Heading off to Bohemia with The New Factory of the Eccentric Actor tomorrow. An epic two day train journey to Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic, where we will be presenting ‘Jubilee’ by Anton Chekhov (in both Czech and English) at the very first Souladění Festival. I’ve been working with the English cast, but now looking forward to meeting and working … Read More
Stratford City & The New Oz
I was approached through a friend by Hilary Powell to act as Ozymandias/Dorothy/Wizard at UCL Urban Lab as part of an installation Stratford City & The New Oz – an installation and exploration of the nebulous idea of legacy in relation to the London 2012 Olympics. “This installation arises from the issues and contents of the book ‘The Art of Dissent: Adventures In … Read More
Dinefwr Literature Festival
I spent the weekend in Wales at the Dinefwr Literature Festival as part of ‘The Brautigan Book Club Trilogy’. It rained a lot, two of the performance tents were closed down on friday due to strong winds causing a little upheaval, but my memories of the weekend, the people I worked with and the people I met, are all joyous. … Read More
Electric Typewriter
In the rehearsal room all week putting together an extract from Tonseisha – The Man Who Abandoned The World for a staging at the Dinefwr Literature Festival at the end of this month as part of ‘The Brautigan Book Club Trilogy’. I‘ve blogged elsewhere about Erik Patterson’s sensational play, and how with the aid of composer Kim Ashton I am … Read More
Chekhov in Bohemia
The New Factory has been invited to perform at the first Souladění Festival in Cesky Krumlov, in the Czech Republic in July 2012. The Festival is headlined by the renowned Czech performer Jaroslav Dušek, and we will be presenting a brand new translation of A Jubilee by Anton Chekhov. We will in fact be performing in both Czech (with local … Read More
The Gilded Vectors of Disease
I am acting as ‘script consultant’ on this great radio project (I love science). I will also be the guest reporter on the ‘Snake’ episode, as well as portraying Sir Ronald Ross describing how he finally proved that Malaria is transmitted via the bite of the mosquito in the live episode on International Malaria Awareness Day. More to follow…
Tonseisha – The Man Who Abandoned The World
I am currently working on a spring 2013 staging of the play Tonseisha, by American play write Erik Patterson for saltpeter. The play tells the story of one Japanese woman’s search for love and her obsession with American beat poet Richard Braughtigan. Tonseisha is a script that saltpeter has aspired to produce for some time, and from the outset I … Read More
Collaboration
I spent 2 days at the end of last week working (as a performer) on a new adaptation of a play. I attend rehearsals as both as a performer, and as a director. I often attend as both when directing for The New Factory. Common to my experience as both a performer and director, is my ever present sense of … Read More
Lenin in London
Lenin in London was first staged by The New Factory of the Eccentric Actor back in 2003 to mark the 100th Anniversary of Lenin’s last visit to London. When the idea of a benefit performance for The Marx Memorial Library was mooted, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for a revival of the work. The Marx Memorial Library hidden away … Read More
Mosquito Day – The New Scientist Review
Reality bites at Malaria Tea Dance Mosquitoes, malaria and the Charleston. These were the topics of conversation buzzing in the air at the Malaria Tea Dance on Friday, held at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) in celebration of World Mosquito Day – the anniversary of Ronald Ross’s discovery of malarial parasites in the Anopheles mosquito on … Read More
Mosquito Day
As part of their Mosquito Day celebration I was asked by The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine to write and direct a short 25 minute piece exploring the discovery of the mosquito transmission of Malaria by Nobel Prize winner Sir Ronald Ross in 1897. In the event I also played the role of Sir Ronald. The whole thing … Read More
Filming Lenin’s Lunch
I love filming, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I love working. Working with people who want to produce something (however difficult the circumstances of production, or the paucity of practical resources) is always a pleasure. I blogged a couple of weeks ago about my feelings on the filming of staged performances, but have always wanted … Read More