Mosquito Day – The New Scientist Review

GaryDirecting, Mosquito Day, Reviews, Writing

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

GaryDirecting, Mosquito Day, Performing, Writing

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

GaryDirecting, Film, Performing, The New Factory

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

Lenin’s Lunch

GaryDirecting, Film, Performing, The New Factory

The New Factory of the Eccentric Actor are making a film… Sounds very grand, but to be clear this is not a multi-camera high budget short. It is certainly short, a 12 minute work called ‘Lenin’s Lunch’ which unsurprisingly is about Lenin trying to eat his lunch, but the filming itself is to be deliberately lo-fi. This is a collaboration … Read More

Pendle Witch

GaryDirecting

I was asked to stage a short scene from an obscure 17th century play – The Witches of Lancashire by Thomas Heywood & Richard Brome – for inclusion in a BBC 4 documentary called Pendle Witch being produced by Wingspan Productions. Simple one might think… However the scene included the transformation of two greyhounds into a woman and a small … Read More

The Fever – Brighton – Review

GaryDirecting, saltpeter, The Fever

“Bold and inspired production of an astonishing play” The writer of this play, Wallace Shawn, first performed it himself in an apartment near 7th Avenue in New York City in 1990. He deliberately wrote it to be gender-neutral and able to be performed by actors of almost any age to small groups at a time. Saltpeter’s director Gary Merry has … Read More

The end of The Fever

GaryDirecting, saltpeter, The Fever

Another staging of The Fever is done and dusted. Sunday night in Brighton proved to be very successful, with a good crowd in, and some very positive feedback. The success of the evening, almost entirely due to the performers, reaffirms my belief that The Fever should be performed more, and there will be more on the way. The photo above … Read More

The Fever – online interview

GaryDirecting, saltpeter, The Fever

Here’s the text of an online question and answer interview my co-producer/performer Vera Chok and I undertook for Fringe Review. What’s the title of your show? – The Fever by Wallace Shawn Where is it playing, on what dates, and at what times? It’s a one-off at The Brighton Media Centre Gallery – Venue 73 May 22nd, 7.30pm What is … Read More

The Fever – Stir crazy

GaryDirecting, saltpeter, The Fever

Feeling decidedly stir crazy. Some of the cast of The Fever are out of the country, and some off working on other projects, hence we won’t be rehearsing again until next week. So I just have the script to read, and re-read, and the opportunity to indulge in the slightly annoying habit (it would seem annoying to you if you … Read More

The Fever – Rehearsals begin

GaryDirecting, saltpeter, The Fever

I am naturally disinclined to explain what I think a play is about. As I have stated elsewhere I am quite likely to answer any enquiry about the nature of a play with the answer “come and see it, and find out”. However I have to admit that a little context, a hint about the kind of work an audience … Read More

If you didn’t catch The Fever…

GaryDirecting, saltpeter, The Fever

If you didn’t catch The Fever at the People Show Studios in December, you can at the Brighton Festival Fringe. saltpeter presents Wallace Shawn’s Obie Award winning The Fever A one-off site specific ensemble piece Venue: Brighton Media Centre Gallery Date: Sunday, 22 May 2011 Staging The Fever is an ongoing project for saltpeter. We believe that The Fever is … Read More

The Fever – Brighton Festival Fringe

GaryDirecting, saltpeter, The Fever

For the record, it is not easy to find a venue for even a one-off performance, a week before registration closes for the Brighton Festival Fringe… Having very successfully staged The Fever at the People Show Studios late last year, and with a shared belief that you can never have too many performances of it, Vera Chok of saltpeter and … Read More