Month: May 2008

Takin’ Over The Asylum

9 May 2008 Rob Buckley 4 Comments

Since y’all loves him so much, I thought you might like to know that David Tennant’s Takin’ Over The Asylum is coming out on DVD very soon. Full details below:


Takin' Over The Asylum

Takin’ Over The Asylum was first broadcast on BBC1 as a six-part series in September 1994. Written by Donna Franceschild, directed by David Blair (Anna Karenina, The Lakes) and starring Ken Stott (Messiah, Rebus) and David Tennant (Doctor Who) in award-winning debut performances plus a cameo from Spike Milligan, the acclaimed black comedy Takin’ Over The Asylum is available for the first time ever on DVD from 9th June, priced £19.99.

Stott stars as Eddie McKenna, a double-glazing salesman who moonlights as a DJ for hospital radio in a Scottish mental asylum. He nurtures close friendships with the patients there including Francine (Katy Murphy, Our Mutual Friend, Honest) a self-harmer and Campbell (David Tennant, Doctor Who) a manic depressive, with whom he shares a dream to make it onto the commercial radio scene.

Campbell’s inspired antics promise to bring the pair closer to their aim, but the pressures of life outside of the hospital begin to tell on Eddie. A vindictive colleague leads his small-minded boss to ban his activities and his eccentric grandmother returns suddenly to Lithuania leaving him penniless and alone. 

Eddie finds himself drawn to the troubled Francine, but when the radio is threatened with closure he turns to Campbell for comfort. As Campbell regains control over his life and courts success, Eddie’s goes into decline and he is finally forced to face his own illness – alcoholism. 

EXTRAS: Commentary with David Tennant. Plus David Tennant’s original audition tape, never seen before.

Theatre

Fat Pig

9 May 2008 Rob Buckley 6 Comments

Anna’s mentioned it, I’ve mentioned it in passing, but Fat Pig‘s PR company has just asked me very nicely to point out that performances of Fat Pig are starting on May 16th. And since it stars Robert Webb (of Mitchell and Webb, Peep Show and those Apple ads), Kris Marshall (My Family, My Life in Film and those BT adverts), Ella Smith (Meadowlands/Cape Wrath) and blog-favourite Joanna Page (Gavin & Stacey), why not?

Apparently, they would be really appreciative, as would everyone else involved with the show (probably). Do you reckon that means free tickets? And could my editorial independence be even more compromised if it does?

KRIS MARSHALL & JOANNA PAGE, ELLA SMITH & ROBERT WEBB TO STAR IN THE UK PREMIERE OF THE COMEDY “FAT PIG”

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY NEIL LaBUTE

OPENING AT THE TRAFALGAR STUDIOS IN LONDON ON TUESDAY 27 MAY WITH PERFORMANCES STARTING ON 16 MAY

Kris Marshall will star as ‘Carter’, Joanna Page as ‘Jeannie’, Ella Smith as ‘Helen’ and Robert Webb as ‘Tom’ in the UK premiere of Neil LaBute’s comedy “FAT PIG”, which will open at the Trafalgar Studios in London on Tuesday 27 May, following previews from 16 May. The limited season will finish on 6 September.

Robert Webb is one half of the duo ‘Mitchell & Webb’, who are one of the most popular comic acts in the country and who are behind hit television shows, such as “Peep Show” and “That Mitchell & Webb Look”. Kris Marshall was recently on the West End stage with Billie Piper in ‘Treats’ and his television credits include starring as ‘Nick’ in “My Family”; his film credits include “Death at a Funeral”, “The Merchant of Venice” and playing ‘Colin’ in “Love Actually”. Joanna Page stars as ‘Stacey’ in the BBC comedy series “Gavin and Stacey” and can also currently be seen in “Love Soup”; her film credits include “Gideon’s Daughter” and starring in “Love Actually” and she was recently seen with Ian McKellen in the Old Vic stage production of “Alladin”. Ella Smith was a regular character in the television drama series “Cape Wrath” and has recently starred opposite Kris Marshall in the BBC drama “Sold”.

“FAT PIG” will be directed by its author Neil LaBute.

When Tom first meets Helen there is an instant connection, but it’s not exactly love at first sight… Helen is a bright, funny, sexy young woman who happens to be plus-sized – and then some – and it’s only so long before the insults start to fly from Tom’s shallow yet shockingly funny office buddies. Television’s hottest young comedians star in this searing, funny and ultimately touching love story.

“FAT PIG” in London will be produced by Howard Panter for Ambassador Theatre Group and Broadway producer Barry Weissler, responsible for the New York and London hit musical “Chicago”.

Performances at the Trafalgar Studios will be at 7.30pm on Mondays – Saturdays, with 2.30pm matinees on Thursdays and Saturdays. Tickets priced from £25-£45, with previews priced at £30 and day seats at £25, are available from the Trafalgar Studios Box Office on 0870 060 6632 or online at www.theambassadors.com/trafalgarstudios.

There’s a web site, too.

Today's Joanna Page

Today’s Joanna Page: Love Soup

9 May 2008 Rob Buckley 1 Comment

Today’s Joanna Page, despite the best efforts of the BBC, is Love Soup, David Renwick’s slightly odd look at love that stars Tamsin Greig, Sheridan Smith and the superfluous one from Ashes to Ashes.

I caught an episode of it once to see what Sheridan Smith was up to in her time off from Two Pints and wasn’t desperately impressed. This time round was better, notably because of Joanna Page who got to exercise her acting muscles in a surprisingly subtle way. More on that later.

Strangely, Love Soup seems to have more in common with Jonathan Creek than Renwick’s One Foot in the Grave, with bizarre love mysteries to be solved in outlandish ways. It’s not great, but it’s okay: as much as I love Tamsin Greig – and indeed Sheridan Smith – Greig’s character, Alice, is just dull (although that’s probably the point) and Smith’s doesn’t really have a lot of depth. Still, it’s only half an hour long and nearly at the end of series two, so I’ve probably missed out on a lot.

Anyway, more pics of JP after the jump, including a great big spoiler. If you haven’t seen the episode yet and intend to, don’t go any further.

Incidentally, I do warn you that if you have still to see it, do not watch it where anyone can see you: it is definitely Not Suitable For The Office. Or indeed public transport. 

Continue reading “Today’s Joanna Page: Love Soup”

Friday’s phone news

9 May 2008 Rob Buckley Post a comment

Doctor Who

Film

Commercials

British TV

  • Virgin in talks with BSkyB again
  • ITV pays record fine for phone-in ‘problems’

US TV

Audio and radio play reviews

Review: Doctor Who – The Haunting of Thomas Brewster

8 May 2008 Rob Buckley 4 Comments

The Haunting of Thomas Brewster

I’m sitting here wondering how this Big Finish downloads ‘taster’ service is going to work. In essence, it’s simple. Pay 99p and you can download the first episode of any play. Like it and you can download the rest for £12.

All well and good, you might think. But the trouble with most Big Finish plays is that the first episode usually isn’t that good. Either it’s terminally dull set-up for a story that only later turns out to be intriguing, or it’s all a complicated set-up for a story that only explains itself in the fourth act.

Case in point: The Haunting of Thomas Brewster. This comes across in the first episode as a cross between a piece of Oliver Twist fan fiction and a standard twisty turny time-travel story in which everyone starts popping up and laying down plans before events have caused them to happen – or they’ve even arrived.

Yet, if you miss out on it, you’ll be missing out on a new (and possibly interesting?) series of fifth Doctor adventures.

Continue reading “Review: Doctor Who – The Haunting of Thomas Brewster”