July 2010

A very brief update for July; I'm currently back in the studio working with some highly talented and interesting people, recording more, as yet, top secret Doctor Who stories. All will be revealed..... at some time!

Nevermore, Highlander and Jago & Litefoot

Here are details of some forthcoming Big Finish Productions:

Nevermore

CAST: Paul McGann (The Doctor), Fenella Woolgar (Morella Wendigo), Michael J Shannon (Senior Prosecutor Uglosi), Emilia Fox (Berenice), Eric Loren (Pilot),      John Banks (Ravens) 

SYNOPSIS:

A bizarre manifestation in the Control Room forces the TARDIS onto the Plutonian shores of the irradiated world Nevermore, whose sole inhabitant is the war criminal Morella Wendigo – a prisoner of this devastated planet. But the Doctor and his new companion aren’t Morella’s only visitors. Senior Prosecutor Uglosi fears the arrival of an assassin, after the blood of his prize prisoner. An assassin with claws…There’s no escape from Nevermore, whose raven-like robot jailers serve to demonstrate Uglosi’s macabre obsession with the works of the 19th century horror writer Edgar Allan Poe. An obsession that might yet lead to the premature burial of everyone on the planet’s surface – wreathed in the mist they call the Red Death!

RELEASE DATE: 31st. August 2010

Highlander

Methos. Kronos. Silas. Caspian. Four names that struck terror into the hearts of men, women and children for centuries when they rode the lands under the name The Four Horsemen.

The second series of Highlander audio adventures takes an in-depth look at these four people; their origins, their secrets, and what made them the bloodthirsty killers they became. Highlander season two is a box set containing four CDs, each one relating the tale of one of the Horsemen.

CAST:
Valentine Pelka (Kronos), Richard Ridings (Silas), Marcus Testory (Caspian), Peter Wingfield (Methos), Toby Longworth (Dilijan), Tracy-Ann Oberman (Violetta/Elena), John Banks (Simon/Dorn/Nurse)

SYNOPSIS:

For centuries, they battled the forces of light, raping, pillaging and terrorising their way across the globe. Then, through the betrayal of one of their number, the Four Horsemen rode no longer. But before their ultimate end, each was the target of a very personal vendetta striking to the core of the Horsemen's seemingly unbreakable bond. Now the secret history of Kronos, Silas, Caspian and Methos can finally be revealed...

    RELEASE DATE: 31 January 2011


Jago & Litefoot

 

Online comments & reviews:

J & L: The Bloodless Soldier:

'A perfect blend of humour and drama, performances brilliant all round, and incredible sound work. 

A breathtaking beginning!'

'This is one of the best stories Big Finish have ever produced. Ever.'

'This series really is one of the best things BF have ever produced. Everyone involved should be proud.'

Series One of Jago & Litefoot is available now.

June 2010 & Dead Funny 2002

Since the last update a few weeks ago, I've attended my first Doctor Who convention, Utopia 2010, which was great fun. Great also to meet so many dedicated Doctor Who and Big Finish fans and thanks to them for coming along and making the event such a success. It was good to see others from the wider 'family' of Big Finish, particularly Charlie Ross who I worked with on City of Spires. Charlie did a great job of chairing the discussion forums we had throughout the day and kept things ticking along very smoothly.

Changing the subject completely; in 2002, I played Richard in Terry Johnson's play, Dead Funny. Directed by Damian Cruden and Richard Twyman, we opened the play at York Theatre Royal and transferred it to the Octagon Theatre in Bolton. The cover of the printed text summarises the play:

The death of Benny Hill provides the impetus for this comedy about impotence, sex therapy and the English sense of humour. Eleanor wants what Richard won't give her. Richard wants to be left in peace. Benny would rather rest in peace, but for tonight, at least, his fans won't let him.

I mention all this now, because I've just received some photographs from Simon Warner of our production and here they are: Sherry Baines played Eleanor, Robin Hooper played Brian, Nick Lane played Nick and Fiona Wass played Lisa.

As honorary chairman of the Dead Funny Society, Richard pays tribute to the recently deceased Benny Hill by impersonating him. In the final photograph, the Society party is in full swing and its members decide to perform the Morecambe and Wise classic, Boom! Ooooh! Ya ta ta ta!

'The acting is first rate… wonderfully played by John Banks as Richard – his impersonation of Eric Morecambe is worth the admission money alone.'

Blue Remembered Hills

Rummaging through boxes in the garage, as I was the other day, ostensibly looking for the remains of my LP collection, I inevitably found a number of things I hadn't been looking for.

In addition to the LPs, I also found a folder relating to a production of Dennis Potter's Blue Remembered Hills from 1994, which had been produced at The Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham, playing there and touring Gloucestershire, including Potter's native Forest of Dean. The action of the play takes place in the Forest of Dean and the dialect is very specific and quite tricky to replicate accurately. We really wanted to get it right, especially as we were taking the production to a number of Forest venues. Fortunately, we had the help of a number of local cast members and the professional coaching of Andrew Jack. 

We were all very proud of the show and it went down well with our audiences, both at the theatre and on tour. Very sadly, Dennis Potter died in '94 and so the Everyman staged a memorial evening in celebration of his life and work, arranged and directed by David Hill. There were of course a number of readings and anecdotes from people who had worked with Potter and we performed a scene from our play, which was very well received. It had already been our idea to try to re-mount the play in London and on the night, we asked many of the 'stars' to support our bid by signing a declaration that they had seen some of the show and thought it a good idea to have it play in London; we asked for no financial contribution.

Here's the list of 'sponsors': Kenith Trodd, Piers Haggard, Renny Rye, Lynda La Plante, Alan Plater, Gemma Craven, Kika Markham, Corin Redgrave, John Shrapnel, Janet Henfrey, Lyndon Davies, Giles Thomas, Douglas Heshall, Imelda Staunton, Jim Carter, Bernard Hill, George Baker, Frank Finlay, Maggie Steed and Alan Bates.

With such support, we thought our idea had every chance of being realised and felt sure that it would be a success. Dan Crawford of The King's Head, Islington came on board to produce; the plan was to play at The King's Head and hopefully transfer to a West End Theatre. I've just been looking at the reams of costings and administrative notes we had compiled in our attempt to get the show into production. You can maybe guess that it all ended in tears; indeed it did. Three days before rehearsals were due to start, Dennis Potter's literary agent withdrew the performance rights; apparently there had been interest in staging a production of the play somewhere else by a more established company. The 'somewhere else' turned out to be the National Theatre. We were deeply upset and annoyed, as indeed was Dan, who realised what a good idea we'd had.

This photograph is of me playing 'John'. Also in the cast were: Angela Bain, Annie Sutton, Steven Deproost, David Kennedy, Peter Rylands and Julian Protheroe. 

In its review, The Gloucestershire Echo said: 

"Right down to the minutest detail, from the fidgeting and fumbling to stuttering and snorting, every single member of the cast recaptures those childhood mannerisms to perfection. It is one of the most intense, amusing and painful hours I can ever remember.The whole thing leaves you as breathless as the cast. It is a simple play - and one which is quite simply brilliant."

Warhammer

Earlier this month, I recorded two audio books for The Games Workshop as part of their Warhammer series. In the first, Aenarion, I played Aenarion and various other roles with Beth Chalmers narrating. In the second book, Throne of Lies, Beth took the leading role and I narrated and played the remaining characters. Lisa Bowerman directed brilliantly and made a challenging piece of work great fun to do. Thanks to Beth and to Lisa and to Producer David Richardson; more details and artwork coming soon.

The History Channel: Bedlam

Broadcast from Thursday 18th March 2010

(click image to expand view)

Doctor Who: City of Spires

CAST: Colin Baker (The Doctor), Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon), Georgia Moffett (Alice), Richard Earl (Victor), James Albrecht (Major Heyward), Russell Floyd (Sergeant Rilke), Sam Graham (Guthrie), Charlie Ross (Rob), John Banks (Red Cap & The Overlord)

SYNOPSIS:
Arriving in a hail of musket fire, the Doctor unexpectedly finds himself in the highlands of Scotland, where the ruthless Black Donald and his band of rebels are fighting the Redcoats. But the highland warriors no longer fight for the Jacobite cause and the English officers answer only to the mysterious Overlord. What has happened to Scotland and why are its moors littered with advanced, oil-pumping technology?

Reunited with his faithful companion Jamie McCrimmon, the Doctor must venture into the sinister City of Spires to find the answers. But standing in his way is the deadly Red Cap…

Scheduled for release in April.

The Song of Megaptera

CAST:

Colin Baker (The Doctor), Nicola Bryant (Peri), John Benfield (Captain Greeg), Neville Watchurst (Stennar/Manus), John Banks (The Caller/Ship's Computer), Susan Brown (Chief Engineer/Chanel), Toby Longworth (Stafel/1st Security Guard), Alex Lowe (Axel/2nd Security Guard)

SYNOPSIS:
Deep space in the distant future, and Captain Greeg and his crew are hunting mile-long Space Whales on a vast harvesting ship. By pure accident, they also capture the TARDIS.

The Doctor and Peri must use all their wits to survive. But what is the creature running loose in the ship's bowels? And can the Doctor save Megaptera before its song is extinguished forever?

Scheduled for release in May

Online reviews & comments:

The Caller:

'There is a nice sub-plot with a fungal techno shaman which adds tension through the story and the shaman is a pretty interesting character with one of the best alien voices in a while.'

Computer:

'John Banks has a great time as the computer who's personality gets switched multiple times; settling on a psychopathic game player who rattles forth l33t speak. Yes it's silly but it raised several smiles and the injokes for gamers sit unobtrusively in the background.' 

The Coming of The Long Distance Duck

I noticed that this episode of Allo, Allo was on BBC 1 yesterday and I think it's possibly the first one I worked on at the Elstree studios, where Nouvion town square and Cafe Rene had a permanent home. Below is a 'screen-cap' from the original episode.

The Start

Lost Theatre Company have recently moved into their new permanent building in Wandsworth, after 25 years as an itinerant organisation. To celebrate the fact and to launch the theatre, they held a 'Five Minute Play Festival' for new writers in December; our contribution was a play called The Start and here are a couple of images of Robert Heard and me from the dress rehearsal. Directed by Rachel Illingworth for our Small Coin Theatre Company.

Jago and Litefoot

The first season of Jago and Litefoot has now been recorded, and the box set of four stories is due for release in June 2010. It is currently available at a special discounted pre-order price of £30. Click on the Big Finish link for further details.

I was in two of the stories, The Bloodless Soldier and The Similarity Engine and had great fun working with such a fabulous company, including Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter and a wonderful director, Lisa Bowerman, who made the whole event a joy. I also took part in the first of the Christmas podcasts from BF which might still be available via their web site if you are interested.

The Jago and Litefoot series follows directly on from the Companion Chronicle The Mahogany Murderers, and comprises four stories:





The Bloodless Soldier by Justin Richards
Directed by Lisa Bowerman
Guest cast: John Banks, Alex Lowe and Robin Bowerman
In which a group of soldiers return from duty overseas and bring a terrible evil with them...

The Bellova Devil by Alan Barnes
Directed by Lisa Bowerman
Guest cast: Stephen Thorne, Peter Silverleaf and Duncan Wisbey
In which Jago and Litefoot investigate a dead man who appears to have died before.

The Spirit Trap by Jonathan Morris
Directed by John Ainsworth
Guest cast: Janet Henfrey and Lex Shrapnel
In which Jago and Litefoot visit a psychic.

The Similarity Engine by Andy Lane
Directed by Lisa Bowerman
Guest cast: Matt Steer
In which an old enemy reveals his masterplan.

The box set includes a bonus fifth disc with an extensive 'Making of' documentary. There are interviews with all the cast and the production team, behind the scenes clips, plus exclusive extracts from the Writer's Notes read by Lisa Bowerman.

Holmes and The Ripper

Coming soon from Big Finish  Productions:

 

 CAST:

Nicholas Briggs (Sherlock Holmes), Richard Earl (Dr John H. Watson), India Fisher (Katherine Mead), Netley (Lex Shrapnel), Eddie (Samuel Clemens), Sir William Gull (Matt Addis), Assistant Commissioner Anderson (Ian Brooker), Mrs Hudson (Beth Chalmers), Lord Salisbury (David Peart), Saunders (John Banks)

SYNOPSIS:

The grisly serial killings of prostitutes and vulnerable women in Victorian Whitechapel, dubbed by the popular press as the work of ‘Jack the Ripper’ are the talk of London, and from deep within the smog-ridden slums, yet another piercing shriek is heard.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr John H. Watson are drawn into one of the darkest plots ever to shake the foundations of England. There are freemasons, conspiracies and plots at the highest level of the establishment.

But for Holmes, there is a uniquely personal element to this new and terrifying case…

This full-cast audio drama is brought to life with eerily engrossing sound design and a brand new, cinematic music score.

Holmes and The Ripper is scheduled for release in March 2010 

  

Herne The Hunter

Amongst his many other talents, Alex Mallinson is the genius responsible for much of Big Finish's cover art. Chatting to him the other day, between recording sessions for Holmes and The Ripper, he showed me how he'd designed and constructed the image of Herne The Hunter, a character I play in Leviathan, a terrifying mechanoid with a skull like face and antlers. Absolutely fascinating to see what goes into the creation of such an image and, having demonstrated some of the techniques involved, Alex very kindly allowed me to show this final version of Herne:

Having done a little on-line research, I've discovered that there's quite a lot of material relating to the legend of Herne. This from Wikipedia:

Herne is said to have been a huntsman in the employ of King Richard II (reigned 1377-1399) in and around Windsor Forest. He saved the King's life when he was attacked by a cornered white hart, but was mortally wounded himself in the process. A local wizard brought him back to health using his magical powers, which entailed tying the dead animal's antlers on Herne's head. In return, however, Herne had to give up his hunting skills. The other king's huntsmen framed him as a thief. As a result he lost the favour of the king. He was found the next day, hanging dead from a lone oak tree. That same oak tree is in the Home Park at Windsor Castle.

The earliest written account of Herne comes from Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor in 1597:

Sometime a keeper here in Windsor Forest,

Doth all the winter-time, at still midnight,

Walk round about an oak, with great ragg'd horns;

And there he blasts the tree, and takes the cattle,

And makes milch-kine yield blood, and shakes a chain

In a most hideous and dreadful manner.

You have heard of such a spirit, and well you know

The superstitious idle-headed eld

Receiv'd, and did deliver to our age,

This tale of Herne the Hunter for a truth.

— William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor

This records several aspects of Herne's ghost which is said to have haunted Windsor Forest (covering all of East Berkshire and parts of south Buckinghamshire, north-east Hampshire and north-west Surrey) and specifically the Great Park ever since his death. Further details have entered local folklore from reported sightings, such as those in the 1920s. He appears antlered, sometimes beneath the tree on which he was hanged, known as "Herne's Oak", but more often riding his horse, accompanied by other wild huntsmen and the captured souls of those he has encountered on his journey. He is thus a phantom of ill omen, particularly for the country and, specifically, the Royal Family. He has a phosphorescent glow and is accompanied by demon hounds, a horned owl and other creatures of the forest.

All very interesting; meanwhile, back at the plot, here's another example of Alex's work for Big Finish:


Dalek Empire from Detonation Films on Vimeo.

...you gotta have friends

October, and there's been a flurry of autumnal activity.

Firstly and most importantly, I must express a great debt of gratitude to Nicola Bryant, with whom I toured in Don't Look Now, for recommending me to the producers at Big Finish. Thanks to Nicola's generous help, I was invited to submit a 'voice-reel' which happily resulted in the offer of work on Paper Cuts, which was released on 30th September.

Nicola starred as 'Peri', companion to the sixth Doctor Who, played by Colin Baker in the television series. They are currently reprising their roles in The Lost Stories series and I have been fortunate to work with them on two of those episodes.

I'm also very excited about the prospect of working with Nick Briggs on Big Finish's new Sherlock Holmes series. The story is Holmes and the Ripper written by Brian Clemens and Nick is playing Holmes as well as directing.

Brian's previous writing (and producing) credits include: The Avengers, The Persuaders!, Adam Adamant Lives!,The Baron,The Professionals and Danger Man - to mention just a few - amazing!

All for now, more news from Big Finish Productions.... coming soon! 

Doctor Who: Leviathan

CAST:
Colin Baker (The Doctor), Nicola Bryant (Peri), Howard Gossington (Gurth), John Banks (Herne the Hunter), Beth Chalmers (Althya), Jamie Parker (Wulfric), Derek Carlyle (Siward)
 

SYNOPSIS:

No one lives to old age in the village. When their Time is come, they are taken and never seen again. That is The Way. And, should anyone try to break with the established order of things, then the fury of Herne the Hunter is unleashed...

When the TARDIS materializes near a castle in this mediaeval society, the Doctor and Peri befriend Gurth, a terrified youth who is attempting to flee his fate. And Herne is closing in...

Why does the local baron impose the culling? What is the secret of Zeron? And who are the Sentinels of the New Dawn?

The answers lie within a cave...

Leviathan is scheduled for release in January 2010

Online Reviews & comments:

Herne:

' John Banks is able to really let rip with an uninhibitedly guttural performance, augmented and distorted by Simon Robinson’s unsettling sound design. I’ve got a horrible feeling that a few childhood demons might be invading my sleep tonight…'

'Every single member of the cast does an astonishing job of setting their respective roles apart from each other'