Despite delivering my lines three times, things conspired against us and we weren't able to deliver what would have been an epic part of the BBC's royal wedding coverage, much to my frustration and sadness.I feel a bit guilty now.
However, as the well known biblical phrase goes, "The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away."
I think that line sums up exactly how I felt as I collapsed into my seat on the train home on Friday evening.
I was so frustrated that we weren't able to deliver our side of the bargain.
"the train home on Friday evening"
TV It's very easy to laugh at technical failure, and how we did on the day of the most recent royal wedding when reporter Jake Humphrey attempted to broadcast from the interior of one of the RAF planes flying over Buckingham Palace, few precious moments of screentime before the video feed shut down. But as he explains here, it was the anticlimactic end of most exciting days of his life:
the cogs and wheels for getting things out there
TV We've talked before about spoilers and it'll be a topic we'll return to again, I expect. I hate them, hate them, hate them, hate them. Like Moffat, I especially hate them when they come from fans, since for all the enthusiasm, there's the element of knowing something others don't and having the ability to ruin the experience for someone else so that they can retain the superiority because they were able to watch said episode without the preconceived notions.
Way back, I was given the opportunity to see a preview of the first episode of Torchwood, traipsing out to Manchester for an event at old The Filmworks. I wrote up a review as soon as I got home, this review in fact, but I didn't post it. I waited for the actual broadcast because as I said then "Because really after the ending of Everything Changes it would be like telling a four year old that there isn't a Father Christmas and there's a seventy percent chance they'll spend most of their life working in an office. It wouldn't be fair or right."
The ending saw apparent series regular Suzie being shot through the skull by a Captain Jack who we discover, along with Gwen is an immortal, the kind of thing which only works in the moment and led to gasps in the auditorium. Such twists have become relatively common place now (see Outcasts) and arguably it was a spin-on the Faulkner deep fat fryer moment in Spooks, but the point is that each of these shows and episodes would have lost their impact if the viewer knew beforehand.
The problem is, and this has to be acknowledged by Moffat, it isn't just fans who do this. It's also the publicity machine, the cogs and wheels for getting things out there. Here's a list of everything which has been spoiled for me in Doctor Who by newspapers (often rereported online) or most insidiously official sources like licensed magazines, trailers or promo clips in television news programmes (with the source if I can remember it in brackets afterwards.
Ninth Doctor regenerates (The Sun and BBC publicity department confirming the story that Eccleston was leaving)
Human Hybrid in Daleks in Manhattan (Radio Times cover)
The Master in Utopia (The Sun)
Rose's return (take your pick)
Davros in Journey's End (The Sun)
David Morrisey isn't the new Doctor (interview)
Owen dies (Torchwood Magazine photo in the preview for the episode)
The Doctor's death in The Impossible Astronaut (publicity photos on the Dr Who website the night before)
Couple of whoppers in there and there are others but they pertain to things which haven't been on yet and I don't want to fall into the trap of outing spoilers whilst talking about spoilers. I also know that a lot if the US publicity is giving away details for episode thirteen which isn't due to be broadcast until October. I'm sure there were others. The following did come as something of a surprise:
The little girl in Day of the Moon.
Catherine Tate as the Bride.
Ianto's death.
Captain Jack is the Face of Boe.
The fauxgeneration at the close of The Stolen Earth.
Meagre pickings. The extreme latter did mean I had to spend a week fielding questions about whether he really was gone with the ensuing entertainment of convincing someone Paterson Joseph was the new Doctor. Which is a kind of faux-spoiler I suppose. But really, please everyone stop. Someone on twitter suggested that the tabloids are fed loads of stuff by the BBC PR department, spoilers included. Well, hum.
I'm desperate to know more about The Doctor's Wife, who she is, what it all means, but I want to find out whilst watching episode. Luckily the officials seem to have been fairly circumspect (apart from a clip on Blue Peter unbelievably) but it's going to be a rough couple of days. It's also why I'm not opening up the comments on this post, you scamps.
Way back, I was given the opportunity to see a preview of the first episode of Torchwood, traipsing out to Manchester for an event at old The Filmworks. I wrote up a review as soon as I got home, this review in fact, but I didn't post it. I waited for the actual broadcast because as I said then "Because really after the ending of Everything Changes it would be like telling a four year old that there isn't a Father Christmas and there's a seventy percent chance they'll spend most of their life working in an office. It wouldn't be fair or right."
The ending saw apparent series regular Suzie being shot through the skull by a Captain Jack who we discover, along with Gwen is an immortal, the kind of thing which only works in the moment and led to gasps in the auditorium. Such twists have become relatively common place now (see Outcasts) and arguably it was a spin-on the Faulkner deep fat fryer moment in Spooks, but the point is that each of these shows and episodes would have lost their impact if the viewer knew beforehand.
The problem is, and this has to be acknowledged by Moffat, it isn't just fans who do this. It's also the publicity machine, the cogs and wheels for getting things out there. Here's a list of everything which has been spoiled for me in Doctor Who by newspapers (often rereported online) or most insidiously official sources like licensed magazines, trailers or promo clips in television news programmes (with the source if I can remember it in brackets afterwards.
Ninth Doctor regenerates (The Sun and BBC publicity department confirming the story that Eccleston was leaving)
Human Hybrid in Daleks in Manhattan (Radio Times cover)
The Master in Utopia (The Sun)
Rose's return (take your pick)
Davros in Journey's End (The Sun)
David Morrisey isn't the new Doctor (interview)
Owen dies (Torchwood Magazine photo in the preview for the episode)
The Doctor's death in The Impossible Astronaut (publicity photos on the Dr Who website the night before)
Couple of whoppers in there and there are others but they pertain to things which haven't been on yet and I don't want to fall into the trap of outing spoilers whilst talking about spoilers. I also know that a lot if the US publicity is giving away details for episode thirteen which isn't due to be broadcast until October. I'm sure there were others. The following did come as something of a surprise:
The little girl in Day of the Moon.
Catherine Tate as the Bride.
Ianto's death.
Captain Jack is the Face of Boe.
The fauxgeneration at the close of The Stolen Earth.
Meagre pickings. The extreme latter did mean I had to spend a week fielding questions about whether he really was gone with the ensuing entertainment of convincing someone Paterson Joseph was the new Doctor. Which is a kind of faux-spoiler I suppose. But really, please everyone stop. Someone on twitter suggested that the tabloids are fed loads of stuff by the BBC PR department, spoilers included. Well, hum.
I'm desperate to know more about The Doctor's Wife, who she is, what it all means, but I want to find out whilst watching episode. Luckily the officials seem to have been fairly circumspect (apart from a clip on Blue Peter unbelievably) but it's going to be a rough couple of days. It's also why I'm not opening up the comments on this post, you scamps.
the nu-Who equivalent
TV Here are some amazing (and I don't use that world lightly) photos I was sent to publicise the addition of The Silence to the Doctor Who Experience exhibition in London (Facebook link). Quite frankly, they're the nu-Who equivalent of the publicity shots of the Daleks or Cybermen against iconic landmarks, though clearly the Doctor's plan didn't work because none of these prols are acknowledging their existence. Why for example isn't the man in the first photograph trying to brain it with his Blackberry?
Where once it was a Yeti on the toilet at Tooting Bec, now it's a Silent on an escalator, though the effect is much the same.
Competition: Win Tate Calendars!
Art The big exhibitions at Tate Modern this summer are Miró and Watercolour and their publicity company have been in touch with this excellent offer. Calendars! To win! In a competition! Some information:
Tate Joan Miro Wall Calendar 2012 : Tate Modern 14 April-11 September 2011Proper prizes requires a proper question. Here we go:
Joan Miro may be most often thought of as a painter of mysterious dreamscapes and surreal imagined landscapes. But a blockbuster exhibition at Tate Modern - the first British survey of the artist`s work since 1964 - will show an artist who was politically engaged as a proud Catalan and committed critic of the Nationalist regime in Spain. This calendar represents 12 of what its co-curator describes as `...just fabulous paintings`.
What is the title of this 1962 Miro watercolour?
Email your answers with the subject line "Tate competition" to feelinglistless@btopenworld.com by the 22nd May and one of you will be randomly selected to receive both calendars. Good luck!
"for which groups of men?"
TV Monday's post at The Guardian about a horrific answer on Channel 4's Million Pound Drop has spawned acres of similar wrong headedness in comments from other quizzes:
University Challenge in 2000:There are hundreds of others here. For such reasons I've stopped being able to watch most quiz programmes apart from the determinately pretentious Only Connect ("Horned viper, please.") I know I should find all of this ignorance amusing but I'm a melancholic so it just makes me depressed about the future of the human race and culture's place within it [via].
Paxman: "The names 'Cheesemongers', 'CherryPickers', 'Bob's Own', 'The Emperor's Chambermaids' and 'The Immortals' are or have been used for which groups of men?"
Contestant: "Homosexuals?"
[...]
From Weakest Link...
Q: Which surname is shared by a real cowboy called Butch and a fictional one called Hopalong?
A: Lesbian
[...]
Worked on Going for Gold years ago.... best answer was
"What is the name of the fish in the 19xx film starring John Cleese and Jamie Lee Curtis?"
A: Jaws?
The camera was bobbing, as the operator laughed so much.
"the world of Gondal"
Literature SFX posts a press release publicising the Science Fiction exhibition at the British Library which is really extraordinary. Once you've read this first paragraph you will be clicking:
"In their childhood, Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne Brontë created imaginary countries collectively called the Glass Town Federation. Branwell and Charlotte invented the kingdom of Angria, while Emily and Anne created the world of Gondal. They became obsessive about their imaginary worlds, drawing maps and creating lives for their characters and featured themselves as the “gods” (“genii”) of their world. Their stories are in tiny micro-script, as if written by their miniature toy soldiers."So in their youth, the Bronte sisters were creating the kinds of imaginary worlds we all do at that age, feeding off the genre fiction they were themselves consuming. Imagine how the landscape of literature might have changed if they'd properly continued that obsession into adulthood.
Did she travel back to Japan?
Advertising The gentle irony of Scarlett Johansson doing Japanese coffee commercials. Did she travel back to Japan? Was it weird not having Bill Murray there? Some more below:
Valerie, a song she hates
Music YouTube user lightsatsparkwood21 generally posts spare, improvised, melancholic songs -- mainly cover versions -- sometimes happy. Valerie, a song she hates is above. See also her "shove the fucking ipad up your motherfucking arse you motherfucking fucking fuck" (cf, Nina Gordon's cover of Straight Out of Compton).
the play's fundamental themes of life and death and revenge
TV Off By Heart Shakespeare is a joint operation between the RSC and the BBC attempting to inspire secondary school students with Shakespeare's language through a recital contest. "At regional heats in autumn 2011 students will take part in actor-led workshops to get an exciting experience of performing Shakespeare." The accompanying website is rich in useful content, with RSC produced guides to reading and memorising the language and interviews with actors offering hints and tips.
There is a very focused set list of speeches which in the case of Hamlet are "O, that this too too solid flesh would melt", "Now might I do it pat, now he is praying" and of course "To be, or not to be" which seem to carefully selected to reflect the play's fundamental themes of life and death and revenge and also provide the opportunity for the participating child to reflect a range of emotion. When I took part in a similar competition at school, we were given "Once more unto the breach..." from Henry V and this sixteen year old simply didn't have the skill set.
All of the speeches are accompanied by examples and this is where things get more exciting for those of us too old to participate. The primary source for the Hamlet clips is understandably the RSC with Tennant but perhaps since his isn't the most trad of interpretations, the producers have cleverly included some alternatives. So we have Christopher Plummer from Hamlet at Elsinore in 1964, Lawrence Olivier from his film, Derek Jacobi from the BBC's 1980 and Alex Jennings in a really intriguing Open University production.
Arguably, however, it's outside of Hamlet that the project is at its most interesting since with the exception of Julius Caesar instead of falling back on archive material, new films have been commissioned with contemporary television actors offering their interpretations of the speeches. Amongst others, there's Katy Brand as Titania, James Sutton (Emmerdale) playing Orsino, Lauren Socha from Misfits playing Juliet, Lenora Crichlow (Being Human) makes for rather a good Portia and Michelle Ryan offers a bit of her Helena.
They're produced with something of the spirit of complete BBC Shakespeare from the 70s and 80s, the spirit which led to John Cleese playing Mercutio; familiar casting attracting audiences that wouldn't otherwise necessarily consider Shakespeare and as in that case it is a mixed bag but always entertaining. It's also pretty frustrating because some of them are so well realised you could almost imagine that they're clips from full productions employing the contemporary urban landscape as a backdrop [via].
[As you can probably guess this was cross posted from the Hamlet thing, but I thought it was of interest for the "Who's in it from Doctor Who" element (was Cheen in Gridlock, was Lady Christina de Souza in Planet of the Dead). But seriously BBC, what you have here is a blue print for some guerilla Shakespeare, ReTold essentially but with the original language and a feel for contemporary society, more akin to a prime time crime drama like Luthor or Michael Winterbotton's film Wonderland.]
Off By Heart Shakespeare
Off By Heart Shakespeare is a joint operation between the RSC and the BBC attempting to inspire secondary school students with Shakespeare's language through a recital contest. "At regional heats in autumn 2011 students will take part in actor-led workshops to get an exciting experience of performing Shakespeare." The accompanying website is rich in useful content, with RSC produced guides to reading and memorising the language and interviews with actors offering hints and tips.
There is a very focused set list of speeches which in the case of Hamlet are "O, that this too too solid flesh would melt", "Now might I do it pat, now he is praying" and of course "To be, or not to be" which seem to carefully selected to reflect the play's fundamental themes of life and death and revenge and also provide the opportunity for the participating child to reflect a range of emotion. When I took part in a similar competition at school, we were given "Once more unto the breach..." from Henry V and this sixteen year old simply didn't have the skill set.
All of the speeches are accompanied by examples and this is where things get more exciting for those of us too old to participate. The primary source for the Hamlet clips is understandably the RSC with Tennant but perhaps since his isn't the most trad of interpretations, the producers have cleverly included some alternatives. So we have Christopher Plummer from Hamlet at Elsinore in 1964, Lawrence Olivier from his film, Derek Jacobi from the BBC's 1980 and Alex Jennings in a really intriguing Open University production.
Arguably, however, it's outside of Hamlet that the project is at its most interesting since with the exception of Julius Caesar instead of falling back on archive material, new films have been commissioned with contemporary television actors offering their interpretations of the speeches. Amongst others, there's Katy Brand as Titania, James Sutton (Emmerdale) playing Orsino, Lauren Socha from Misfits playing Juliet, Lenora Crichlow (Being Human) makes for rather a good Portia and Michelle Ryan offers a bit of her Helena.
They're produced with something of the spirit of complete BBC Shakespeare from the 70s and 80s, the spirit which led to John Cleese playing Mercutio; familiar casting attracting audiences that wouldn't otherwise necessarily consider Shakespeare and as in that case it is a mixed bag but always entertaining. It's also pretty frustrating because some of them are so well realised you could almost imagine that they're clips from full productions employing the contemporary urban landscape as a backdrop [via].
Shakespeare at the The Royal Opera House and beyond.
The Royal Opera House have been in touch about two new Shakespeare related shows, "two vibrant and energetic productions of Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet". They say they're "very interested in attracting both old and new audiences, and particularly interesting is the wonderfully inventive and atmospheric interpretation of familiar Shakespeare’s stories in opera and ballet, which we would love audiences to experience."
Verdi's Macbeth appears in their own House, while R&J is taking up residence at The 02. See below for the relevant press releases:
MACBETH
Giuseppe Verdi
24, 27, 30 MAY, 3, 6, 10, 13, 15 JUNE AT 7.30PM / 18 JUNE AT 7PM
Phyllida Lloyd’s production of Verdi’s Macbeth (1865), new in 2002, returns for its second revival. Designs are by Anthony Ward, lighting by Paule Constable and choreography by Michael Keegan Dolan.
The Royal Opera’s Music Director Antonio Pappano conducts Verdi’s Macbeth for the first time at Covent Garden.
Singing the title role of Macbeth is British baritone Simon Keenlyside, a role he has also sang in Vienna. He made his debut with The Royal Opera in 1989 as Silvio (I Pagliacci) and was most recently heard with the company as Rodrigo (Don Carlo) in 2009. His previous roles at Covent Garden also include Pelléas (Pelléas et Mélisande), Oreste (Iphigénie en Tauride) and the title role in Don Giovanni.
The role of Lady Macbeth will be sung by Ukranian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska, who made her debut with The Royal Opera in the title role of Aida. She recently sang the title role of Tosca in Berlin in 2010, and she made her debut at the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago also in the title role of Tosca.
American bass Raymond Aceto sings the role of Banquo, a role he has previously sung in Chicago. He made his Royal Opera debut in December 2005 singing Don Basilio (Il barbiere di Siviglia), and has returned to sing Sparafucile (Rigoletto), Ferrando (Il trovatore) and Nourabad in a concert performance of Les Pêcheurs des perles for The Royal Opera.
American tenor Dmitri Pittas makes his Covent Garden debut in the role of Macduff, which he recently sang in Chicago, Vienna and Munich. Recently he also performed the role of Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor) in Frankfurt, Rodolfo (La bohème) in Dresden and Alfredo (La traviata) in Berlin.
Jette Parker Young Artist British soprano Elisabeth Meister sings the role of Lady-in-Waiting. She made her debut with The Royal Opera as Pale Lady (The Gambler) in 2010 and has also sung the Fox (The Cunning Little Vixen), High Priestess (Aida) and First Lady (Die Zauberflöte).
Making his role debut as Malcolm is American tenor and Jette Parker Young Arist Steven Ebel. He made his Royal Opera debut in 2009 as Victorin / Voice of Gaston (Die tote Stadt), and his other roles for The Royal Opera include Rimenes (Artaxerxes), Major-Domo (Der Rosenkavalier) and Albazar (Il turco in Italia). Earlier in the Season, he sang Jacquino (Fidelio).
Polish bass Lukas Jakobski, a Jette Parker Young Artist, makes his role debut as the Doctor. He made his debut with The Royal Opera as Flemish Deputy (Don Carlos) in 2009 and has since played Tall Englishman (The Gambler), Pietro (Simon Boccanegra), Count Ceprano (Rigoletto) and the King of Egypt (Aida) for The Royal Opera.
INSIGHT AFTERNOON: MACBETH
14 May at 2.30pm
Supported by the Paul Hamlyn Education Fund
Verdi’s ability to catch theatrical colour and powerful drama in his music is second to none. Antonio Pappano, Music Director of the Royal Opera, and guests from the cast and production team explain the power of Verdi’s music.
£19.40 (£7.10 students)
Clore Studio Upstairs
BREATHTAKING BALLET:
THE ROYAL BALLET TAKES CENTRE STAGE AT THE O2
This summer, audiences will be able to see The Royal Ballet as it has never been seen before when it dances a special production of Romeo and Juliet at The O2.
For four nights in June, The Royal Ballet will perform to a 9,000 strong crowd – the first time ballet has been seen on such a scale in the UK. Packed audiences will be able to see the action not only on a stage at the front of the arena but also via huge, televised screens more usually seen at rock concerts.
Stars of The Royal Ballet will perform Kenneth MacMillan’s heart-breaking production of Romeo and Juliet which has wowed audiences at Covent Garden for more than 40 years. Powerfully emotional, it brings the full force of the classic love-story to life, leaving the star-crossed lovers as the fatal victims in its wake.
With over 60 dancers and actors, a live orchestra and specially filmed sequences to enhance the drama on stage, this will be a show unlike any other.
Dame Monica Mason, Director of The Royal Ballet said of the announcement:
“I am delighted that The Royal Ballet is going to have this opportunity to showcase its talent on such a huge scale. The dancers at The Royal Ballet are some of the best in the world and are all at the absolute height of their talent. Romeo and Juliet is a signature work of the Company and the prospect of bringing it to The O2 to share with audiences on such an unprecedented scale is incredible.”
Tickets are on general sale now.
Friday 17 June at 7.30pm
Saturday 18 June at 2.30pm and 7.30pm
Sunday 19 June at 7.30pm
Prices: £10 - £60
Superseats: £95
Verdi's Macbeth appears in their own House, while R&J is taking up residence at The 02. See below for the relevant press releases:
MACBETH
Giuseppe Verdi
24, 27, 30 MAY, 3, 6, 10, 13, 15 JUNE AT 7.30PM / 18 JUNE AT 7PM
Phyllida Lloyd’s production of Verdi’s Macbeth (1865), new in 2002, returns for its second revival. Designs are by Anthony Ward, lighting by Paule Constable and choreography by Michael Keegan Dolan.
The Royal Opera’s Music Director Antonio Pappano conducts Verdi’s Macbeth for the first time at Covent Garden.
Singing the title role of Macbeth is British baritone Simon Keenlyside, a role he has also sang in Vienna. He made his debut with The Royal Opera in 1989 as Silvio (I Pagliacci) and was most recently heard with the company as Rodrigo (Don Carlo) in 2009. His previous roles at Covent Garden also include Pelléas (Pelléas et Mélisande), Oreste (Iphigénie en Tauride) and the title role in Don Giovanni.
The role of Lady Macbeth will be sung by Ukranian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska, who made her debut with The Royal Opera in the title role of Aida. She recently sang the title role of Tosca in Berlin in 2010, and she made her debut at the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago also in the title role of Tosca.
American bass Raymond Aceto sings the role of Banquo, a role he has previously sung in Chicago. He made his Royal Opera debut in December 2005 singing Don Basilio (Il barbiere di Siviglia), and has returned to sing Sparafucile (Rigoletto), Ferrando (Il trovatore) and Nourabad in a concert performance of Les Pêcheurs des perles for The Royal Opera.
American tenor Dmitri Pittas makes his Covent Garden debut in the role of Macduff, which he recently sang in Chicago, Vienna and Munich. Recently he also performed the role of Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor) in Frankfurt, Rodolfo (La bohème) in Dresden and Alfredo (La traviata) in Berlin.
Jette Parker Young Artist British soprano Elisabeth Meister sings the role of Lady-in-Waiting. She made her debut with The Royal Opera as Pale Lady (The Gambler) in 2010 and has also sung the Fox (The Cunning Little Vixen), High Priestess (Aida) and First Lady (Die Zauberflöte).
Making his role debut as Malcolm is American tenor and Jette Parker Young Arist Steven Ebel. He made his Royal Opera debut in 2009 as Victorin / Voice of Gaston (Die tote Stadt), and his other roles for The Royal Opera include Rimenes (Artaxerxes), Major-Domo (Der Rosenkavalier) and Albazar (Il turco in Italia). Earlier in the Season, he sang Jacquino (Fidelio).
Polish bass Lukas Jakobski, a Jette Parker Young Artist, makes his role debut as the Doctor. He made his debut with The Royal Opera as Flemish Deputy (Don Carlos) in 2009 and has since played Tall Englishman (The Gambler), Pietro (Simon Boccanegra), Count Ceprano (Rigoletto) and the King of Egypt (Aida) for The Royal Opera.
INSIGHT AFTERNOON: MACBETH
14 May at 2.30pm
Supported by the Paul Hamlyn Education Fund
Verdi’s ability to catch theatrical colour and powerful drama in his music is second to none. Antonio Pappano, Music Director of the Royal Opera, and guests from the cast and production team explain the power of Verdi’s music.
£19.40 (£7.10 students)
Clore Studio Upstairs
BREATHTAKING BALLET:
THE ROYAL BALLET TAKES CENTRE STAGE AT THE O2
This summer, audiences will be able to see The Royal Ballet as it has never been seen before when it dances a special production of Romeo and Juliet at The O2.
For four nights in June, The Royal Ballet will perform to a 9,000 strong crowd – the first time ballet has been seen on such a scale in the UK. Packed audiences will be able to see the action not only on a stage at the front of the arena but also via huge, televised screens more usually seen at rock concerts.
Stars of The Royal Ballet will perform Kenneth MacMillan’s heart-breaking production of Romeo and Juliet which has wowed audiences at Covent Garden for more than 40 years. Powerfully emotional, it brings the full force of the classic love-story to life, leaving the star-crossed lovers as the fatal victims in its wake.
With over 60 dancers and actors, a live orchestra and specially filmed sequences to enhance the drama on stage, this will be a show unlike any other.
Dame Monica Mason, Director of The Royal Ballet said of the announcement:
“I am delighted that The Royal Ballet is going to have this opportunity to showcase its talent on such a huge scale. The dancers at The Royal Ballet are some of the best in the world and are all at the absolute height of their talent. Romeo and Juliet is a signature work of the Company and the prospect of bringing it to The O2 to share with audiences on such an unprecedented scale is incredible.”
Tickets are on general sale now.
Friday 17 June at 7.30pm
Saturday 18 June at 2.30pm and 7.30pm
Sunday 19 June at 7.30pm
Prices: £10 - £60
Superseats: £95
"Errrraaarrroooo"
Film Fans of the Kermode and Mayo film podcast always enjoy Mark's breathless impression of Danny Dyer. I've always wondered what Dyer himself thinks of it ("Errrraaarrroooo"). No longer thanks to Matthew Bell in The Independent:
"One person he does upset is the film critic Mark Kermode, whose rant against Danny Dy-aaa on Radio 5 Live (relating to his appearance in the film Pimp) has become a YouTube hit. In it, he mocks Dyer's Cockney accent and writes off his films as atrocious. Does this hurt him? "I'm a human being, of course it upsets me." But perhaps it particularly touches a nerve because Dyer knows he has helped create a persona that undermines his credentials as a serious actor. "Mark Kermode thinks I'm some two-bob actor who does two-bob films for no money, who just walks about with a swagger. When actually I'm a serious fucking actor." Do people misunderstand him? "Yes. And I think I'm to blame for that."He'd best not read the comments underneath the interview either then. And I thought the black riders of The Guardian's Comment Is Free were vicious.