Halo Jones stage play poster

Here's the poster for the new Ballad of Halo Jones play at the Lass O'Gowrie in Manchester which we plugged recently. The art is by Adrian Salmon, who's been a regular contributor to Doctor Who Magazine for many years, and he's posted the original art and its creation process on his blog.

• More info on the Lass, as ever can be found at www.thelass.co.uk and Lassfest at the (soon to be updated) www.lassfest.co.uk

Beano's Derek The Sheep On Stage

While there have been a good few British comics characters that have made it onto the cinema and television screen, from the infamous Sylvester Stallone Judge Dredd to the delightfully unique BBC TV version of Jane, there have been very few that have made it onto the theatre stage. It is good therefore to report that Gary Northfield's Beano character Derek The Sheep will be appearing at Merton's Colour House Theatre over the course of the next week.

As part of the south London Merton Abbey Mills complex's AbbeyFest 2011, Derek will be appearing in The Quest For The Googly Glasses, written by Gary Northfield and performed by the Legend Theatre Company. Already previewed on Sunday 24 July at the New Cross Turn Left small press event, the show will take run from Tuesday 9 to Friday 12 August with a final show on Saturday 13 August. All shows take place at 2pm with adult tickets priced at £7 and concessions at £5.

As for other British comics characters that have appeared on the theatre stage we know of two different versions of 2000AD's Halo Jones from last century plus the somewhat bizarre sounding Dan Dare The Musical in 2003, while 2009 brought us The Sunday Post's matriarch in The Maw Broon Monologues and Kate Brown's The Spider Moon from The DFC. If you know of any others that we may have missed then leave us a comment.

There are more details about the play on Gary Northfield's blog, Stupid Monsters.

There are more details including booking information for Derek The Sheep in The Quest For The Googly Eyes at the AbbeyFest 2011 website.

In Review: Scarlattine Teatro's Manolibera

Clare Walters, the original director of The Ballad of Halo Jones stage play, reviews Manolibera, a comics-inpsired show at this year's Edinburgh Fringe...

Manolibera is a very charming and ingenious show. A technician is called in to operate a slideshow about a big corporation but, left to his own devices, he begins to doodle on the slides and quickly calls the two actors playing the earnest corporation bosses into his creative and adventurous landscape.

The action moves quickly as the two characters reveal their lives together, take a trip in their red car, visit the seaside, sail a boat and land on a desert island and discover oil which leads to the founding of the corporation.

The actors become part of the cartoon world and sometimes their surroundings are being created around them as they rapidly move from scene to scene. I saw the show on a Saturday afternoon and the whole atmosphere in C venues was like an old film matinee when no-one knew quite what was going to happen next. Children were burbling with delight and adults were rapt. One of my favourite moments was when the technician was colouring in the car and the red pen was spilling over the actor’s white clothing. It’s not high-art cartoon drawing but it is vivid and effective work.

The cartoon format meant that the action was relentless which made the show quite enervating – nothing ever went right for the two characters. The action is also very pacey and the use of language minimal. The female character shrieks virtually throughout and an array of vocal sounds are as important as words in any language – English, French or Italian.

The storytelling is very satisfying and the artwork great fun. The precision of the movements of the actors and props and the work of the artist whether in positioning predrawn slides or drawing around and on top of the actors is faultless.

This show is unique and great fun.

• downthetubes Fringe rating:



• Manolibera runs until Monday 31st August at 15:55hrs (16:55hrs) at the C VENUE (venue 34). Tickets are £6.50-£11.50. Box Office: 0845 260 1234

• Fringe Tickets from: www.CtheFestival.com or on the door of venues

• Manolibera is written and Performed by Michele Cremaschi, Michele Eynard and Anna Fascendini with music by Django Reinhardt

• Scarlattine Teatro is part of Espresso! – a selection of four theatre, comedy and dance companies at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival – all performing at C Venues. Sponsored by the Milanese banking foundation, Fondazione Cariplo, Espresso! is part of the Être Project - Esperienze Teatrali di Residenza (residential theatre experiences) that financially supports emerging companies from the Lombardy region in Italy.

Other companies performing at C Venues as part of the Espresso! season include Dionisi with Serate Bastarde (Bastard Nights), Animanera with Or[f]unny and Sanpapiè with Boh!

More Reviews...


• Gerald Berkowitz, The Stage

"This inventive import from Italy is great fun for a while as a pair of actors perform in mime and gibberish while a third projects cartoon overlays on them, occasionally drawing in alterations..."

• The Edinburgh Festival Guide

"Although not strictly speaking a children’s show (it's in the Dance & Physical Theatre section of the Fringe programme), this is a wonderful example of how a piece of theatre can cross the generational divide. Italian company, Scarlattine Teatro has brought together two distinct talents – character acting and drawing – and turned them into a seriously clever piece of fun..."


Web Links

• Official web site: manoliberateatroafumetti.wordpress.com

• Manolibera italian Web Site (In Italian)

• Scarlattine Teatro Web Site

• Luna e Gnac Web Site

Comic Strip at The Fringe: Two Shows to Catch

With the Edinburgh Fringe on now, our readers may already be aware that the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre, stars of BBC 3's Comedy Shuffle and Upstaged, whose number includes comic creator Kev F. Sutherland, will be back at this major Scottish arts event with a new show, The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre Goes To Hollywood. They'll be performing at the Gilded Balloon venue every day until Sunday 30th August.

The Socks earned a quick spot on GMTV this week as part of the breakfast's show's coverage of the Fringe - check out their web for their "half second of fame"!



Also at the Fringe is the UK premiere of Scarlattine Teatro's Manolibera, a show celebrating cartoons at the theatre. Written and Performed by Michele Cremaschi, Michele Eynard and Anna Fascendini with music by Django Reinhardt, the show invites the audience to enter the world of the comic book, where the actors interact with the characters and become part of the story. Share the joy and fascination of letting your imagination go in this funny, original and highly visual show.

Drawing on the clowning techniques of Jacques Lecoq and inspired by Dario Fo, Scarlattine intertwine animation, jazz and bubbles in a celebration of life that crosses linguistic and age barriers.

Suitable for all the family, Manolibera is described by its creators as "like the comic story that adults buy for their children only to hide it away to read it for themselves..."

Scarlattine Teatro is part of Espresso! – a selection of four theatre, comedy and dance companies at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival – all performing at C Venues. Sponsored by the Milanese banking foundation, Fondazione Cariplo, Espresso! is part of the Être Project - Esperienze Teatrali di Residenza (residential theatre experiences) that financially supports emerging companies from the Lombardy region in Italy.

Other companies performing at C Venues as part of the Espresso! season include Dionisi with Serate Bastarde (Bastard Nights), Animanera with Or[f]unny and Sanpapiè with Boh!

In addition to comic strip-inspired shows there's a wealth of comics at The Fringe this year, too!

• Manolibera runs until Monday 31st August at 15:55hrs (16:55hrs) at the C VENUE (venue 34). Tickets are £6.50-£11.50. Box Office: 0845 260 1234

• Fringe Tickets from: www.CtheFestival.com or on the door of venues


• Manolibera italian Web Site (In Italian)

• Scarlattine Teatro Web Site

• Luna e Gnac Web Site

Doctor Who Stand-Up Returns to Lancaster

Top comedian and actor Toby Hadoke returns to the Dukes, Lancaster this month with his hilarious hit show, Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf.

This razor sharp comic odyssey, at The Dukes on Saturday 18 October (and will also be performed at other venues in places such as Belfast and Keswick, see below), charts the rise, fall and rise again of the TV legend. A must for anyone who has ever had a passion for anything, this critically acclaimed show has delighted even those who've never seen Doctor Who.

Eagle eyed audiences may remember Toby from his performance at The Dukes in The Talented Mr Ripley four years ago.

"Last time I came to The Dukes I died on stage," Toby recalls. "I hope not to repeat that experience!

"To be fair though, I was supposed to, stabbed to death by an extremely talented Mr Ripley: as fat Freddie Miles, I had to wear significant amounts of padding, to bulk out my girth. Time has not been particularly kind though, and nowadays such padding would be unnecessary.

"I loved being in Lancaster and thoroughly enjoyed my stint at The Dukes, so I look forward to getting the audience aboard my time machine of mirth."

Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf was a complete sell out at Edinburgh festivals in 2006 and 2007 gaining five star reviews from all press, leading to a recent acclaimed West End run.

Toby is an actor, writer and stand-up comedian. As a stand-up, he has been resident compere of the multi award winning XS Malarkey Comedy Club in Manchester for over a decade. His television acting credits include The Forsythe Saga and Phoenix Nights and he also has made many appearances on stage around the country.

• The complete list of tour dates is below

Under the Eagle Returns

by John Freeman

Under the Eagle, a satirical play by comics writer and Torchwood script writer Andrew Cartmel, is to have another run in London.

LS1 Productions will be staging the much-praised show at the White Bear on Kennington Road from Tuesday 26th August — Sunday 31st August.Under the Eagle is a darkly humorous satirical drama exploring the nature of Britain's 'special relationship' with the United States. When stand-up comic Vi Hooper becomes the reluctant guest of the Prime Minister’s wife, she encounters the US President and gains an unexpected insight into the corridors of power.

Time Out described the play as “Bitingly funny” while Tanith Lindon of Extra! Extra!, said the drama was "Insightful and entertaining, a must-see."As well as a playwright, Andrew Cartmel is a screenwriter, television script editor and novelist. He has worked on Dark Knight, Casualty, Torchwood and, most famously, Doctor Who. His novels include Warhead, The Wise and Miss Freedom. His previous play, End of the Night was hailed by What’s On in London as an ‘entertaining, stylish intrigue’.

Claire Amias, Francesca Anderson, Angela Dixon, David Morley Hale, Jonathan Rigby and Eben Young form the cast of the play directed by Conrad Blakemore, who has worked in the fields of theatre, film and photography. His recent productions include The Lodger (Time Out Critics’ Choice), his own adaptation of Strindberg's Miss Julie, both at Pentameters Theatre, Roulette at the Finborough and Happy Christmas at the New End.

Under the Eagle by Andrew Cartmel
@ The White Bear Theatre
138 Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4DJ — Box office: 020 7793 9193. Only six performances
Tuesday August 26 — Sunday August 31 Tuesday to Saturday at 7.30pm. Sunday matinee at 5pm. No performance Mondays. Tickets £12 — £10 concessions.

“Andrew Cartmel must be reading the right runes. On the day David Miliband apologises to parliament for extraordinary rendition, Cartmel’s timely new play opens with anti-establishment stand-up Vi (Francesca Anderson) riffing on the mysterious role Britain played in the transportation of Uncle Sam’s dirty little secrets… Unfussily staged and soundly directed by Conrad Blakemore, allowing skilled actors to do a good job… Bitingly funny.” Robert Crowe, Time Out, 26 February 2008

Red Dwarf's Holly on Tour!

Both incarnations of Red Dwarf computer Holly, Norman Lovett and Hattie Hayridge, are to tour UK theatres in their new stage show Double Header.

The actors will perform comedy stand-up as well as talking about Red Dwarf, celebrating its 20th anniversary of the show, and answering questions from fans.

It's the first time the pair have embarked on a tour together (although they're both circuit veterans, and Norman once toured with Chris 'Rimmer' Barrie back in the late 1990s), and there are plenty of dates to choose from.

The pair will also be attending 13 conventions in the United States from July through to December. See Official Red Dwarf site for venues and dates.

• Full tour dates at www.normanlovett.co.uk/gigs.htm with more dates to follow.

Under the Eagle

Under the Eagle, a new play from author, script writer and former Doctor Who script editor Andrew Cartmel has just begun a three week run at the White Bear Theatre, London.

Directed by Conrad Blakemore, Andrew says the play is a darkly humorous political drama exploring the nature of Britain's 'special relationship' with the United States. When stand-up comic Vi Hooper becomes the reluctant weekend guest of the Prime Minister’s wife, she encounters the US President and gains an unexpected insight into the corridors of power.

Francesca Anderson, whose credits include As You Like It and Godspell, Angela Dixon (seen on TV in No Child of Mine and appearing in the new film Oscar opposite The Bill's Mark Wingett), David Morley Hale, Eve Pearson, Jonathan Rigby and James Sobol Kelly.

Director Conrad Blakemore has worked in the fields of theatre, film and photography. His recent productions include The Lodger (Time Out Critics' Choice), his own adaptation of Strindberg's Miss Julie, Roulette at the Finborough and Happy Christmas at the New End Theatre.

Andrew's previous play, End of the Night, was hailed as an "entertaining, stylish intrigue".

• Under the Eagle runs until Sunday 9 March (Tuesday to Saturday at 7.30pm. Sunday Matinee at 5pm, no performance Mondays) at the White Bear Theatre, 138 Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4DJ (nearest tube: Kennington). Tickets £12. Concessions £10. Box office: 020 7793 9193 or book via the theatre web site.