Today's Joanna Page

Today’s Joanna Page: Fat Pig

Kevin Bishop and Joanna Page in Fat Pig

Today’s Joanna Page is Fat Pig, Neil LaBute’s size-related comedy play, which has been running in London for a good few months now. In fact, I’ve already reviewed ittwice.

However, from the 11th September, it’s going to be moving away from the Trafalgar Studios to the Comedy Theatre and Rob Webb and Kris Marshall are going to be replaced by Nick Burns and Kevin Bishop respectively. Then from October, Joanna Page is going to be off filming the Gavin & Stacey Christmas special and is going to be replaced by Kelly Brook. No word on what’s happening with Ella Smith, yet.

So here’s a publicity shot of our Joanna with Kevin Bishop (photo by Simon Turtle). And this is her (with Matthew Horne) in Gavin & Stacey:

Matthew Horne and Joanna Page in Gavin & Stacey

What a chameleon. How’s she do that?

PS There’s a video on the Fat Pig web site in which Neil LaBute interviews the current cast. In it, Rob Webb admits there was an evening where he chose to play Tom as “a complete spoon” then changed his mind and went back to playing it the original way. Any want to bet he did it on the night that I first went to see it, thus explaining the change in performance by the time I went back to see it again?

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Today's Joanna Page

Today’s Joanna Page: Very Annie Mary

Today’s Joanna Page is Very Annie Mary, a little movie set in Wales that features just about every Welsh actor in existence. It stars Rachel Griffiths, an Australian actress who impressed everyone right up until she joined the cast of Brothers and Sisters, as Annie Mary, the frustrated (in every sense) daughter of Pavarotti-impersonating baker Jonathan Pryce. 

She wants to help her best friend, the seriously ill 16-year-old Bethan Bevan, get to Disneyland and singing in a talent contest might be the only way to get the money. And despite being 22 at the time, Joanna Page played that sick teenager.

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Today's Joanna Page

Safety Catch – Series Two

Simon from Safety CatchMs Rullsenberg has nudged into my consciousness the fact that Safety Catch, a Radio 4 comedy series about a reluctant arms dealer, is currently enjoying a repeat run at a sensible time on said station. Hooray!

It stars Darren Boyd, Joanna Page (yes) and Brigid Forsyth and is really quite funny, if you’re into slightly black, apparently un-PC yet not comedy. If you’ve missed any episodes – which is likely since it started its run on the 8th July – you can catch up using the iPlayer or through my last blog entry on the subject, which links to all four episodes. You can also find out more about the show from the British Comedy Guide, which has been good enough to quote me alongside The Guardian and the Daily Telegraph for some reason on its “press clippings” page about the show.

However, after having the show nudged back into my consciousness, I decided to investigate a bit to see if a second series has finally been commissioned. And lo and behold it has, according to writer Laurence Howarth. The second series should be airing next year some time – no word on if there have been any cast or character changes or when recordings are going to be. I s’pose I could ask, but that sounds a bit like hard work. Maybe later…

Today’s Joanna Page: Billy Liar

In a return to its roots, Today’s Joanna Page eschews the excitement of the review and the intellectual delight of the polemic in favour of pure pictures, since it’s time for the 2004 touring production of Billy Liar, which I obviously didn’t see (even though it began its run at Bromley’s Churchill theatre).

I can’t even comment on the story, since although I’ve seen the movie version, it was so long go, all I can remember are about three images from the whole thing. And I haven’t seen the TV series. Or read the book.

Oh dear.

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