Black Shuck: An interview with Rachel Nott

UPDATE: See Rachel in the transfer at the London Horror Festival.

You can see Rachel Nott in the role of ‘Martha’ in Black Shuck by Duncan Hands, as part of the Wandsworth Arts Fringe 2016, 11-14th & 18-19th May at the Bedford, Balham – £10-12. Book your tickets now!

Ahead of rehearsals starting, we had a chat with Rachel –

What are the particular challenges of this play?

Working with Alex, obviously… That aside, there’s a heck of a lot to learn! And the older I get, the worse my memory gets…

Have you done similar projects to this before?

Playing a smuggler? Can’t say I have. I’ve not been in a full-length two-hander before either, so I’m really looking forward to that.

What are you looking forward to at rehearsals?

We are definitely going to be doing a lot of laughing – to the point that we will need to make sure we actually rehearse the play. I also really love playing around with the characters in a rehearsal process – approaching situations differently and seeing what works. Often what you saw was one thing in the initial read-through can become something completely different after rehearsals.

Who are your favourite comic actors?

Hmmm… Steve Coogan, Kathy Burke, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Julia Davis, Mackenzie Crook, Kenneth Williams, Jack Lemmon (old school), Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Catherine O’Hara, Steve Carrell, Will Ferrell, Sandra Bullock… It’s a really long list. I feel bad for leaving people out.

You can see Rachel Nott in the role of ‘Martha’ in Black Shuck by Duncan Hands, as part of the Wandsworth Arts Fringe 2016, 11-14th & 18-19th May at the Bedford, Balham – £10-12. Book your tickets now!

 

 

 

Black Shuck: An interview with Alexander Pankhurst

UPDATE: See Alexander in the transfer at the London Horror Festival.

You can see Alexander Pankhurst in the role of ‘Art’ in Black Shuck by Duncan Hands, as part of the Wandsworth Arts Fringe 2016, 11-14th & 18-19th May at the Bedford, Balham – £10-12. Book your tickets now!

Ahead of rehearsals starting, we had a chat with Alex –

Alex’s first answers…

What are the particular challenges of this play?

Working with Rachel Nott

Have you done similar projects to this before?

Yes. With Rachel Nott.

What are you looking forward to at rehearsals?

Rachel Nott.

Who are your favourite comic actors?

Rachel Nott. And Rowan Atkinson.

 

Alex’s revised answers…

What are the particular challenges of this play?

I think that the main issue doing this play (from my perspective) will be varying the pace. Because it’s quite a static piece (only set in one place) and there are only two of us, there is a danger that it could become monotonous for the audience. But I think that Blackshaw are well up to the challenge

Have you done similar projects to this before?

I have done a two hander before (An Audience with the Ghostfinder by M. J. Starling) so that’s familiar ground but every project is different so I’m just looking forward to seeing how this one pans out.

What are you looking forward to at rehearsals?

Absolutely. Working the Ellie and Rachel is always really good fun and they will inevitably have me in stitches.

Who are your favourite comic actors?

There’s so many to choose from, Rowan Atkinson has to be up there along with Julie Walters and Mark Heap but the list is almost endless!

You can see Alex in the role of ‘Art’ in Black Shuck by Duncan Hands, as part of the Wandsworth Arts Fringe 2016, 11-14th & 18-19th May at the Bedford, Balham – £10-12. Book your tickets now!

 

Great Expectations – Getting to know Victoria Hamblen

Victoria began performing at the age of 3. As she grew up, Victoria tried a diverse range of dance styles from ballet to hip hop. She expanded on this, performing in many professional and semi-professional theatrical productions as a teenager. At university, Victoria participated in various productions at the Greenwood Theatre, such as Fame, and Hot Mikado ‘Pitti Sing’, then concluded her amateur run with touring productions of The Taming of the Shrew (2013), where she played the role of ‘Bianca’, and ‘Jacqueline’ in Moliere’s The Reluctant Doctor. Since then Victoria set up, and has been running Cyphers theatre company with Marcus J. Bazley, also performing in many Cyphers productions to date.

 

Quick Questions…

1. What’s your favourite scene or character from ‘Great Expectations’?

When Pip leaves Estella forever. It’s so poignant, and makes me cry every time!

2. What’s the last project you worked on?

The Cyphers Chekhov Double Bill (‘The Proposal’ and ‘The Boor’)

3. What’s the last book you read?

‘Villette’ by Charlotte Bronte

4. Not a lot of people know that I…

speak Mandarin.

5. What really grinds your gears?

When people talk when watching a film.

 
You can hear Victoria Hamblen playing Estella / Mrs Joe in our upcoming radio adaptation of Great Expectations – broadcasting on The Blackshaw Arts Hourfrom Sunday 3rd January 2016.

Subscribe on iTunes.

Available to download or stream here.

 

Great Expectations – Getting to know Alexander Pankhurst

Training: Royal Holloway University of London

Recent Credits include: ‘Jack’ in Staying Alive (Pleasance Theatre with Blackshaw), ‘Demetrius’ and ‘Bottom’ in A Midsummer Nights Dream, ‘Boy’ in Panther, ‘Gerry’ in Dearly Departed, ‘Mal’ in Captcha, ‘Arnold’ in I’ll take a Dozen Accountants…with Sprinkles, ‘Christopher Marlowe’ in Death of Marlowe, ‘Major Steve’ in Love in Freefall, ‘Ash’ in A Million Things, ‘Borachio’ in Much Ado About Nothing, ‘Mercutio’ in Romeo and Juliet, ‘Valentine’ in Two Gentlemen of Verona, ‘Thomas Carnacki’ in Audience with the Ghostfinder, ‘Tom’ in Rabbit, ‘Richard III’ in The Shakespeare Conspiracy, ‘Jamie’ in Airport and ‘Dr Alfred Prunesquallor’ in Gormenghast: Titus Groan.

Quick Questions…

1. What’s your favourite scene or character from ‘Great Expectations’?

It would have to be Will’s Miss Havisham. Delightfully deranged!

2. What’s the last project you worked on?

Blackshaw’s ‘Staying Alive’ at the Pleasance in November.

3. What’s the last book you read?

Malazan Book of the Fallen 05 – Midnight Tides – Steven Erikson, if you like fantasy you will love this series. I cannot recommend it enough.

4. Not a lot of people know that I…

once ate two foot long subs in one sitting.

5. What really grinds your gears?

Slow walkers and people who are rude. (But not those who are rude to slow walkers)

 

You can hear Alexander Pankhurst playing Sergeant / Jaggers in our upcoming radio adaptation of Great Expectations – broadcasting on The Blackshaw Arts Hour from Sunday 3rd January 2016.

Subscribe on iTunes.

Available to download or stream here.

 

Great Expectations – Marcus Bazley’s Adaptation

Unlike a lot of people, I never studied Great Expectations at school. From talking to friends who have, it seems to have spoilt their enjoyment of the novel no end! My only engagement with the novel before reading it, in late 2014, was the BBC TV adaptation from the previous Christmas.

There were two things that struck me immediately on reading the novel myself:

First, it was a first person narrative. This completely changed by understanding of the novel. This was not simply a story – this was a memory. A memory has the ability to deceive and distort events, making the narrative much more nuanced and complex. It also meant that our narrator was inherently fallible.

Second, it was surprisingly funny! Dickens is such an instinctively witty writer – he loves to poke fun at his characters and at his audience – and Great Expectations is no exception. (Although one would be forgiven for thinking it was a story exclusively about nasty rich people and cobwebs from the numerous adaptations.) I was, therefore, determined to reintroduce this lightness to the story and, in doing so, balance its darker moments with moments of genuine comedy.

These were the two main motivations for creating the original stage adaptation that Cyphers performed in February 2015. That and the way in which the casting perfectly suited our company of actors at the time.

The idea for a radio version first occurred to me while I was at Blackshaw’s fifth birthday party. During the afternoon of celebrations, extracts from Blackshaw’s previous radio drama ‘Audience with the Ghost Finder’ were played and a desire for more radio drama for the Arts Hour was expressed. Since finishing Great Expectations on stage, I had been desperate to do more with the script and this seemed like the perfect opportunity!

Going back to the script with a new medium in mind was an absolute joy and it gave me the chance to hone and tighten the adaptation after a bit of breathing space. Plus we would be able to explore the central Cyphers ethos of inspiring the audience’s imagination in a new way. The result, I hope, is a version of Great Expectations that is true to the original tone of the novel, bringing out both its light and its shade, as a man tells his listeners the very personal story of his life.

– Marcus Bazley

 

You can listen to Marcus’ adaptation of Great Expectations – broadcasting on The Blackshaw Arts Hour from Sunday 3rd January 2016.

Subscribe on iTunes.

Available to download or stream here.

 

Great Expectations – Getting to know Christopher Anderton

Christopher trained at The Manchester Metropolitan School of Theatre. He has appeared in a variety of productions including: The Three Sisters and Women Beware Women. He has worked in numerous productions at the the Royal Opera House, with David McVicar in Salome and Adriana Lecouvreur, and also with Paul Curran on The Tsar’s Bride. He toured Uruguay and Argentina with a new production entitled The Feather Pillow. For Sell A Door Theatre Company, he played Sherlock Holmes in The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Amos in The Man Who Had All The Luck and, last year, he toured the UK for 6 months with Kidnapped.
Chris has also recently played the title role in Cyphers’ first production, Henry V.  Following that he played the roles of Joe, Wemmick and Bentley Drummle in Cyphers’ second production, Great Expectations, and also appeared in Cyphers’ Checkhov Double Bill.

 

You can hear Christopher Anderton playing Joe / Wemmick / Drummle in our upcoming radio adaptation of Great Expectations – broadcasting on The Blackshaw Arts Hour from Sunday 3rd January 2016.

Subscribe on iTunes.

Available to download or stream here.

 

Great Expectations – Getting to know Rupert Sadler

Rupert Sadler is studying English Literature at King’s College London. Enthusiastic about drama, Rupert has been involved in student productions including Cabaret, Twelfth Night, King Lear, Guilty Parties and is also a member of the Running A-Mock Improv Troupe during his time at Kings. Rupert has also acted outside of university, such as working with NYT and performing Feather Boy at the Lyric, Hammersmith. Rupert has performed in two productions and one tour with Cyphers so far: Henry V (2014-2015)and Great Expectations (2015).

 

Quick Questions…

1. What’s your favourite scene or character from ‘Great Expectations’?

When Pip confronts Estella and Havisham after meeting his mysterious benefactor. It’s a powerful, moving scene; and I feel it has a lot of Dickens in there, a lot of personal turmoil from the author that underpins the curious relationship between Pip and Estella.

 

2. What’s the last project you worked on?

The last project I worked on was the revival of Henry V with Cyphers! A big tonal change from the radio play,but a rewarding opportunity that I got a lot out of. Plus, it’s a blast working with actors and crew, both old and new!

 

3. What’s the last book you read?

The last book I read was One Hundred Apocalypses by Lucy Corin, some chilling stuff…

 

4. Not a lot of people know that I…

Used to have an irrational fear of hoovers! Well… it seemed rational at the time!

 

5. What really grinds your gears?

It takes a lot to grind my gears, to be honest. Cold callers are the closest I guess, but I don’t blame ’em – they’re just doing their job.

 

You can hear Rupert Sadler playing Pip Pirrip in our upcoming radio adaptation of Great Expectations – broadcasting on The Blackshaw Arts Hour from Sunday 3rd January 2016.

Subscribe on iTunes.

Available to download or stream here.

 

Looking back at 2015

We’ve had a corker of a year, and as we settle down in front of the fire with a mulled wine in hand and snazzy christmas jumper firmly on, we thought we’d take you through the highlights…

 

The Blackshaw Arts Hour on Wandsworth Radio (fortnightly from Jan 2015)

Subscribe on iTunes.

Available to download or stream here.

Read more about it and listen to past episodes.

 

10-29th November 2015 – Staying Alive by Kat Roberts, at the Pleasance Islington

Published by Nick Hern Books.  Buy your copy here.
“explosive emotion…a strong cast…lively and full of wit…” West End Wilma

“Proof that given enough time, talent and perseverance, theatre that really says something about the human condition can be made.”
Female Arts

“highly original, nuanced and enlightening…deeply observed social comedy…compelling from start to finish”
Remote Goat

“wonderfully human…a really powerful exploration of grief – honest and tender…”
London Theatre 1

Read more here.

 

25th November 2015 – Blackshaw’s Scare Slam, at the Horse & Stables, Lambeth

Read more here.

 

4-5th July 2015 – Alice in Wonderland by Richard Stratton, at the British Home as part of the Streatham Festival

Read more here.

 

Sunday 7th June 2015 – Blackshaw’s 5th Birthday Party!

Read more here.

 

2-16th May 2015 – Alice in Wonderland by Richard Stratton, at the Battersea Library
A sell-out run, as part of the Wandsworth Arts Fringe.
“…creative, imaginative and seemingly effortless style…The whole performance buzzed with energy, fun and joy.”
London Theatre 1

“The fun-filled show brims with chaos, madness and high jinks…the wild but classic tale of Alice in her fantastically retold Wonderland.” – A Younger Theatre

Read more here.

25th March, 17th May, 29th July, 30th September 2015 – New Writing Nights at the Horse & Stables, Lambeth

 

 

 

Read more here.

 

9-14th March 2015 – Character by Florence Vincent, at the Tristan Bates Theatre
“a delightful theatre production on in Covent Garden. Funny, nostalgic, well acted 2 hander” – London Culture Blog

“a witty play…reminiscent of Ab Fab’s Edina and Saffy” – In & Around Covent Garden magazine

Read more here.

 

15th Jan 2015 – Staying Alive by Kat Roberts, at the Pleasance Islington 
One night only industry showcase – Winner of Blackshaw’s Showcase Award 2014.

Read more here.

 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!

 

See you in 2016.

 

Ellie & the Team at Blackshaw

 

 

The Blackshaw Arts Hour – Episode 29

This week on the show Iasha is joined in the studio by Ellie and Matt who reviews The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 . Helen reviews ACS Random’s new production of The Knight From Nowhere/The Bells. It’s playing at The Park Theatre until the 19th of December.

We also heard an interview with Marcus Bazely, Rupert Sadler and Andrew Crane, some of the people involved in our upcoming production of Great Expectations. The first episode will be aired on the 3rd of January, so make sure you tune in!

To promote our excellent Scare Slam that happened a few weeks ago we heard a spooky story from our MC Duncan Gates. If you tune in to the next instalment of The Blackshaw Arts Hour you can hear the full live recording of the Slam, playing out live on the 20th of December and available to podcast here! 

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Staying Alive: Kat Roberts & Nic Whitworth in Conversation

‘Staying Alive’ writer Kat Roberts talks to SLOW charity co-founder, Nic Whitworth, about the nature of grief, and how they worked together to research and develop the play.

Warning: Infrequent strong language.

 

SLOW – Surviving the Loss of your World – is a charity that supports bereaved parents. SLOW North London came about in 2007 when two bereaved mothers, Susie Hanson and Nic Whitworth, decided to provide a space where other bereaved parents could come to meet, take time out, have a cup of tea or just be with others who felt isolated in their grief. The aim at SLOW, as its name suggests, is to allow parents to grieve at their own pace and in their own time scale, and to take strength from the company and support of others; before returning to daily life and its challenges.

SLOW holds regular day-time and evening support groups for parents.  The SLOWSIBS creative workshop for bereaved children is held quarterly.

Look at our website http://www.slowgroup.co.uk for further information.

SLOW is a small charity with a big impact – please support us by donating at localgiving.com/charity/slow

 

Staying Alive is at the Pleasance 10-29th November – Book tickets now!