm really looking forward to seeing this show, which promises to be highly original and hugely entertaining!

 

More news as it happens!