What I can say, is that in recent weeks, I've been 'reading-in' on a series of Doctor Who stories and I'm scheduled to do more later this month. From a production point of view, there are all sorts of logistical reasons for doing this and for me, it's great practice, great fun and an interesting challenge to play multiple roles without the pressure of having to give a definitive performance.You may remember that I also did quite a bit of reading-in on Stargate SG-1, although that was slightly different in that I also had characters of my own to play.
Released in January, Sherlock Holmes: The Tangled Skein has attracted some very positive reviews; this is taken from Mass Movement magazine and appears on the BF website:
'From Baker Street to Devon (and Baskerville Hall), The Tangled Skein
hurtles along at an unholy pace, twisting and turning its way to the
final battle between Dracula and Holmes. Nicholas Briggs and Richard
Earl are as reliable as ever as Holmes and Watson and leap into the
story with gusto and bravado, which in turn helps to ensure that the
rest of the ensemble (especially John Banks and Giles Watling) turn
their performances up a couple of notches, delivering one of the best Holmes
tales that I’ve been privileged to experience, leaving me with a rabid
desire to track down and buy the novel (by David Stuart Davies) on which
the play is based. Peter Cushing was right. It would be an incredible
film… '
ScripTease
LynchPin Productions Theatre Company present an evening of play readings
in the intimate setting of our Cafe Bar. It is their hope to expand the
concept of Readers' Theatre, 'teasing' out scripts and exposing
audiences to plays they might not otherwise have the chance to
experience. ScripTease also offers playwrights the opportunity to test
new work with actors in front of a live audience.
Post Modern - A new play by Gareth Strachan:
Brecht,
Pinter, Beckett, Chekov, Shakespeare, Ibsen, Behn. Seven dead
playwrights stuck in Purgatory as blue collar postal workers for 'crimes
against theatre'.
Thanks to all who turned up to last night's reading of Post Modern; a large and enthusiastic audience helped to make the evening great fun and a great success. This was my first time performing at such an event at The Electric Theatre and indeed, working with LynchPin and I have to say that I very much enjoyed playing 'Samuel Beckett', something I never expected to be able to say and which will probably never happen again!
Last week, I also took part in a private play-reading at The Duke of York's Theatre: Code of Conduct by Kathryn Duffy and John Berry. A fascinating 'work in progress' which I hope goes on to be developed into a full production.
To bring the month to a suitably theatrical finale, I'm off to see a stage version of the hugely popular '90's sit-com Birds of a Feather tonight, with my very good friends Gary Lawson and Jenny Lecoat, who wrote many of the scripts for the television series. Gary has in fact also written this stage version of the show and so I'm looking forward to a very festive evening's entertainment.
And just to further my credentials as a bit of a culture vulture, tomorrow evening I'm going to Circus Space in London to see a performance of circus skills given by graduate students, which should be fantastic.
To bring the month to a suitably theatrical finale, I'm off to see a stage version of the hugely popular '90's sit-com Birds of a Feather tonight, with my very good friends Gary Lawson and Jenny Lecoat, who wrote many of the scripts for the television series. Gary has in fact also written this stage version of the show and so I'm looking forward to a very festive evening's entertainment.And just to further my credentials as a bit of a culture vulture, tomorrow evening I'm going to Circus Space in London to see a performance of circus skills given by graduate students, which should be fantastic.
More Doctor Who next month and more updates anon...