Fork 'andles

Have been attempting to recreate some of the classic sketches from the Two Ronnies for Radio 4's afternoon play, 'Goodnight From Him'. With Aiden McArdle, James Lance and Matt Addis giving splendid renditions of Ronnie Corbett, David Frost and John Cleese, I have tried to do some justice to the 'Guvnor', the great Ronnie Barker. Terrific fun, in spite of several pisspronunciations. Broadcasts in May.

Also, coming up next week on BBC1, is Ben Elton's 'The Wright Way'. I'm in it from Episode 2 onwards, bossing David Haig around as Mayor Len Winkler. Was lovely to do, but just as vulnerable to pisspronunciations. Ben had decided at the last minute to make my character speak in completely deconstructed english. A kind of management lingo in reverse. Stanley Unwin gone town hall lingo barmey. Deep joy and joy deep.

But for now, the kids are back at school and I actually felt the warmth of the sun on my face this afternoon for the first time in living memory. Spring is here. Life is skittles. Life is beer!

Brain Movies

There can be few more effective conversation stoppers available than the classic, 'I had an amazing dream last night!' Admit it. The sight of the end of that last sentence sent a shiver down your spine. Sadly, spilling your dreams is not the way to get on and influence people. Even your nearest and dearest are likely to switch onto immediate automatic pilot - mind you, mine don't even require that excuse to slip into a trance. The fact is, other people's dreams are boring - unless you've recently fallen in love and all sense of ordinary balance has been lost to you.

Dreaming for me is something that I know gets done and something I vaguely remember images of for a split second upon waking. However, my main memories of the night are usually the desperate 3 o'clock wide awake terror of trying to figure out how to pay the next set of bills. Funny how those concerns manage to stack above your head awaiting clearance for landing in the wee small hours of the morning.

Not for me the bedside note book and pencil, plus trusty Freud bothering Dream Dictionary. Such discipline and interest in self knowledge is at present beyond me. So night by night I go about my unconscious business for the most part, unconsciously. Or so the story went, because you see I had an amazing dream last night! And before you all go into an unfollow frenzy, I promise not to dwell on story or detail. In short it was the most extraordinary movie I've ever seen. A beautifully shot and extraordinarily edited series of breathtaking scenes and images that quite frankly would have been beyond the capabilities and technical resources of our most gifted conscious-world film and computer generated creative artistes and craftspeople. My brain was clearly using the most extraordinarily advanced and sophisticated software not known to man. I know the human brain operates in all sorts of wonderful and unfathomable ways every nano-second of our lives, but this dream was just showing off big time. An Oscar winning Brain Movie.

I dearly wish I could discover exactly what software my dreaming self had downloaded. Finding that out would definitely bring my 3am bill paying anxieties to an end.

On Team GB, Heroes and Trolls

Well it's the last day of these most extraordinary Olympic Games and there is no let up in the pride and joy most of us have experienced during this past fortnight. Farah, Pendleton, Wiggins, Ennis, Hoy, Adlington, Trott et al have made their names immortal for a generation and beyond. Together with the amazing talents of their fellow Olympians from around the world, they have brought us the very best in sport and human endeavour. 

Amongst all this, one of our most gifted athletes, Tom Daley, fought his way to a Bronze Medal having dealt with an all too common attack from an internet 'troll'. This he did with dignity and calm. The fashion of hate dwellers to criticise in this anonymous and deeply cowardly way is a sad by-product of the wonders of the internet age. To all those who have suffered in this manner, these words by Teddy Roosevelt may offer some comfort.

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena...who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

Yes.

Diary of a Nobody

Have just finished work on the audiobook recording of the classic British comedy novel Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith. It was a real pleasure to return to a character I was lucky enough to play on stage last year in a production by Gary Sefton at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton. 

Charles Pooter is a marvelous comic creation and the journey he takes us on through the many domestic and professional crises he creates and endures is a true gem of British literature.

This is the second production at our Classic Audio Productions Studio and we are going to be following these with classics by Jerome K Jerome, Oscar Wilde and Charles Dickens. The studio is also producing audiobooks for modern writers who wish to create an audio presence for the works. Indeed we are currently looking at works from both previously published authors and self publishing scribes.

If you know of anybody with an interest in turning their romantic novel, crime thriller, travel odyssey or text book on bee-keeping etc into an audiobook, please mention our contact at studio@classicaudioproductions.com and check out our website at classicaudioproductions.com . It's terrific fun and not as expensive as most people seem to think.

Up West

Half way through my run of Yes Prime Minister and the play is now proving less of a mountain to climb. Audiences have been fascinating to follow. Ranging from the energetically hysterical in appreciation, to the 'is there anybody out there tonight at all?' There must be studies on audience make-up and the chemistry that exists at certain performances and then evaporates at others. A craftsperson must never blame their tools. Nor should an actor blame an audience for any perceived lack of energy or vocal appreciation on their part. Also it must be acknowledged that a quiet audience is not necessarily one that is disliking the play. Very often a positive reaction at the curtain call can catch you by surprise, after a low level energy reaction to the previous two hour traffic of the stage. This is primarily an observation about comedy. Dramas have their own distinct signs of audience appreciation - silence and a lack of sweet wrappers rustling being two that come to mind. There is of course the school of thought that suggests actors should be totally unaware of such things, their senses buried deep within the world of character and play. Well of course! Isn't that a given?  But with a comedy you have to receive and respond to laughter or indeed lack of it as and when they occur.

The fact remains that no two performances are ever the same. Actor's performances and energy levels change constantly. Concentration and relaxation vary on a daily basis. You never quite know how it will be on the night and that's what makes it such a fascinating process for both audiences and players.