Talking of theatre (dear boy), I had a stab at a stage play recently for my OU course. A short one obviously. I'll try and post it somewhere.
My tutor told me I had an ability for writing dark comedy about dysfunctional relationships. Now I don't know s**t about relationships, dysfunctional or otherwise, so I guess I must have a decent imagination or good observation skills. The old cliche - write what you know - doesn't necessarily hold water. I mean Stephen King has probably never met a vampire, a ghost or a serial killer but it doesn't stop him churning out books about 'em. Likewise JK Rowling didn't go to Hogwarts and John Grisham... oh well I'll let that one go.
Sunday 31 January 2010
No business like showbusiness?
I just went to see 'Wet Weather Cover' at the Kings Head Theatre in Islington. It's about two actors, an American method man (played by Michael Brandon, who starred in Dempsey and Makepeace many, many moons ago), and an English luvvie (Steve Furst, aka Lenny Beige, aka the bloke out of the Orange adverts). They find themselves sharing a shabby trailer on the rain-soaked Spanish set of an appalling low-budget movie about the conquest of Mexico. Frustration and claustrophobia rapidly set in, leading to verbal and physical conflict.
Good performances, and some funny lines, though some of the conflict between the two was a little forced. I'd rather see tart-tongued squabbling than actual punch-ups. In its portrayal of the unglamorous side of showbiz 'Wet Weather Cover' was quite effective, no doubt due to it being written by an actor, Oliver Cotton. Mr Cotton's CV includes such meisterworks as Christopher Columbus - The Discovery, which featured Tom Selleck as King Ferdinand of Spain, so he clearly has some experience of appearing in dire multi-national hokum.
I'm reminded also of an anecdote Rory McGrath (I think) told once about the long-forgotten comedy Chelmsford 123. One episode featured a scene with some poor extra lying naked in a muddy field through endless retakes and pissing rain. After the scene was finally finished, McGrath asked this guy, who was in his 50s, what drew him in to showbusiness.
'The glamour,' came the unironic reply.
Good performances, and some funny lines, though some of the conflict between the two was a little forced. I'd rather see tart-tongued squabbling than actual punch-ups. In its portrayal of the unglamorous side of showbiz 'Wet Weather Cover' was quite effective, no doubt due to it being written by an actor, Oliver Cotton. Mr Cotton's CV includes such meisterworks as Christopher Columbus - The Discovery, which featured Tom Selleck as King Ferdinand of Spain, so he clearly has some experience of appearing in dire multi-national hokum.
I'm reminded also of an anecdote Rory McGrath (I think) told once about the long-forgotten comedy Chelmsford 123. One episode featured a scene with some poor extra lying naked in a muddy field through endless retakes and pissing rain. After the scene was finally finished, McGrath asked this guy, who was in his 50s, what drew him in to showbusiness.
'The glamour,' came the unironic reply.
Saturday 30 January 2010
From small acorns...
Two friends of mine advised me to write a blog. On the same day. In my book, that's a clamour, so here it is. Welcome... to the Comfort Zone.
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