‘First Sight’ Review

We performed my play ‘First Sight’  recently at the Matchbox short play festival and at the risk of looking like I’m blowing my own trumpet I wanted to show you the review that appeared in the recent NODA magazine.

“First Sight written and produced by Cliff Gillies and performed by Too Friendly Theatre Company was the first play. Cliff took the part of Matthew, the main character, who delivered the dialogue mainly as a monologue. He tells the story through a number of love letters  he has exchanged over many years with Emily, his love at first sight. His delivery was an emotional roller coaster which could not be faulted. The parts of Dave, played by Mark Haygarth and Emily plated by Helen Rawcliffe are important to the story…

…However the writing was excellent with  an unexpected twist in the denouement. This was a good short play well presented.”

Edited from the full NODA review.

 

Another Review Of ‘It’s Now Or Never’

Well it’s a bit late getting it up here but here is another review of our performance of ‘It’s Now Or Never” from the NODA magazine.

“This comedy which borders on farce was a brave choice for the group and it came off… The set was very good indeed and the pace was fine. The cast worked hard and came across well with good characterizations. But what can I say about Rocco, played by Mark Haygarth, who doubled as Elvis. The poor man was pushed from pillar to post throughout the play… and handled the role extremely well. Rob Darby gave us a believable police inspector with a good accent.  Sue Thomas played Daphne for all it was worth and added to the fun. There were good performances, which I have come to expect,  from Cliff Gillies and Helen Haygarth. Lydia, played by Dot Scott and Keith, played by John Windsor, who along with Cliff led the team in what was a very enjoyable evening.”

Edited from the full NODA review.

 

Les Miserables, NODA review

A review of Les Miserables has appeared in the NODA magazine, This is a cut down version of it. The full version can be seen on their website here.

This was a brave choice. It is a long play and could have done with starting earlier. Staging the play just using lights and blacks worked well as we moved through the many scenes.

The less the scenery, the more prominent the costumes became and on the whole it was well staged. …there was a large cast of 14 and, in no particular order, Mark Haygarth (Marius/Paul) played both parts well with a nice distinction between them. Sister Suplice was played well by Lisa Morgan .Tom Hancox’s Fauchelevent and John Hardiker’s Quink were both nice cameos. The Main roles of Javert and Valjean were in the safe hands of John Windsor and Cliff Gillies who both gave strong performances.

The masters of the house were just as nasty as in the musical with Peter Roney and Sue Thomas filling the roles – black teeth and all. Joanne Wasilew grew into her role and Helen Haygarth, once again, gave an impressive performance as Fantine. I would also mention a lovely cameo from Andi Culkin who was Eponine. These were well supported by Simon McCarthy, Rob Darby and Dott Scott.

This was a long, but extremely good piece of drama with some superb individual moments.

 

 

 

Murdered To Death, Reviewed By Champion Newspaper

The Champion Newspaper has run a review of Murdered To Death.

You can read the full review here (www.champnews.com)

However below I will copy excepts from it, mainly the bits than correspond to me (after all this is my site) and maybe make some comments myself.

“The play is just one of a popular trilogy featuring the imbecilic Inspector Pratt and director Cliff Gillies took centre stage as the manic policeman, a comical interpretation which owed much to Tony Hancock. He did it so well that it was a pity some of the dialogue he was forced to speak was cringeworthy in the extreme.”

“The actors all acquitted themselves well and the audience laughed constantly throughout the evening, even breaking into applause at some of the lines, making the night a great success.”

So far so good really… being compared to Tony Hancock… wow!… And the audience laughed constantly too. Great!

However the final paragraphs made me think…

“For myself, I have trouble with farces. There are no characters, just caricatures. Plots are meaningless so who cares what happens anyway? The audience around me may be convulsed with mirth, and the cast onstage look like they are having great fun, but I sit there thinking how ridiculous the whole thing is.

I would much rather see this talented company perform a serious play rather than infantile dross like this…”

Infantile dross? Really? Farces may be ridiculous, it’s in their very nature… and whilst some may well be dross (as I producer I have read many that are) I simply do not believe that can be said about Peter Gordon’s script. The script (as the review states) has had over 500 productions… were it not a well written, well paced, farcical comedy I cannot imagine it would get more than one!

Anyway to dismiss something as infantile dross in this way is ridiculous. You cannot dismiss something for being silly when that is it’s expressed purpose! Would you dismiss speed racing for being too fast? The same phrase could, by extension, be applied to the works of Monty Python or the ‘Carry On’  series of films… both are chock full of silliness and cheesy puns, however that doesn’t mean they are any less relevant or any less enjoyable… whether I’m a fan of the genre or not I can see that.

However this is an excellent point to debate… let me know your thoughts:

Did you see the production? What did you think of it?

Do you like this type of comedy? Is the reviewer right?

When you go to the theatre do you want to be challenged, have your thoughts provoked, be entertained or just made to laugh?

Sometimes your in the mood for ‘War and Peace’ sometimes you just wanna sit in front of the television and watch Big Brother… Should theatre and plays always have to “about” something… or can they simply be there to entertain?

Interesting isn’t it.

For my point of view it should be a bit of both. When we set up TFTC, Helen and I decided that we would look to do both ‘deep’ character driven or message plays like Les Mis or Countdown or Wuthering Heights mixed in with more ‘fun’ plays like Stags And Hens or Girl’s Night Out or Comfort & Joy.

 

Thank You… Thank You… Thank You.

I’ve recieved loads of emails in praise of the last show, here are just a sample.

… a great performance… On the strength of our recommendation my parents have decided to book for tomorrow.

Really enjoyed Murdered to Death. Thank you.

What a wonderful night. We laughed to point of crying. You must do it elsewhere again Liverpool or Ormskirk or Southport again… Fantastic night thanks to you all.

I was at your excellent perfomance Saturday night and, WOW, what can I say in a few words, when I want to use a lot i.e. ,WONDERFUL, MARVELLOUS, AMAZING,F.A.B.

Thanks to everyone who emailed and wrote. It was lovely (and a bit blush inducing) to read and I’m really glad you liked it.

 

‘Saving Grace’ Show Review

And yet another older review… this time for my play ‘Saving Grace’

Saving Grace (was presented along with Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime)
Too Friendly Theatre Company

Saving Grace was indeed a triumph. The performance gripped you until the end with the roller-coaster of emotions portrayed excellently by the three actors involved. The portrayal of Charles was bullish and he brought out the very worst in the character. Conversely John Windsor’s David was full of sadness, remorse and feeling. Helen Haygarth superbly played the part of Grace; she really got under the skin of the character, a mammoth performance that ebbed from sadness to joy, from despair to assertiveness, finally finding true love. Both plays were well staged with a minimal set.  David Kay

 

‘The Countdown’ Review

Here’s another old review… this time for ‘The Countdown’

EASY STAGES / THE COUNTDOWN
Too Friendly Theatre Company
Director: Cliff Gillies

..much better written and one with a nice twist at the end this a four hander and all four parts must count and they did. Basic set but adequate, Both Sue Thomas as Victoria and John Windsor as Sir Geoffrey painted the scene. I enjoyed the questioning of the prisoner and the interchanges between them. Helen Haygarth as Julle had more to do in this play and did it well but the best performance of the evening was that of Cliff Gillies who portrayal of Eddle the prisoner was of an high order, and although he directed it as well it did not seem to weaken either production or his own performance which is normally the case. My congratulations to both him and the group for a very interesting evening, I hope the first of many.

 

NODA Awards tommorow.

Tomorrow is the NODA awards in sunny Blackpool and I’m looking forward to it greatly. (Not to be confused with the main awards (as far as we are concerned) in Southport in August). All Souls Dramatic Club are up for an award, that being the title of ‘Best Pantomime’ for their production of ‘Cinderella’. I’m really hoping we do well as it’s All Soul’s first nomination and the production staff (and cast) really, really deserve it. I was lucky enough to play Buttons in the production and enjoyed myself immensely. It was nice that we got a good review because I was SOOO sick during the show that I was scared that I might let the others down.

The NODA review was quite good at the time… I’ll copy it below for you.

The music, although mainly modern pop, fitted the show. My only criticism would be that the numbers were a little too long.The staging was adequate and we had some very good performances.Karen Meadows was a very pretty Fairy Godmother. We also had a very pretty Cinders played by Stefanie Verite. The Baron was Peter Roney and the two bailiffs, Bill and Ben were played by Sue Marquiss and Kayleigh Walkden. I particularly enjoyed the two Ugly Sisters played by Rob McGregor and June Weights. Congratulations go to both and to the costume department for some wonderful creations.

The Prince and Dandini both gave spirited performances: well done to Joannne Stafford and Katie Watkinson. John Hardiker gave us an acceptable King but his Queen, who was played by Sue Thomas, was superb. Not to be out-done, the gentlemen had their star in the form of Buttons. This was Cliff Gillies first show with All Souls but something tells me that it will not be his last.

Well done to all the cast and once again, welcome

I will of course update you on Monday on whether we have won and on all (well maybe not ALL) of the goings on from the event.

 

Finding Time To Write

It’s not just me but every writer I speak to complains that they simply cannot find enough time in their day to get on with their work and indeed I have read many stories of people putting their kids to bed then staying up till the early hours to get work done. I’m the same (minus the kids).

Now I’m without a car I have a two hour commute each day, that’s ten hours a week or when you look at it another way; forty hours a month… a full working week every month! Now I don’t really mind the commute, in fact I quiet enjoy the time. I usually grab a coffee and listen to an audio book on my Ipod. (Incidentally you really must check out Audible on www.audible.co.uk for audiobooks, as they seem to be the best by far… sorry Itunes!) I know I could use the time better and use it to develop, write or edit some work but the tools have always eluded me.

I’m a technology geek so pen and paper doesn’t seem to get my creative juices flowing and I much prefer to do my writing at a keyboard. I have a Macbook pro so could easily crank it up and get to work… but do I really want to get it out on a crowded train? Besides it being too expensive to lose it also means I need to carry yet another bag. So I never really worked during my commutes.

But that was before I saw the Asus eeePC and started using it. The Asus eeePC is an ultra portable laptop and I have to say, overall, I’m really pleased with it. The device is basically a normal clamshell laptop but it is really tiny, about the size of a paperback book. The device has a seven inch screen and runs a version of the Linux operating system. It comes preinstalled with around forty applications including Open Office. Open Office includes word processing, spreadsheets and presentations and I’m actually using the package now to write this post.

If you’re a writer you should check out the device (http://eeepc.asus.com/uk/index.htm). What makes the device a real winner for me is the sheer portability of the device. Although my Macbook is a brilliant laptop I never really take it out and about with me. It’s simply too big to just throw in my bag along with my other stuff or too expensive to take down to the park or the beach. The eeePC neatly fills this gap. I’m underselling it to say that I use it as a portable word processor but that is exactly what I use if for and that is exactly why I think it’s a brilliant piece of kit. Typical it costs around £200 and has no moving parts so it’s nice and sturdy. It’s not perfect though as the keys are a little bit small for my fat fingers. I can’t touch type on it so I have resorted to a variation of two (possible three) finger typing. Its not super fast but it works. If you have smaller hands than me you should be fine but its still worth checking it out before you buy it.
Overall it’s a great piece or writing kit and means I can take it anywhere and pop it open (its almost instantly on) and knock something out when the muse hits me.