Film star glamour!

But not if you don't like car parks! Check out purgatory on You Tube.

Ah, me!

Pass The Jellied Eels, guv'nor...!

After 50 years in Birmingham, I am now a Londoner. Until May 08 anyway. I'm now Resident Director for Rutgers University at Shakespeare’s Globe on the South Bank. What a place! And what a great bunch of people. So far, anyway!

This is a picture of my new office. Tales From My Riverbank will start soon enough, but the last few months have been 12 to 14 hour days and although the Maverick Theatre Henry V tour is calming down, nothing else is!

Better than boredom though, eh?

Oh, and if you're thinking of burgling my house, don't bother. My nephew, 'Killer' Matt is house sitting. He'd LOVE someone to try and break in. Not sure where his genes come from, but they're occasionally useful to point at bad people!

Blimey, look at the time!

Its August already! I've not written anything on here for nearly a month - which is the opposite of what I wanted to do. I wanted to relate my journey, as t'were! But it's indicative of how hectic the journey has become that I've not really had time to write anything. Wanna know what my day consists of? Check out this interview by freelance writer Angela Merideth. But I will tell you, as I mentioned on the Maverick Theatre blog, that I feel a bit like that bloke in the Magnificent Seven. First there was me and the play. Then I found Ed, our actor. That makes two of us. Now a Stage Manager. Three. And possibly a Deputy Stage Manager. Four. Tom is going to film the process. Five. John will do the lights. Six. And I'm nearly ready to jump on the Henry Hoss and ride triumphantly to a theatre near you soon!

We've finished the first 'chunk' of rehearsals. Ed the actor is now off for a month holidaying and filming. We all get together again in early September. So I should have more time to write. Hoorah for us all!

Ola Baby!

I've never been very good at holidays. And it's NOT a good thing. Possibly because since the age of about 22 I've never had a 'proper' job with holidays and, more importantly, holiday pay. But it's also to do with feeling guilty at working and guilty at not working. And during the Maverick years holidays were not a luxury I could afford anyway. So it was feckin' great going to Spain for four days with some mates last weekend. We also saw the Rolling Stones as part of their Bigger Bang tour. I wasn't a huge Stones fan, although they are almost a mainstay for my radio station, The Arrow, but having seen this gig, I am now!

It's enough to make you weep!

I've spent most of the day scanning production photos to upload to the Maverick web site. It's been strangely moving. Looking back at 13 years of actors, directors and technicians, all working for very little money in the upstairs room of a pub that no one had heard of.
The one picture I find particularly moving is a photograph of the original PALS cast. It's not a set up, but a photo that was taken at the end of an actual show. And the tears are real. Every night, without fail, the cast were crying for real. It was dynamite. In the small upstairs room of the Billesley Pub there was a unique, raw collective outpouring of grief and emotion from every audience. PALS is about 4 kids growing up in Birmingham. I won't give the end of the play away, because it's obvious we've got to do it again. The only time I've experienced that collective power has been at the end of Les Misereables and maybe Blood Brothers by Willy Russell. Good bed fellows for PALS, me thinks!

Kind of makes all the aggro worthwhile, dunnit!

Sob!

Can You Hear Me Mother?

Things have been a bit busy. I've been Mr Radio for the last 2 weeks on The Arrow, filling in for Dave Hickman on the afternoon show. Holiday relief. The money's a bit of a relief, I can tell you. Every little helps...

I interviewed Black Sabbath this week - or at least the reincarnation of the band, post Ozzy, 'Heaven and Hell', with Ronnie James Dio and Tony Iomi. I felt I did badly, but the guys were great. I'd not prepared enough. Like, have I just spelled their names correctly! The lack of preparation was not completely my fault, but I'm the one at the sharp end, so no excuses Hennegan.

Chastened by the experience, I made sure I was more on the ball with my second interview this week, with the band Ash. Much better, Nick. And although Tim Wheeler and Mark Hamilton are now living in New York and Richard McMurray, the drummer, is now living in Edinburgh, they're good mates with U2 and I can report that music from the wonderful island of Ireland is in very good hands.

I had some very friendly phone calls from Arrow listeners throughout the UK and although it curtailed my time on Maverick, I have to say its been quite enjoyable.

And we are advertising on the website for the new 'Henry V' team. Although the website is still not finished, I think I shall let people know of its existence. Start the ball rolling if only slowly!

Rock On!

Hoorah for the New Maverick!

Apart from actors and directors, only myself and John Slater have worked in any way 'full time' on Maverick. The lovely Carol Edwards did our books for a short time before her job got in the way and there have been numerous and very wonderful volunteers taking various roles, but long term there has only been Slates and me. And now there's only me, mainly because of the crippling economics of presenting truly accessible, intimate and AFFORDABLE theatre - and paying everyone a living wage. Maverick never really paid a living wage. We just tried to do the best we could, balancing, as I misquote Hamlet, 'delight and dole' and hoping that one day the funding bodies would get what we were trying to do and rush to the financial rescue. Sadly, although vocally supportive, they never really did and although occasional drunken vitriol at the injustice of it all would grab us on a night down the Billesley after rave reviews, I commit almost heresy here when I say I can't really blame them. The arts after all, is your money. Public funds. They have to be very careful with it. And we - or at least I - just were not smart enough to get our concept over to the funders in terms they might understand.

Which means I'm personally a bit pissed off by the Govt raiding the lottery for the Olympics. But that's another story.

I hope the New Maverick (blimey, I'm sounding a bit like the Government meeself!) will change its fortunes soon. Watch this space.