Wednesday 27 November 2013

Christopherly



"If I must sit I do so in the bath."

From wikipedia:
'After the war, Lee, who can speak fluent French and German, among other languages, was seconded to the Central Registry of War Criminals and Security Suspects. Here, he was tasked with helping to track down Nazi war criminals. Of his time with the organisation, Lee has said: "We were given dossiers of what they'd done and told to find them, interrogate them as much as we could and hand them over to the appropriate authority ... We saw these concentration camps. Some had been cleaned up. Some had not."'

"We, that are so you young..." etc. Gentlemen of Horror opens tonight at the Woolwich Grand if you fancy it (which means I've three more hours to learn how to sit up straight) followed by a screening of Dracula AD 1972, featuring this shot of Stephanie Beacham:




The venue is amazing by the way. And I got my hair cut especially (which is stupid because look how long Christopher Lee's hair is).

Also - kerching! - "That Mitchell and Webb Sound" is back on the radio, complete with James Bachman, Olivia Colman, and the ghost of Acker Bilk. Here. More anon. Nothing of mine in this episode, but it's all gold. You might want to hazard a whoop.

*Christopherly: - A bit like a Christopher.

Wednesday 20 November 2013

Lee and Cushing's Fist of Fun



A quick plug for something I'll be in next week, featuring a number of subjects dear to me, among them the opportunity to hang out with Matthew Woodcock.

"Matthew and Simon are very enthusiastic, and old friends who've worked together a lot... They're still working on what they'll do. One caveat, though - if you're coming along, please don't expect two people who look and sound identical to Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee."

Wise words indeed from playwright James Goss. (Here's the interview.) And - ah! Brilliant! - here are rehearsal shots of Bishop as Cushing and myself as Lee, taken by our superb director Kate Webster yesterday. I know. Uncanny. It looks like it's being billed as a comedy, which is maybe just as well. I can do Lee's voice in my head, but we all sound a bit like Christopher Lee in our head. It's beautifully written though. Utterly believable. And we're great. Also I ditched the beard today and, Christ, my teeth are feeling the cold as a result. So come. Watch us be actors at the Woolwich Grand. It will be sweet. Here.