Christmas Around The World

I had to wait a full year for the next production and it was a hell of a comedown after the previous one. I was given a stern telling off when I failed to hide my disappointment.

It was a series of scenes each clumsily illustrating the Yuletide customs of a particular country for the benefit of a visiting alien who walked across the stage from left to right delivering lines like "This is Australia on the continent of Australasia".

I played a Mexican.

It was rubbish.

A Christmas Carol

With Christmas on the horizon, I thought I'd take a look at the various Yuletide shows I've been involved with:

Way back in the Christmas of 1990, the children of Millbrook Junior School's fifth year put on a production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The three classes were each responsible for one of the three time periods. Mrs Glencross' class were alloted Christmas Past and I played Mr Fezziwig. Definitely deserving of a special mention is Ross Sadler who played Scrooge throughout and thus had far more responsibility than any of the rest of us.

I think if I had to blame one moment for making me want to be an actor it was during this show. Mr & Mrs Fezziwig throw a party and one of our scenes ended with us clearing up after it. Mrs Fezziwig took her time and we ran out of dialogue before our exit, so I ad libbed. I was ten so I wouldn't have even had a clue what an ad lib was, but I made up a couple of lines to cover us to the edge of the stage. And they got a laugh. All right, so the audience was made up of the cast's family members but a room full of adults laughing at something you did on purpose is heady stuff for a child.

I was hooked.

Hearts In The Gutter Today

The streets of London play host to a show made up of monologues, scenes, sketch and songs set on the streets of London today here.

Fat Children

Another video from the recent Jarvis Cocker Makes An Exhibition Of Himself Again at Village Underground.

This time with aerobics.

Hearts In The Gutter

Behind The Bike Shed is back.

The next show, called Hearts In The Gutter, back in the Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen at 3pm on Sunday the 29th of November, for £3.

See left.

I Bought A Credit

It's incredibly difficult to finance a film, so in a similar way to this, you've got to be impressed with these three bright sparks inviting anyone and everyone to buy a credit at buyacredit.com



They are attempting to film an adaptation of Clovis Dardentor, an 1896 novel by Jules Verne that I don't mind admitting I had never heard of. They already have Stephen Fry & Annette Badland attached and my CV loitering in their email inbox. Judging by the stature of the cast of their recent short film Jam, I'm under no illusions that they will need my help, but it's worth a go.

Slash For Cash

So it turns out that all that running around in the dark was worth it as everyone seems to be happy with Slash's nocturnal scenes, but we were unable to film the two daytime scenes and so a reshoot is on the cards.

It also needs paying for.

Writer and Producer Lucy V Hay blogs about your opportunity to contribute funds for it here. I wholeheartedly endorse her efforts.