April Fool !

A short message from Mr Nev Fountain, author of:

     The Mervyn Stone Mysteries

'I have decided to write an original and free Mervyn Stone short story - on TWITTER!  I'm going to start on April 1st as part of a month-long build-up to the paperback release.'

The story is entitled The Pen is Mightier Than the Nerd, and to read it, all you need do is follow Mervyn on Twitter @mervynstone and drop by frequently for updates.

To whet your collective appetite, here's a little synopsis for what's in store...

Mervyn Stone wakes up beside a corpse. The corpse used to be noted memorabilia collector Alistair McGuffin, who has been bludgeoned to death by an autograph. The autograph is a rare signed photo, encased in perspex to keep it mint... and it's in Mervyn's hand.

Mervyn tells the police he was only there to retrieve his chelsea boots... and then the boots turn up.

Beside the bodies of two more collectors, also killed that night.

At this point, Mervyn works out he's in a spot of bother.

Can Mervyn clear his name? And will he ever get his chelsea boots back?

March 2011 - Part Two, Act III ...breaking news!

March is certainly shaping up to be an interesting month...

During the last few days, completely out of the blue from my point of view, I've been offered some work on Emmerdale for Yorkshire Television, playing a character called 'Peter Jennings'. Recording starts next week and already, an interesting coincidence has occurred! I'll post further details after the event, probably in the April update.

To cap a busy week, I'm delighted to say that those fabulous fellows at BF have invited me to another Doctor Who convention, details of which, appear in the poster below; what fun!

ACT III Guests:

LOUISE JAMESON

JOHN NETTLES

BURT KWOUK

COLIN BAKER

MARY TAMM

WENDY PADBURY

DEREK MARTIN

CHARLIE ROSS 

  

Big Finish Sponsored guests: 
KATY MANNING

NEV FOUNTAIN
BETH CHALMERS
NICK BRIGGS
LISA BOWERMAN 
JOHN BANKS
JOHN DORNEY
ROB SHEARMAN
SIMON GUERRIER
NIGEL ROBINSON
PAUL FINCH
 MIKE MADDOX

NB: the guest list is subject to change.

March 2011

In an attempt to improve on last month's late posting, here's an early update. This month sees the release of Doctor Who stories To The Death with Paul McGann and Industrial Evolution with Colin Baker. The artwork and synopses have been posted previously - scroll down a little - and Highlander Series 2 box-set is also scheduled for release this month.

Vortex 25  has the poster art below to announce the upcoming release.

Amazing artwork by Grant Kempster.

With the flurry of recent releases, there are quite a few things to listen to this month and I've just been enjoying listening to Lucie Miller, which arrived through my letter box a few days ago, along with The Feast of Axos. Part of the fun of catching up with the stories is that, because of the huge amount of work that goes into post-production, (editing, sound FX, orchestral and musical scoring etc.) they are usually released many months after recording and it's therefore possible to hear them with a fresh ear, as any other listener would. It's really only from this point onwards that the stories can be fully appreciated - and remembered! The actors have relatively little time to work on the scripts before recording and a similarly short time in the studio; indeed, we sometimes don't even meet each other. Consequently, it often comes as quite a surprise to hear the finished work, to hear what everyone else was doing while I was having coffee and chats in the green room and of course, to listen to the interviews they have given, which are often included as 'bonus' tracks on the finished CD or download.

So, having enjoyed listening to Lucie Miller for the first time, I can't quite decide whether to listen again immediately or make a start on Axos - tricky! Perhaps I should continue with Mission To Magnus, which, I know, was released many months ago, but which I've only just started? Tricky, tricky...

February 2011

Halfway through February already, so a bit of a late posting this month. 

Big Finish have released details of The Children of Seth story, recorded last month and which I mentioned in the January posting. The information below is taken from the BF web site:

"Series three of The Lost Stories has moved forward in the schedule, with a trio of Fifth Doctor tales now planned for released in October, November and December 2011. The series will then break for four months, and return in May 2012 with the remaining five stories being released monthly.

The first title to be announced is The Children of Seth by Christopher Bailey, writer of the acclaimed Kinda and Snakedance. In The Children of Seth the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa arrive on a world that is at war with its evil enemy Seth, but anyone who questions the status quo is dispatched summarily to ‘Hell’…

The Children of Seth was recorded mid-January, and director Ken Bentley assembled a world class cast. Guest stars include Honor Blackman (The Avengers, Doctor Who: Terror of the Vervoids) plays Anahita, David Warner (Titanic, Doctor Who: Dreamland) is Siris, Vernon Dobtcheff (The Spy Who Loved Me , Doctor Who: The War Games) plays Shamur and Adrian Lukis (Pride and Prejudice) is Byzan.

“We knew we had to get the very best for this one,” says David, (producer David Richardson) “because it’s such a wonderful script. And it was beautiful to listen to in studio – I think we have discovered something very special indeed…”


I couldn't resist including an image here of Honor Blackman and saying what a pleasure and 'honour' it was to work with her. 

I've outlined previously, how rewarding an experience it is to work on a Big Finish production; the unfailing pleasure of such work comes as a result of the huge amount of care that goes into every detail, before, during and after the recording process. The production team somehow always manage to engender a relaxed, collaborative and truly creative working environment, which any actor would relish and recognise as an all too rare glimpse of how things should be. In this instance, my particular thanks go to Toby Hrycek-Robinson, David Richardson and uber-director, the Great Ken Bentley. 

   

  The Children of Seth will be released in December 2011.

There are a number of other things I should also mention for this half-elapsed month: 

Firstly, and I should have mentioned this last month, 25 years ago in January 1986, North One Management began trading as an actor's co-operative agency. The company came into being as a result of a bit of 'pub talk' I'd had with a few acting mates, wondering how we could improve our chances of gainful and worthwhile employment. 

The company really started to come together in mid '85 and with the invaluable contribution of a small group of university friends, especially founder members Marc Zakian, Lucinda Smith and Joanne Stoner, by January '86, we were open for business. The name, North One Management, came from a combination of our location at the old Hackney Hospital in Dalston, N1 and the fact that I am from the north, that I am a 'north one'.

All the original members of the co-op have now moved on. Nevertheless, as I'm sure you will appreciate, I'm immensely proud of what we achieved and of the reputation we established. I'm absolutely delighted that the company is still up and running - here's to the next 25 years!

...secondly,

Suzanne Hunter of Brooklands Radio has once again asked for a contribution to her show from my friend Mr. Silke and me. Consequently, we recently recorded five classic love poems for her Valentine's Day special programme, which was broadcast earlier today. 

...and finally:

Lucie Miller and The Feast of Axos are released this month form Big Finish. 

a bientot.

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.'

 _________________________________________________________________
 

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!

December - a flurry of activity!

Currently having great fun recording three Doctor Who audio dramas, including a story involving The Sontarans!

Amazingly, the cover artwork for Heroes of Sontar is already viewable:



Hopefully, we'll all be able to get to the studios next week to finish recording, despite the deep and still falling snow!

Industrial Evolution

'19th century Lancashire: where the white heat of the Industrial Revolution burns hottest at Samuel Belfrage's brass mill, a mill plagued by more than its fair share of work-related injuries.

While Thomas Brewster struggles to secure a fair deal for Belfrage's overworked hands, fellow travellers the Doctor and Evelyn follow the Copper King to Liverpool, there to discover the unexpected truth about Belfrage's business.

Back in Ackleton, the local MP voices the fears of many when he says that the machines are taking over. He's more right than he knows…'

RELEASE DATE: 31st March 2011

If you would like an autographed copy of Industrial Evolution, please click the link below:

tenthplanetevents: Industrial Evolution signed by John Banks

coming soon to an audio galaxy near you...

“Axos calling Earth. Fuel system exhausted. Request immediate assistance.”

Many years ago, the vast space parasite Axos attempted to suck the planet Earth of its energy. Now it’s all but forgotten – a dried-up husk, marooned in orbit, still stuck in the time loop it was placed in by Earth’s defender, the Doctor.

Forgotten, that is, except by space tourism billionaire Campbell Irons – who’s hatched a plan to solve the world’s energy crisis by reviving Axos, and transmitting its power back to Earth. But the crew of the spaceship Windermere aren’t alone aboard the parasite. The Doctor has returned, to correct an error of decades past…

And Axos is waiting.  

CAST:

Colin Baker (The Doctor), Maggie Stables (Evelyn Smythe), John Pickard (Thomas Brewster), Bernard Holley (Voice of Axos), John Banks (Campbell Irons/Svenni Nilson), Andree Bernard (Joanna Slade), Chook Sibtain (David Brock), Peter Forbes (Craig Swanson), Duncan Wisbey (Philippe Lefevre)
 

RELEASE DATE: 28th February 2011

_________________________________________________________________

CAST:

Paul McGann (The Doctor), Sheridan Smith (Lucie Miller), Niky Wardley (Tamsin Drew), Graeme Garden (The Monk), Carole Ann Ford (Susan Campbell), Jake McGann (Alex Campbell), John Banks (Seb Andrews) Nicholas Briggs (The Daleks)

SYNOPSIS:

'Hello! Doctor, it's me. Lucie. Lucie Miller…'

Lucie Miller needs the Doctor's help. The whole planet Earth needs his help. But he is nowhere to be seen.While Lucie struggles to survive a terrible sickness, an even greater threat to the human race is about to be unleashed.And this will be the second Dalek invasion of Earth the Doctor's grand-daughter has had to endure.

'You must accept the reality of your situation. You have been defeated.'

 RELEASE DATE:
28 February 2011

November 2010

Hello! An eclectic update for this month; on Wednesday the 10th, the Mervyn Stone novels, Geek Tragedy, DVD Extras Include Murder and Cursed Among Sequels, written by the prodigiously funny and talented Nev Fountain, were officially launched onto an unsuspecting world. Those of a keen-eyed disposition may observe a familiar face or two on the dust jacket of each book....

To further whet the appetite of an already baying and enthusiastic public, I've been playing Mervyn in Big Finish's monthly pod-casts, which are still available on their web site, should you wish to hear them. Also available will be a video recording of me reading a chapter from the first book at the launch party; follow a link to the BF FaceBook site and it should be there sometime soon. Nicola Bryant also read a chapter from the book and I guess she'll be on FaceBook too.

It was a very festive occasion and a great opportunity to catch up with the wider Big Finish Family, and indeed to meet some people for the first time. Sylvester McCoy was there and in top form; he's currently rehearsing a production of Evelyn Waugh's Decline And Fall at The Old Red Lion in Islington, which plays from 30th November to 8th January. Claire Vousden was also there, a touring buddy from Don't Look Now; really good to see her again; I think the whole event went very well and was a great success - hope the books are a similar success for Nev.

Earlier in the week, I was deeply honoured to have been asked to take part in a Remembrance Day Special, broadcast on the Suzanne Hunter Show for Brooklands Radio. My friend John Silke and I had been on her regular morning show back in October, talking about George and the Magic Radio, John's book for children, during which, I'd read some of the story on air. This time, Suzanne asked me to read the two pieces reproduced below. Apparently, the broadcast was very well received and is scheduled to be repeated on Sunday.

The First Armistice:

"The first stroke of eleven produced a magical effect. The tram cars glided into stillness, motors ceased to cough and fume, and stopped dead, and the mighty-limbed dray horses hunched back upon their loads and stopped also, seeming to do it of their own volition. Someone took off his hat, and with a nervous hesitancy the rest of the men bowed their heads also.Here and there an old soldier could be detected slipping unconsciously into the posture of 'attention'. An elderly woman, not far away, wiped her eyes, and the man beside her looked white and stern. Everyone stood very still ... The hush deepened. It had spread over the whole city and become so pronounced as to impress one with a sense of audibility. It was a silence which was almost pain ... And the spirit of memory brooded over it all."



   Armistice by John Banks

           

               In Flanders' Fields                       

                                                      

In Flanders' fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place: and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders' fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe;

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high,

If ye break faith with us who die

  We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

     In Flanders' Fields
         
                                                                                                                           John McCrae 1915

   In Flanders Fields by John Banks

______________________________________________________

My friend and co-director of our Small Coin Theatre Company, Rachel Illingworth, has just directed a piece for the 'Rapid Write Response' project at Theatre503 in London, called Suffer Little Children and written by Patrick Hinton. The play went very well and attracted a capacity audience, so, many congratulations to Rachel, Pat and the company for having done such an excellent job.

 ...and that's just about all for now; looking forward to working with Ken Bentley and the rest of the company on a new Doctor Who drama later this month - can't wait!

The Hobbit - Radagast the Brown

Congratulations to Sylvester McCoy on being cast as Radagast the Brown in the forthcoming Hobbit movie/s. I've had the great pleasure of working with Sylvester on a number of Big Finish audio dramas, throughout which, he has been great fun to work with.

Aenarion

Artwork by Jon Sullivan

 The Sword of Khaine resides upon the Blighted Isle, veiled in mystery and guarded by forces both living and dead. Despite the warnings, Aenarion rides out upon his dragon Indraugnir to seek the prize in order to save his homeland of Ulthuan. The journey is fraught with danger, and Aenarion must confront daemons, spirits and the elemental forces of nature itself if he is to succeed. But in drawing the blade from the Black Anvil, he will unleash the ancient and malevolent force that will tear the elven race apart…

Scheduled for release in October 2010 from Games Workshop: Warhammer

Beth Chalmers narrates and plays the female characters, I play the male characters.

Online reviews & comments:

‘It was awesome! Beth Chalmers and John Banks create a new world of elves and demons which spring to life as you hear this story. Gav Thorpe hammered out an almost perfect audio drama.’ 

'Beth Chalmers’ voice is enchanting and the voices by John Banks make the male characters easily identifiable by dialogue alone.'

'Same actors did “Throne of Lies”, if this is going to have the same level of added coolness then it got even better. From ‘Allo ‘Allo to Ulthuan eh..what a trip !'

'I thought this was brilliant! The voice acting for Aenarion was great'

 

September 2010

CAST:
Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Sophie Aldred (Ace), Philip Olivier (Hex), Stephen Chance (Sir William Abberton), Maggie O’Neill (Captain Lysandra Aristedes), Philip Dinsdale (Sergeant Jarrod), Ingrid Oliver (Helen/Oracle) John Banks (Corporal Matthews/Pilot)

SYNOPSIS:
 
1999: Leaving her infant son behind, a young mother named Cassandra Schofield departs Bolton, seeking a better life amid the lights of London.

2004: Despite the best efforts of the time-travelling Doctor, 'Cassie' Schofield dies on Dartmoor, a vampirised victim of the sinister organisation called The Forge.

2021: All grown up, and a nurse at St Gart's Hospital, Thomas Hector Schofield – known as 'Hex' – meets, and becomes a companion to, that time-travelling Doctor… but remains unaware that his alien friend knew his mother, and watched her die.

1854: In the Crimean War, Hex takes a bullet, and is seriously injured. The Doctor promises to return him to St Gart's.

2025: Now. In a London ravaged by a deadly contagion… destiny awaits.

Scheduled for release in September.

August 2010

July turned out to be quite a busy and interesting month. I worked on four Doctor Who stories and, once again, had some very happy times with all the fantastic Big Finish cast and production crew. It really is a joy to collaborate with such talented and professional people; 'work' takes the form of an easy exchange of ideas and the creative process becomes stimulating, rewarding and hugely enjoyable. 


Now that August is here, I'm delighted (and not a little terrified) at the prospect of recording a third audio book for The Games Workshop in their Warhammer series. The reason for my slight sense of trepidation is that for the first time, I'll be 'performing' the book solo, narrating and playing all the characters. Fingers crossed!

I'm also very much looking forward to the release, later this month, of  Throne of Lies.

By the way, have you noticed how everyone seems to be talking about...

Mervyn Stone ? ? ?

To find out what all the fuss is about, follow this link : Nev Fountain

All for now - who knows what the rest of the month might bring.............

Throne of Lies

 Throne of Lies

                                      Artwork by Jon Sullivan 

The Night Lords are among the most feared Chaos Space Marines in the universe.They prey on their victims from the shadows, stalking the faithful of the FalseImperium in their ultimate quest to destroy the Emperor. The warband of the Exalted, travelling aboard The Covenant of Blood, are recovering from the events at Crythe Primus. But their dark crusade against the loyal Imperial forces continues, and they will leave a trail of blood and terror behind them.

Released in August 2010 from Games Workshop: Warhammer 

Online reviews & comments:

'John Banks & Beth Chalmers did an amazing job with the voice overs, really bringing the characters to life.'

'John Banks has the largest chunk of narrative duties and really makes the story his own.' 

'There are many great audio dramas but somehow this one, to me, stood a step above the rest' 

'Speechless - worth every penny, every second!! I listen to it constantly!!!'


‘The voice acting is top notch, the production values are phenomenal’

'The atmosphere given over in this "book" is brilliant and the actor voicing it is great. With the sound effects and background music thrown into the mix its a very VERY good listen'

'Throne of Lies is one of the best audio books I have ever heard - the voice acting is second to none! 5/5 A++'

'Best BL Audio period. Best voice acting, best story...'

'...some great voice talent which really brings this Night Lords tale to life.'

'Beside some of the best voice acting and sound effects, the story is incredible.'

'The story is excellent and quite dramatic. But the best feature is the reading actor who really brings the story to life.'

'It oozes with great atmosphere, style and setting. From the growling heavy booming voices of the Night Lords to the crackling vox transmissions between the ships, it makes good use of sound effects to give the story that extra bit of “oomph!” to make it great.'
 

‘Top notch voice acting and sound effects.’

'The voice cast also deserves kudos for great work. Beth Chalmers, who was the companion of the seventh Doctor and has featured in many BBC productions voices the female cast members: Octavia the Navigator, the Huntress and M’Shen, the assassin who killed Konrad Kurze. John Banks, who has an extensive theatre background and television work, does the narration and all male cast members, giving especially the Astartes a deep, scary voice that befits these power armoured giants. Both deliver their lines and narration well enough, this isn’t just someone reading from the pages of a book, but putting actual feeling into it.' 

'Give us more of John Banks and Beth Chalmers'

click this link to access the official trailer: The Black Library - Throne of Lies  

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!