DMH Cinderella Press Launch

 

What a fun afternoon!

I was lucky enough to be invited along to the Press Launch for this year’s DeMontfort Hall Pantomime, Cinderella.

Once again Imagine Theatre are heading up the Christmas entertainment for families of all ages at Leicester’s premier concert venue.

Judging by the mayhem during the photo shoot this year’s cast are going to have a hoot.

My first sit down chat was with just-signed Madison Swann fresh from appearing in Tony Blair The Musical and a 2.5 year run in The Book of Mormon in London’s West End. Madison is playing the Fairy Godmother in her very first pantomime. She has done stints in Disneyland Paris as a performer so working with a raucous audience of children doesn’t scare her. Also her experience working as a nanny will stand her in good stead. She is just grateful that she can give them back to their parents after the show!

Next on my list was New Zealand comic Jarred Christmas returning for a second year as Buttons. Well known to UK audiences for his stand-up tours and appearances on TV panel shows, Christmas is a big, cuddly bundle of laughs and was hilariously disruptive in this afternoon’s photo shoot. After last year’s subdued panto due to Covid Jarred is looking forward to abandoning the social distancing that was necessary. While the main characters of Cinderella and The Fairy Godmother are essential for pushing the story along Jarred revels in the freedom that the comedy characters have to just have a laugh. We have to watch out for his gusset issues. Last year he split his trousers on opening night and, so far, that wardrobe malfunction occurred on the photoshoot. But that may not be the end of it for this year!

This year’s star turns, for many, will be the dance duo brothers AJ and Curtis Pritchard. Following on from the success of their appearance in Imagine Theatre’s Cinderella last year in Wolverhampton the boys are again playing Prince Charming and Dandini to Evie Pickerill’s Cinders. A perfect fit for this couple of jokers who spend so much time ribbing each other. AJ as the Prince is small but perfectly formed while Curtis is much more like a big old Labrador and quite the practical joker. Their onstage high jinks promise to be hilarious.

And as if that is not enough from the boys fans will have the opportunity to get tickets for An Evening with … on Friday 30^th December or for Meet’n’Greets on Tuesday 20^th, Friday 23^rd and Tuesday 27^th December. These extra tickets are only available to book when buying regular show tickets. Check the website for details.

Saving the best til last I sat down for a chat with the panto legend that is Martin Ballard. Giving us his Dame Penny in his 31^st year in panto, Martin is hoping that last year’s leg injury will not reoccur and he can do every performance again. Up until recently Martin was a stalwart of BBC Radio Leicester but, having been offered redundancy, he has been able to take on a lot more interesting freelance work. But Radio Leicester hasn’t seen the last of him. He keeps popping up with various shows. We soon got onto chatting about how much he missed last year’s Sleeping Beauty and how important he thinks pantomime is for introducing youngsters to the magic of theatre. He is also passionate about it being a great training ground for young wannabe actors to gain theatrical experience.

The booking office is open for tickets to see Cinderella which runs from 10th December to 2^nd January. Don’t forget tickets for the extra events with AJ and Curtis are only available to main show ticketholders and must be booked in advance.

https://www.demontforthall.co.uk/event/cinderella/

Linus Karp interview

I had a very lovely interview with the talented Mr Linus Karp, writer, producer and actor in a comedic parody of the movie Cats, How to Live a Jellicle Life, currently touring the country (linktr.ee/jellicle).

First up I wanted to know what exactly was a ‘jellicle life’.

In the film it is never actually specified but jellicle cats can do everything, they can fly through the air, somersault, bounce, anything positive and that is what the show is about, being funny and positive. Come along for jellicle laughs, jellicle ‘dance’ (sort of) and jellicle PowerPoint (yes, really)

So who is the show aimed at?

Originally it was thought it would appeal to a younger audience who would appreciate memes and cultural references. But it seems lots of older people love it as well. I wrote the show on the basis that it would be something I wanted to see. It turns out a lot of people do as well.

Do we need to have seen the film? Are you advocating masochism?

LOL No you don’t need to have seen the film although if you have it is even better. Either way you will get life lessons from the 2019 film.

I saw the film for the first time last week and, I have to say, it is nowhere near as bad as some people say.

It is one of those films that you either love or hate for some reason. It was a critical flop but is rapidly becoming a cult movie.

Have your parents seen the show?

Not live but they watched  an early streamed version. They live in Sweden so getting over to visit is problematic at the moment. They are hoping to get over for the end of the tour (11 March in London so far).

Which leads me on to the next question. Why are you streaming it?

It is exactly for those who can’t get to a live version for whatever reason. There are still a lot of people who don’t feel safe going into a crowded venue or are isolating. This gives them a chance to see the show and have a good laugh

Why is your production company called Awkward Productions?

First up I love the word awkward. It is a funny word and sums me up. I am awkward but, like being different, being awkward is something to embrace. Being a foreigner in a foreign country (Linus is Swedish) adds to that. (But his accent does give a delicious diction to the way he talks and seeing awkward on stage can be very funny.) It all comes back to being Jellicle, being positive.

Is it true you can buy a Jellicle Hoodie?

Yes. We first made a few as a promotional thing and a company picked up on the idea and they are on sale now in a variety of colours (linktr.ee/jellicle)

If you were to be turned into a cat for the day what would you want your super power to be? A) Being able to fall from a great height safely or B) Being able to lick your own bum?

LOL I think I would have to go with option A

And a final question. As the Guardian has picked up on, are there too many penis jokes?

Can there ever be too many penis jokes? Actually I don’t think there are that many penis jokes in the show. But you will have to come along and see for yourself.

I certainly will.

How To Live A Jellicle Life is like catnip. Irresistable.

 

How To Live A Jellicle Life is touring nationwide and spends two nights at Upstairs at The Globe in Leicester on 16/17^th February 2022 as part of The Leicester Comedy Festival. Limited tickets available at linktr.ee/jellicle

 

 

Curve 2020 Season Launch

CURVE 2020 SEASON LAUNCH

It is always exciting to attend Curve’s season launch because as well as all the shows we already know from the catalogue there are always surprises from Nikolai Foster and Chris Stafford, the artistic powerhouses behind Curve. It is also an opportunity to  learn about the more fringe activities that happen in this flagship building. More and more Curve is forging co-producing relationships with other regional theatres which results in some incredibly interesting projects finding their way onto Leicester’s premier theatre’s stages.

I have already written in The Western Park Gazette about some of the upcoming productions but tonight we saw a whole lot more juicy titbits coming up.

For the third time a new production of Hairspray is returning to Curve this year. The big news of the night was that a European premiere of Roman Holiday is kicking off at Curve this summer. Also big news is that the new version of Sister Act starring Brenda Edwards drops in in April before heading off back to the West End. 

Of course Curve has a reputation for hosting all sorts of festivals. Leicester Comedy Festival is the big one for February with the always popular Spark Festival, new productions especially aimed at toddlers running in the same month. DMU Pride, now firmly established at Curve, takes us into March with LGB themed productions. Curve continues its avowed intent to nurture new talent with a season of productions by the Curve Young Theatre group from March to May. Of especial interest is a production of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof directed by Royal Theatrical Support Trust Sir Peter Hall Director Award winner Anthony Almeida this summer.

Not only is the schedule bustling with home grown productions but Leicester gets to see all sorts of mainstream touring shows like Once, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and Phantom of the Opera.

Details of all of these productions plus loads more can be found on the website

www.curveonline.co.uk

Winter 2020 theatre

THEATRICAL HAPPENINGS IN 2020-01-07

Winter in Leicester’s theatre-land is always about the Leicester Comedy Festival which runs throughout February (5^th – 23^rd roughly). However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t loads of other events for those looking for some relief from the awful weather.

CURVE

As out biggest theatre Curve has a wide range of productions to keep us entertained. Highlights include 20-25 January The Woman in Black. This atmospheric ghost story is making a welcome return. The really big news is that the first ever national tour of the iconic musical Phantom of The Opera is kicking of at Curve and runs from 22^nd Feb to 21^st March. Back for a 3^rd year is DMU Pride, a schedule of gay themed productions including The MP, Aunty Mandy and Me by the award winning playwright and actor Rob Ward following on from last year’s successful tour of Gypsy Queen. Another production I am really looking forward to is CYC’s Cry Baby, the musical version oof the iconic film starring Johnny Depp. Just edging into April we welcome another touring version of an Alan Bennett, this time The Habit of Art (6-11 April). Full details at www.curveonline.co.uk

DEMONTFORT HALL

Leicester’s prestigious concert hall venue has its usual mix of  one nighters throughout January before bounding headlong into February for Leicester Comedy Festival with the launch night on 10^th January and then a host of top line comics from 5^th to 22^nd February. February ends with a feast of shows from 27^th to 29^th from the Russian State Ballet of Siberia. March heralds the arrival of the touring version of David Walliams’ Billionaire Boy from 4^th to 8^th March. The month continues with the usual blend of singers, comedians and tribute acts. Full details at www.demontforthall.co.uk

THE Y THEATRE

Along with their usual eclectic mix of singers and personal appearances The Y makes its own important contribution to the success of Leicester Comedy Festival with a full schedule of comedy gigs from 5^th to 23^rd February with yet more top line comedians. Full details at www.leicesterymca.co.uk

DMU Pride & Gypsy Queen interview

DeMontfort University have held a DMU Pride event to celebrate LGBT History Month since 2015. This encompasses all sorts of supportive events within the university as well as cultural events at Curve and Phoenix Cinema.

This year Curve is hosting five events throughout February, four theatrical performances and one dance workshop. One of the shows on is a very welcome return of Gypsy Queen after its sold out show last year.

I spoke to Rob Ward, writer and actor in Gypsy Queen and asked him if he deliberately booked the show in for DMU Pride or did they approach him?

“We actually worked with them last year” he said “and we were approached to do the show last year for their Pride events in one of the cute rehearsal rooms at Curve and we sold out. So when we were approached for this year I got on to Curve, spoke to Nikolai Foster and they came and saw the show and this time we are booked in the Studio.”

I mentioned that DMU were probably quite unique in spreading their LGBT awareness outside of the university

“Yeah, they have fostered such a good relationship with Curve that they can have this mini LGBT festival”

Then we moved on to Gypsy Queen. I wanted to know why Rob, as the author, wanted to set it within the travelling community.

“I already had a small play about two gay boxers and I was looking to extend it to a more full length show, a studio tour. The problem was I couldn’t find an angle to extend the story. Then about three years ago there was the whole incident with Tyson Fury and the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award when he made a series of homophobic, sexist and generally awful comments around the time he had won the World Heavyweight title. There was an almighty uproar because he was shortlisted for the BBC Sports Personality award despite these remarks having been made public. This was a big issue for me because sport doesn’t have role models for the LGBT community. It doesn’t have openly LGBT sports people for fans like me. I don’t feel like I belong in that world. So when the whole Tyson Fury thing came out I wondered just why he felt he had to say these things about gay people. What was his personal interest in all this? Then it crossed my mind what if he was gay himself? What if it was that classic defence mechanism? Maybe it is a case of those with most to hide shout loudest, and in that moment I thought what if one of  these boxers is from the Traveller community. Suddenly you are bringing in not only a world of sport but also a community in which it is also very difficult to be gay but also the whole catholic debate and it gives the story a few more layers. You have two men, one from the world of professional sport and one from traveller community meeting and falling in love and suddenly the story burst into life.

“On this tour we have had a cast change, we have gone back to the original actor, Ryan Clayton [known for Josh Tucker in Coronation Street] now that he is available. He created the role of the sexually confident but closeted boxer, Dane,  while I played the repressed gay traveller, George.”

Gypsy Queen is on at Curve on Monday 25^th February. Tickets are available from the Curve website.

The other productions for DMU Pride at Curve are Rubber Ring on Monday 18^th February, the story of a 16 year old isolated on the Norfolk coast who runs away to London to see his hero Morrissey. On Wednesday 20^th February there is Drip, a one man musical comedy about a 15 year old synchronised swimmer who can’t swim. On Thursday 28^th February there is Joan, a drag king’s homage to the men she defies. Finally, for those feeling brave, there is a dance workshop on Friday 22^nd February for those who want to learn to walk or dance in heels. Or maybe just take a class for the hell of it!

Full details of Curve’s DMU Pride events can be found at https://tinyurl.com/yb4lm4x3 or via the Curve website

The entire schedule of all events for DMU Pride can be found at https://tinyurl.com/ybh4n4v7
First published on Western Gazette

Cast of The Frontline

Interview with cast members of The Frontline at Curve

I met up with two of the cast of The Frontline, one of Curve’s Inside Out Festival productions. Med Jannah and Amelia Eatough snuck out of the technical rehearsal in the Studio to fill me in on the production

I started by asking Amelia about her characters “I play two different characters and they are both completely different. One is called Val who has completely lost control of her son and is at the end of her tether, absolutely distraught at life, about her son about what he is turning into, who she’s become and very upset about the things she has done in her past. Then Casey is completely opposite. She’s a stripper but very grounded in her life, she is looking to the future and is dating one of the of the characters”

Med plays just one character, Miruts, “a drug dealer who is very proud of his Ethiopian heritage. Although he does it in a way that puts him at odds with the people around him. So he can be quite confrontational but there is a lot more to him than appears on the surface.”

I wanted to find out how they both got involved with the Curve’s new local actor training programme, supported by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Med: “I’m part of the Leicester University Theatre Society and an email came through about Curve doing a project with people you wouldn’t normally see in theatres, give us experience and courses we can go through this year and eventually be able to showcase our talents with what we have learned in Curve. When you get an opportunity like that you can’t turn it down. So I auditioned and made it through.”

Amelia: “I finished uni last year, doing a performance degree and am now doing a day job and working on this course in my spare time. I want to be a professional actor.”

Amelia spotted that Andrew Lloyd Webber was a supporter of  the programme and was immediately interested. Med only found out at the audition and realised this was a much bigger deal than he thought. While this production is not a musical, as such, there is singing in it. Hence the Lord’s involvement.

The original production had music by Arthur Darvill but this production has got a whole new soundtrack by local friends of Curve, Sheep Soup.

Amelia: “They have come in and made it completely their own, changed it up which was a wonderful opportunity to work with and learn about a visiting company”

Med: “We have got to see a show being built up around us”

I wanted to know where this experience would lead. Hopefully.

Amelia: “I came into the course hoping it would open doors, I would get to meet people. The play, The Frontline, is the culmination of the end of a year course”

Med: “Over the course we have been looking at classical theatre as well as modern theatre; stage movement and stage combat; musical theatre, singing.”

Amelia: “We get free tickets for shows and work with loads of different practitioners, all different styles, age ranges and experiences. We’ve worked with media teams. Some of the people on the course have never actually done a show before.”

So will they be just cast adrift at the end of their year with Curve?

Amelia: “We are being sent off with professional actors as mentors and I am jumping straight into White Christmas (Curve’s festive offering this year) which came directly from being on this course and come the new year I am trying to get more professional credits. Which is where my mentor will come into their own guiding and advising me. On the Press Night we will be given a list of people who can help us, agents etc who will be in attendance”

Talking to these youngsters it is obvious that once again Curve has created a unique climate for young talent to be nurtured and supported as ongoing actors.

Robert Cohen

Robert Cohen is a writer/actor/producer of both his own work and other author’s theatre and film scripts. ‘Something rotten’ is his acclaimed. self-penned examination of Hamlet’s much maligned uncle/step father, Claudius.

An experienced Shakespearean actor, Cohen has always been intrigued by the missing links within the Bard’s telling of The Prince of Denmark’s story. To this end he has attempted to fill in the gaps, sort of a literary pothole filler!

‘Something Rotten’, coming to Upstairs at The Western on Friday March 2^nd, is Cohen’s attempt at righting history, a paraquel running alongside Hamlet’s story and attempting to answer questions such as how long had Claudius craved his brother’s crown? How long had he and Gertrude been at it? How did he get on with his nephew prior to the upheavals? And most importantly, how did Yorick become the most famous corpse in literary history? All this and more will be answered. Sort of.

Written in ‘modern English’ with just a flavour of Shakespearean verse, this is hopefully more accessible to non aficionados like myself.

Cohen’s previous visits to Leicester have been with High Vis and The Trials of Henry Matusow, both sold out shows and both going on to tour extensively.

Tickets are available on www.upstairsatthewestern.co.uk

Full details of his previous and current work are on www.bobbycohen.co.uk

Paul Kerryson

Paul Kerryson's final production as Artistic Director is The Sound of Music, the story of a Governess who tames an unruly bunch of children. Not a million miles away from Kerryson's own trials nursing the fledging Curve Theatre to success over the last five years.
When he arrived at Leicester's Haymarket Theatre in 1991 Paul already had a wealth of experience as a performer and director. Starting off with a 3 year stint in Cameron Mackintosh's production of Godspell he moved to Manchester ( he still has a house there) as an actor and choreographer where he discovered his affinity with Sondheim's shows while working on the European premieres of Follies and Pacific Overtures. Both of which he eventually brought successfully to the Haymarket.
From Manchester Paul moved to Oldham Theatre in his first stint as an Artistic Director. Within 12 months he was in Leicester where, for the last 23 years, he has guided the city's cultural tastes as well as helming the creation of the jewel in Leicester's cultural crown, Curve. Throughout those two decades Kerryson has introduced this oasis in the East Midlands to such diversities as Sondheim, Larry Kramer and virtually every 'standard' musical ever written. A fair few of these revivals have transferred to the West End, notably Mack & Mabel, The King and I and Hot Stuff; the latter an original creation of Paul and Maggie Norris. But his expertise is not just reserved for 'grown up' musicals. He can turn his hand to many genres, including children's theatre and serious drama. I will never forget watching Pillowman in Curve's Studio space. He was also responsible for creating The Haymarket's hugely successful annual Promenaids charity weekends where he cajoled his colleagues into making fools of themselves onstage for a very worthwhile cause.
I moved to Leicester in 1990 and have been lucky enough to have seen countless productions that Paul Kerryson has directed. Amongst the many innovations that he has brought to Curve has been community projects; huge productions involving lots of talented local performers often being given their first taste of performing in a professional show under the tutelage of a master of his craft. He has also been responsible for nurturing strong links with De Montfort University's drama students.
We will miss Mr Kerryson when The Sound of Music finishes but a little bird tells me that he may not be leaving Leicester behind completely.

First published in Western Gazette
© Paul Towers 2012

Sir Richard Attenborough

Sir Richard Attenborough
1923 - 2014

The Rt Hon. The Lord Attenborough, CBE, Dickie to all his friends, eldest of three sons to Mary and Frederick Attenborough, was a prodigious talent with a very firm connection to Leicester which he never forgot.
Born in Cambridge, Richard Samuel Attenborough moved to Leicester when his father, an esteemed scholar and academic was appointed Principal of University College, Leicester (later to become Leicester University) and the young Dickie took up his studies at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys.
Leaving school he was drafted into the Air Force and, luckily for generations to follow, ended up in the RAF Film Unit at Pinewood. His interest in performing had been nurtured by his participation in productions at Leicester's Little Theatre, an establishment he maintained a connection with as patron until his death.
His first film, In Which We Serve, was uncredited but saw him working under The Master, Noel Coward, who both wrote and directed this patriotic morale booster. From that inauspicious start in 1942 right up to 2002 Dickie made at least one film per year. From 1960 he also wore a producer's and director's hat for several films.
Alongside his extensive showbiz career, Attenborough held a huge number of corporate titles ranging from President of Chelsea Football Club to President of BAFTA and President of RADA.
Throughout his life he and his wife, actress Sheila Sim, retained very strong links with Leicester and he filmed scenes for several productions locally, most famously on the Great Central Railway for Shadowlands with Sir Anthony Hopkins.
A slew of titles were conferred on Sir Richard and reached a pinnacle with his ennoblement as Baron Attenborough of Richmond.
One of the most remarkable things about this giant of so many areas of life is that you would be very hard pressed to find anyone to say a bad word about him. As an epitaph for a life well lived you can't ask for more than 'He was a lovely man'

First published in Western Gazette
© Paul Towers 28/8/2014

Jeffrey Holland

To those of us who are (unfortunately) over 40 Jeffrey Holland will forever be Spike, the trainee comedian to Paul Shane's Ted Bovis in TV's Hi Di Hi. The Sorcerer's Apprentice, if you will. Those under 40 will likely never have heard of him unless they have had the pleasure of one of his many theatrical performances.
I met up with Jeffrey as he was preparing for a three night run of his co-authored play 'and this is my friend Mr Laurel' at the Upstairs at The Western theatre in Leicester as part of the Dave Leicester Comedy Festival. As we sat in the empty auditorium he was fulsome with his memories of working in TV and on stage.
We started off chatting about his love of pantomime. He has just finished his 42nd season, 24 of them as dame. Often he is working with his wife, Judy, which mean they have much more time together than if he were touring alone, as he often does. With two grown up children and the recent arrival of his third grandchild, Jeffrey is a contented man doing a job he adores.
The Stan Laurel play is certainly a labour of love for Jeffrey. For many years he has been fascinated by the most successful double act in cinema history. Together Laurel and Hardy churned out 106 films between 1921 and 1951; alongside that Stan appeared in an additional 66 films between 1917 and 1928 without his fat chum.
As an actor who specialised in playing bungling fools onstage, Holland certainly felt an empathy for the onscreen idiot Stan Laurel. Both of them, however, are the polar opposite off-stage, capable, creative and business savvy. Laurel in particular wrote and directed virtually all of the Laurel and Hardy output. While Jeffrey can't claim the same controlling influence over his own livelihood, in his own quiet way he was steered a very successful jobbing actor's career over the past 50 years and shows no sign of slowing down just yet!
Jeffrey Holland's career started in the Belgrave Theater in Coventry where he spent 5 years in repertory learning his craft. Taking any acting job that he was offered he finally came to the notice of Croft and Perry, the creative writers behind Hi Di Hi, Dad's Army and Ello Ello. Several small parts finally lead to the character of Spike being created especially for him in Hi Di Hi, the very successful series set in a tatty 1950's holiday camp. From there he was cast in virtually every Croft and Perry show, even taking Dad's Army out on tour in the stage version.
While Jeffrey is now only seen on TV in cameos for shows like Coronation Street he has a very busy life in various stage productions. As well as touring his one man play, 'and this is my friend Mr Laurel', he is in rehearsals for Ray Cooney's 'Two Into One' running from 8th March to 26th April at Menier Chocolate Factory in London.
'and this is my friend Mr Laurel' can be seen at Upstairs at The Western until Friday 21st February and then at Kenton Theatre, Henley on Thames on March 29

First published in Western Gazette
© Paul Towers 19/3/2014

Quentin Crisp

QUENTIN CRISP
1908-1999

In 1975 I noticed that in the area of East London where I lived and thrust my sexuality into the faces of all and sundry, as many newly out gays tend to do, the general term of abuse shouted at me by louts was 'Quentin Crisp'. This only lasted a couple of years but was the direct result of Thames Television's audacious televising of Crisp's autobiography, The Naked Civil Servant, starring John Hurt.
This book had been floating around since 1968, the eve of decriminalisation, when it had sold a respectable 3,500 copies on publication and garnered several favourable reviews. Being a book it had not attracted the attention of the uneducated masses and had passed most people by. Television exposure put paid to that ignorance.
After having been heard on radio reading extracts from it Crisp was approached by Thames TV who dramatised the book and broadcast it in 1975. The rest, as they say, was history.
Suddenly being 'discovered' at the age of 67, Quentin (née Denis Pratt) took to showbiz like a duck to water. A popular guest on the chat show circuit Crisp had just one philosophy for making successful appearances. 'All you have to do' he maintained 'is look pleased to be there. It's like a party.'
A trip to America for promotional purposes resulted in Crisp moving there and becoming 'A Resident Alien' and inspiring Sting's hit 'An Englishman in New York'. He still travelled all over the world with his one-man show, An Evening With Quentin Crisp and appeared in a variety of film and stage shows. He played Lady Bracknell in Wilde's Importance of Being Earnest and Queen Elizabeth in Orlando as well as many roles as himself. His literary output didn't stop at The Naked Civil Servant (a reference to his days as a nude model working for the Council). Several tomes of his eclectic outpourings on a variety of subjects have sold well along with several volumes of autobiography. He also earned a regular living writing reviews for Christopher Street Magazine and New York Native.
Many will say that Quentin Crisp put back the cause of gay liberation by 50 years when he portrayed gay men as limp wristed, purple haired and out to capture any straight man within striking distance. While this may be true, he should be given credit for at least bringing to the public's attention the very subject of inequality and prejudice. He has been labelled by some as a spokesman for the gay community. Nothing could be further from the truth. Most gay men would run a mile at being confronted by the apparition that was Quentin Crisp in the flesh, and most would be reluctant to admit that he did their cause any good at all, especially when he called homosexuality an illness.
In many ways Quentin Crisp was the Oscar Wilde of the late 20th century; witty, admired (but only from afar) and best thought of in the abstract. He was, without doubt, a singular person, the like of which we will never see again. He leaves behind him legacy of wit which will brighten many a day.
Quentin Crisp died on 21st November 1999 from a heart attack mid-way through yet another tour of his one man show.

First published on Gay UK Net
© Paul Towers 2/12/2000

Wendy Richard

From sexpot in 'Are You Being Served' to downtrodden drudge in 'Eastenders' you may be forgiven for thinking that Wendy Richard has come down in the world. But underneath that much maligned cardigan of Pauline Fowler beats the heart of a woman who has been through the mill somewhat.
In her book, 'Wendy Richard … No S', Ms Richard details the long and varied route her career has taken to this point where she is a national icon for housewives everywhere. From her early days as a pop idol at 15 (singing (?) with Mike Sarne in the seminal Come Outside and re-recorded with Mike Berry in 1986 ) through a stint in the Carry On films, many TV appearances and finally to her long running participation in series like Are You Being Served?, Dad's Army and Eastenders, Wendy Richard has carved a niche for her idiosyncratic style in the British (and worldwide) viewing public's affections.
Rumour has it that Wendy was discovered working as a secretary in Robert Stigwood's office when she was chosen to work with Mike Sarne on the aforementioned Come Outside. But, as she is supposed to have been only 15 at the time (1962) it seems a little far fetched that she was working in an office. However, whatever the truth, she did end up being part of that particular pop sensation and her career was kick started. Rumour also has it that she had a small part in the Beatles film, Help! in 1965. Unfortunately her participation in this particular piece of pop history ended up on the cutting room floor. In her autobiography Wendy dates this as happening at the age of 20, which makes her birth date as 1945. Somewhat at odds with the officially quoted date of 1946, 1947 or 1948 (depending on what source you read)
A graduate of the prestigious Italia Conti Stage Academy after a formal education at the Royal Masonic School for Girls (her father died when she was 11 and, a mason, entitled his daughter to free education), the young Wendy was in demand for TV work after having worked with Sammy Davis Jnr as background glamour with a young Mandy Rice Davies. Several films (including 3 Carry On's) and many TV appearances later she finally got her big break with the part of Miss Brahms in what was supposed to be a one-off called Are You Being Served?
Wendy had served her sit-com apprenticeship in virtually every comedy series on TV with regular appearances in Dad's Army, Dick Emery, Fenn Street Gang, Please Sir, Hugh and I, The Likely Lads, On The Buses and Up Pompeii! These were alongside 'straight' acting roles in shows like Danger Man, The Newcomers (her first soap), No Hiding Place and Z Cars.
From Are You being Served? it was no surprise to find she was to be a lynchpin of the new soap Eastenders in 1985. Despite her continuing role in Walford, Wendy still finds time for panto and radio work as well as numerous appearances fund raising for charity.
Originally born in Middlesborough, Teeside (surprisingly enough) Wendy Richard long ago decided she wouldn't conform with a 'BBC accent' and her adopted working class screech has stood her in good professional stead. With 3 much publicised marriages behind her and a successful battle against breast cancer it looks like the 55 (or 54, 53, 52) year old actress will be entertaining us for another 40 years.

'Wendy Richard … No S' is published by Simon & Shuster
First publised on Gay UK Net
© Paul Towers 28/11/2000

Anthea Turner

Life as a book reviewer, and especially autobiographies, often entails pretending you either like the person or find their dreary lives interesting. When I read Anthea Turner's tome, Fools Rush In, I found that it was far from dreary. However, I can make no bones about the fact that I loathe the woman, perhaps even more than I loathe Ulrika Johnson! After all the never ending media coverage of the Grant Bovey saga I was hoping to find that Ms Turner, ex-Blue Peter lovely and GMTV stalwart, was the unwitting third side of a triangle manipulated by her new husband. Instead I found her to be a scheming, self centred cow who deserves all the vilification that comes her way.
Born in 1960, Anthea's mother is an ex-teacher and her father runs a soft-furnishings company. She went to the local comprehensive in Stoke on Trent but was so unhappy her parents sacrificed financial comfort to send her to a Catholic Girls School (rather too late to instill too many morals, by all account). Gaining 2 A Levels Anthea then went to work for the local radio station before moving to Sky TV as a VJ and thence to Blue Peter. Two years later she moved to GMTV where her image in the public's eye was cemented as the girl next door.
Of course her adoring public had little idea of her bed hopping methods of career advancement and her subsequent rise to prominence. First there was Bruno Brookes (Radio 1 DJ and now dot.com millionaire) and then Peter Powell (Radio 1 DJ and now millionaire Agent) before currently settling for Grant Bovey. She dismisses Brookes as a dominating control freak but she still stayed with him for more than four years. I wonder if that had anything to do with the good he was doing her career, especially the introduction to her second big affair and first husband, Peter Powell, soon to be her agent/manager?
Married to Peter in 1990, a cynic may well have wondered how soon his usefulness would run out. The answer would be 7 years. Grant Bovey, Anthea's second husband, was one of Peter's best friends and he and Della, his then wife, were often seen out with the Powells as a foursome. At the requisite 7 years Anthea got the itch and Grant was the one to scratch it for her. The ensuing media circus surrounding the breakdown of the Powell marriage, Anthea's affair with Grant Bovey, their parting, reuniting and eventual marriage are recounted in uncompromising detail and it is glaringly obvious that Ms Turner is desperate to exonerate herself from the full brunt of moral judgement. However, with nearly half the book devoted to the ins and outs of her love affair with Grant Bovey, she only serves to stir the whole sorry mess up in the public's mind once again. She comes out of it as an insecure woman, desperate for children and a career who will lay down for the person who will give her what she wants. In the beginning it was career advancement and now it is children. One gets the impression that when Mr Powell wouldn't or couldn't give her offspring it was only a matter of time before she either got a turkey baster or a stud. Enter Grant Bovey. Whatever the merits of the man that attracted Anthea this time, once she got her claws into him it is obvious he will never get away until such time as he has outlived his usefulness. I'll give it 10 years.

Fools Rush In published by Little Brown (£16.99)
First published on Gay UK Net
© Paul Towers 16/11/2000

Martine McCutcheon

Not many ex soap stars actually make the leap into the music business successfully. Adam Ricketts and a couple of others spring to mind but most are no more than one hit wonders. This makes Martine McCutcheon's elevation to her current level of 'serious' singer even more astounding. Not only is she able to pump out the populist tracks but she is obviously quite capable of more cerebral numbers as well. At 24 she has just published her autobiography (albeit with the acknowledged rewriting of her ghost writer) Who Does She Think She Is? (Century Publishing) which details her turbulent childhood, desperate need for stardom and balancing act needed to stay on top.
Born in Hackney, East London, Martine's violent father left when she was a baby and her impoverished Mother struggled on. However, he regularly returns to invade her life and cause trouble. Once asked if she had a single nice memory of him, Martine said flatly no. Such was his disruption of their lives that her mother had to have a panic button installed and wired to the local police station. Her mother's continual badgering of charities eventually meant Martine got a grant to attend stage school and, at 10, attended the famous Italia Conti School where she developed a label queen mentality aspiring to the baubles sported by her classmates' parents.
She pounded the well worn path of many wannabes and toured the club circuit as part of a girl group. A spell working behind the counter at Knickerbox at Lakeside was interrupted when she got a small temporary part in Eastenders. She stayed for 3 years until the Perfect Moment record deal came up.
Martine professes to being totally unlike Tiffany 'Tiffany was based on me Mum. That's how I knew her really well but I knew she wasn't me' Losing her virginity at the, late for some, age of 17, Martine has only had two serious relationships. Looking at her childhood and the appalling behaviour of her father she is, understandably, wary of men but still seems to be attracted to roughs (shades of Sam Fox). Her current beau, Jonathon Barnham, is awaiting trial on cannabis smuggling charges. 'Between careers', Barnham is seen by many as a gold-digger but Martine, who put up £75k bail money for him, stands by him.
But what is next for the East End sparrow who is showing definite signs of following in screen mum-in-law Peggy Mitchell's (Barbara Windsor) footsteps? A guest role in The Knock and the release of her first film next year will coincide with her much trumpeted role as Eliza Doolittle in Trevor Nunn's My Fair Lady. Unconventionally she will be a natural cockney schooled to appear posh, exactly as the role reads.
Reading her book you get the impression that beneath all the phlegmatic, shrewd and controlling woman she appears to be is a very insecure little girl balancing a tight rope very much in the mould of Marilyn Monroe.

Who Does She Think She Is? Published by Century £16.99
First published on Gay UK Net
© Paul Towers 15/11/2000

June Whitfield

To those of us who have grown up with the TV career of the inimitable Miss June Whitfield she has always been old, or perhaps mature is a better word. What I am trying to get at is that she has never seemed to be young and flighty. These days she is justly lionised as the naïve mother of monstrous Edina Monsoon in Absolutely Fabulous and fondly remembered as June of Terry and June fame. What many do not realise is that she has a huge back catalogue of appearances in theatre, film and TV stretching back to the early 50's. In fact she was a leading participant in what was to become light entertainment on TV and has appeared with all the great comedians from Wilfred Pickles to Julian Clary with Tony Hancock, Tommy Cooper and Frankie Howard along the way. Equally at home in both sitcoms and sketch shows she is truly a comedian's moll, June Whitfield has now at last, in her 60's, had her genius recognised in its own right.
Born in November 1925, June Whitfield looks much younger than her 75 years but seems to have been entertaining us for far longer. Her mother, a frustrated actress who poured all her yearnings into amateur productions, sorely tested the patience of her put upon husband. But this atmosphere, far from scarring the young June, merely highlighted how much her parents loved her. As testament to their good parenting skills June and husband Tim have recently celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary.
Starting out taking acting lessons from a Miss Massey and her 'companion' on Streatham Common June entered RADA in 1942 right in the middle of World War 2. She learnt her trade and made a modest living doing all sorts of parts on the stage, everything from light comedy to musicals.
In the late 60's however, June Whitfield met the man who was to have as profound an influence on her life as her husband of 10 years, Terry Scott. June and Terry first appeared together on a show called Scott On ….. So successful was their on screen partnership that they soon appeared in Happy Ever After and a string of appearances led to a TV partnership which lasted 20 years.
Nowadays June is experiencing a resurgence of popularity as yet another generation discover the comic talents of one of Britain's funniest and most talented actresses. Slipping seamlessly into any comic genre you care to name, June Whitfield dominates the airwaves of both TV and radio nearly 50 years after her debut. Her gift for mimicry means she is in constant demand for radio and voiceovers. What more can you say except to confirm that she is Absolutely Fabulous.

'And June Whitfield' by June Whitfield is published by Bantam Books
First published on Gay UK Net
(c) Paul Towers 14/11/2000

Hugh Paddick

HUGH PADDICK
1915- 2000

Born in 1915, Hugh Paddick was a stalwart of radio during the ground breaking 1960's. That rare item, a gay man playing a gay man in the hugely popular Kenneth Horne series' on the then named Home Service, Hugh was the never-sidelined sidekick to outrageous Kenneth Williams' Sandy in the perennially popular Julian and Sandy sketches and often ad libbed at the same pace as Williams. Written by Barry Took and Marty Feldman , these innovative characters were the first long running gay characters in popular entertainment. Created even before decriminalisation of homosexuality, Julian and Sandy set the (some would say unfortunate) tone for all comic gays for decades to come. Think John Inman and Larry Grayson's love child and you are halfway there!
But this was only part of Hugh's repertoire. Paddick was a farmer's son who, trying to better himself, studied law but failed his exams and enrolled in drama school instead, much to his family's disappointment. Tall and good looking, Hugh was, for many years, a leading man in Liverpool Rep. His next break came with the part of Percival Brown in The Boy Friend in 1954. This led to many more West End roles including revue and eventually to his success on radio in beyond Our Ken and Round The Horne. Although theatre was his first love (he had success in My Fair Lady at Drury Lane along with virtually every stage hit of the time. He even did a season at the National with Paul Schofield and Ben Kingsley), he never thought TV and film were beneath him and was seen in a multitude of sitcoms (usually as the 'straight' man) and plays alongside his prodigious number of supporting roles in films.
I first met Hugh Paddick in the 70's when I was living in Brighton and he was touring with some show at the Theatre Royal. I met him in a tea shop having a bun and a cuppa. An avid fan, I stopped to say hello and congratulate him on his past work. For some reason we clicked and saw each other every time he came to Brighton, nothing special, just a nice chat. He would come to my flat for tea between performances. He was not in the least bit pretentious or starry and endeared himself to all who met or worked with him.
Hugh died on 9 November 2000 and is survived by his partner of more than 30 years, Francis.

First published on Gay UK Net
© Paul Towers 13/11/2000

Stephanie Lawrence

Troubled glamorous West End musical star Stephanie Lawrence was found dead at her home on November 4th. Famous especially for her role as Marilyn Monroe on stage in Marilyn! the musical biography in 1983, Stephanie was the darling of the West End with all the top musical roles in the 80's and 90's. From Evita to Cats, Starlight Express to Blood Brothers, her star shone brightly but hid a troubled inner torment.
Born of a theatrical mother and bandleader George Lawrence, baby Stephanie was bound to follow their grease painted footsteps into showbiz. Her mother, Gladys, ran a stage school on Hayling Island and, schooled by her, Stephanie got her first taste of audience approbation aged 2. At 8 she went to another stage school in Tring and ended up dancing with Pans People and The Lionel Blair Dancers. Her mother inexplicably taught her to tap dance in roller skates. A skill not likely to be useful to a star in the making until you realise she got one of her biggest breaks creating the role of Pearl in Starlight Express. Coming hot on the heels of her taking over from Elaine Page in Evita, her fame was assured.
But it was this very fame, just like poor Norma Jean Baker, that plagued her. Was she good enough? Would the bubble burst tomorrow? Just like Marilyn Stephanie suffered from insomnia, laying awake all night worrying. And just like Marilyn she found it hard to make lasting relationships with men. Her career always came first.
In 1991 came the role that would occupy her for the next 4 years. The lead in Blood Brothers is, as any actress who has played it will tell you, is a very demanding one emotionally and Stephanie found the stress getting to her. Her mood swings at this time caused her colleagues to worry and, coupled with her interminable sleeplessness, pushed her closer to the bottle. Cameron MacKintosh, producer of Cats, fired her after she fell 15' from a stairway due to lack of concentration. He hoped that if she wasn't working she would get herself in shape, stop the boozing and bounce back to the top of the bill where she belonged. But this was not the hoped for rebirth but the start of the end. Despite efforts to revitalise herself and a spell in detox clinic (she returned to Blood Brothers in January 2000) Stephanie continued her decline and her hoped for discovery by Hollywood never happened. Stephanie Lawrence died this month and left behind her recently wed husband, Laurie Sautereau but her candle in the wind, like Norma Jean's, will never die.

First published on Gay UK Net
© Paul Towers 10/11/2000

Geri Halliwell

The artist-formerly-known-as-Ginger Spice's self promotion bandwagon continues its headlong passage into the public consciousness.
After the world domination of the Spice Girls, Ginger's departure and the flowering of Geri Halliwell as a solo artist what possible reason could there be for a 29 year old girl to write her autobiography, 'If only'? Well, if you are looking for the real reason she left the Spices, forget it. It is glossed over as 'our ambitions were going in different directions'. However, if you are looking for the reason why she is as neurotic as she is then the book shows it amply. A rebellious teenager from lowly educated parents, an emotionally absent father and an unchannelled enthusiasm and energy all combined to produce an inbuilt insecurity and desperate need for attention.
Since leaving school Geri has drifted from attention seeking job to attention seeking job. Always enough to keep the wolf from the door but never enough to satisfy the global acceptance that she craves. Even her success with the Spice Girls was tempered with an innate sense that 'she would be found out' very soon.
Her entire adult life has been blighted by her continuing fight against bulimia as witnessed by her yo-yo-ing weight over the years. Geri explains food's impact on her life by the way, as a child, 'it was used as a comfort, bribe or punishment' and her mother's advice that 'you have to suffer to be beautiful'.
Her father was in his 50's and effectively disabled with 'a dodgy hip and bad asthma' when she was born. A dreamer, her mother said, he had no drive or ambition and spent his days tinkering with old cars in the garage while his wife cleaned the local library to put food on the table. Is it any wonder the young Geri retreated into a child-like fantasy world?
In 'If Only' Geri doesn't pull any punches, the warts and all are related in all their glory. Halfway through the book you start to get the impression that you have intruded on a therapy session. Geri admits at the end that writing it has been cathartic. One thing that did strike me was the very readability of the tome. No ghost writer is credited and something about the writing is very direct and personal. So one has to assume that it is Geri's work and Geri's work alone. In which case, the lady could make a good living as a novelist if she tried. Perhaps that is another area that she could try to find that elusive high of approbation.
'If Only' is a roller coaster ride of the emotions, neuroses and disappointments of a wannabee who finally makes it to the top of the ladder but still wants/needs more rungs to climb. Geri Halliwell will never be satisfied with what she has achieved and that is a shame for she will never find contentment or fulfillment.

'If Only' by Geri Halliwell Bantam Press £14.99
First published on Gay UK Net
© Paul Towers 4/10/2000

Barbara Windsor

With the last of the Kray brothers dying this week it is, perhaps, appropriate that Barbara Windsor's autobiography should hit the shelves. ALL OF ME is just that, our Babs, warts and all. Just 4'10", she has teetered on her 6 inch heels down a rocky road that has seen her go from innocent chorus girl to bawdy Carry On-er to her final resting place as matriarch of the dysfunctional Mitchell family in Eastenders. Curiously, her current husband is called Scott Mitchell! Life has often been stranger than fiction for the cockney sparrow who first found fame on the screen in Sparrows Can't Sing. Her first appearance on the big screen was in Belles of St Trinians as an un-named schoolgirl in 1954 was followed by a series of forgettable roles in unmemorable films.
A trained stage actress, Babs' first job was in the chorus of Love From Lucy. A position she stayed in for 2 years until she started getting film roles, small at first but then came her starring moment in Sparrows Can't Sing. The story of east end privation was the perfect vehicle for the peroxide blonde bombshell.
An audition for Fings Aint What They Used To Be for Joan Littlewood almost ended her chances when she mistook the derelict-looking director for the cleaner. However, fate took a hand and her role led to other musical parts alongside her burgeoning film career.
Babs' really became a household name with her appearance in Carry On Spying and went on to do another 8 in the series between 1964 and 1974.
However, much as the public loved Barbara on the screen it was her off-screen life which really hooked them. Perennially cast by circumstance as the 'blonde' , in every sense of the word, Barbara lurched from one unsuitable relationship to another, sometimes simultaneously. Ronnie Knight (gangster), The Krays (more gangsters), Sid James (lothario) and of course, the inimitable Kenneth Williams (who accompanied her on honeymoon).
Read the book and you will be hard pressed to keep a straight face, or believe it can all have happened! Barbara is painfully honest, not only about all the characters that have drifted and fought their way in and out of her life, but also about herself. How can you not love a woman who admits that her second husband, Stephen Hollings, is quoted as saying 'If men saw her like I used to, trying to pose seductively on the end of the bed with saggy boobs and straggly clumps of grey hair, they'd run a mile'.
Now, in her sixties, Barbara has at last found her home, her destiny, behind the bar at the Queen Vic. Long may she be pulling pints and anything else that comes her way!

All Of Me is published by Headline at £14.99
First published on Gay UK Net
© Paul Towers 3/10/2000

Jane MacDonald

CARRY ON CRUISING

Throw Jane Macdonald back a hundred years and introduce her to Catherine Cookson and yet another airport bodice ripper would ensue. The story of success despite childhood deprivation is one of which Ms Cookson could make yet another million-selling book. Add to that the fact that it starts out in the North (Wakefield) and has a happy ending and mega sales would be a foregone conclusion.
However, as all avid viewers of BBC's The Cruise know only too well, this is real life and now it emerges that the happy ending may not be as happy as at first seems.
The 36 year old miner's daughter has been a professional singer since she was 18. For 12 years she flogged her way round the northern club circuit, just another girl singer doing the old numbers. She was never going to make it following in the well worn footsteps of a never ending queue of girl singers trying to be someone special. Female club singers were, and still are, ten-a-penny.
Just as her spirit was wilting a friend suggested she apply for the cruise liners. Sure she wouldn't get on she applied and won a short contract on a small ship moored in Tenerife. Five years later and she was still afloat when she landed a job on The Galaxy and fate, in the shape of the BBC, took a hand. Appearing for 12 weeks in the fly-on-the-wall phenomenon endeared Jane to the viewing public and ensured that her first album went straight to No.1. However, it was her stage fright and the battle to overcome it that won over any sceptics.
To take advantage of her affection in the hearts of the audience, the BBC arranged to do a one-off special on Jane's wedding to boyfriend Henrik. From there it was just a small step for a round of sell-out concerts, filling the Albert Hall and landing her very own TV series, Star For A Night, in which she attempts to do for other hopefuls what the BBC did for her.
But, behind this mask of good fortune lurks a shadow which, as shadows often do, threatens to bring it all tumbling around her shoulders.
Jane's childhood was blighted not so much by poverty but by emotional deprivation. Her father was a typical northern man, unable to show emotion. He compensated by pushing Jane in her career and acting as manager/roadie but was very strict with her. Now she has married a man who is, to all intents and purposes, her father reincarnate. Henrik shouts at her, bullies her and tells her how to dress and behave.
In her book, Follow Your Dreams, Jane tells of an incident when Henrik and she were on a romantic holiday and he told her she was too fat. The minute she got home she hired a personal trainer and dietician!
Reading Jane's book it seems that, despite all the success, she is an unhappy, insecure little girl. Very much an older version of Geri Halliwell!

Follow Your Dreams - Harper Collins £16.99
First published on Gay UK Net
© Paul Towers 3/1/2000