It was a fortuitous start to the year – we decided to clear the decks in January so we could concentrate on writing for a month. Our intention had been to write an animated movie that we’ve had kicking about in our brains for a while now, having come up with the idea when working with Ragdoll. As luck would have it, it’s now kicking around our brains plus one set of file cards with notes on, that being as far as we got before we received a phone call from Steve ‘Two BAFTAs’ Ryde, the producer of, among other things, CBBC’s ‘The Slammer’, which we’d appeared as an act on in the first series. Turns out that we were one of his favourite acts of the whole run, and as production was about to start on the second series, would we fancy trying our hand at writing the scripted sections for one of the new episodes? Well, as we had some spare time on our hands… Within a fortnight, we’d written not one but two scripts and were now officially BBC1 script writers! We carefully wrote a double act into one of the episodes, and dropped some subtle hints that if they couldn’t lay their hands on anyone, we knew two guys who’d be perfect for the job – well, it was worth a try. In the end we did get into the second series as an act again (on the basis that as we lost last time, we were still technically inmates!), making us the only act to appear in both series, albeit in heavy disguise. And as we came last AGAIN, we’re technically still in there if they do a third…
And so 2008 began, a year of rapid contrasts between small and large projects of all sorts. On the ‘small’ side, our touring took us to the remotest gigs we’ve ever played at, in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The absolute apex of this was performing on Colonsay, a privately owned island only accessible three days a week by a once-daily ferry from Oban. We couldn’t take the van onto the ferry, so we ended up carrying Joy of Wine and Fairly Tales by hand. The island has a population of about 100 (including the corncrakes); somehow we managed to perform to about 120 of them (thanks to the tourists, who once they’ve seen the corncrakes have little else to do of an evening). The children’s show was a bit more wobbly – we DID manage to perform to every child on the island, however that was still only five children, plus a man dressed as Cap’n Birdseye. Heck, maybe he WAS Cap’n Birdseye, it would explain why you don’t see him so much these days.
On the ‘large’ side, we were back in the West End of London, at the Trafalgar Studios. Okay, so the first of the two shows we did there probably still counts as ‘small’, but to be able to say that the first ever performance of our new comedy show was in a West End theatre is pretty cool. As to whether they were also the last performances of that particular show remains to be seen, but The Cabinet of Curiosities was certainly an interesting experiment. We wanted – we still want – to be able to convert the unique, chaotic, improvised style we’ve developed on Professor Bumm into an adult show – given that many adults who see our family shows say they’re the funniest thing they’ve ever seen. It’s not as simple as it seems, though, as part of the attraction is that the adults know they’re watching something that’s nominally a family show, but we’re getting away with skating on some pretty thin ice. Cabinet of Curiosities takes the form of an obviously fake séance, where two shoddy spiritualists are pretending to channel the stories of the spirits from beyond, or at least beyond the other side of a collapsing bedside cabinet (As with Professor Bumm, turning the standard improvisational trope on its head by having the performers play characters, who come out of character when they start improvising). Some of it worked, some of it didn’t, some of it worked because it didn’t work (a spectacularly inept special guest appearance from Elvis, desperately trying to crawl through the cabinet before his sound cue ran out…), and now it’s back on the file cards next to the animated film, as something to look at next time we have a spare moment!
Thing is, we were already a bit overloaded in the short term, as we were planning our next show at the Trafalgar, juggling the rehearsals for this with our first performances in the Republic of Ireland (finally completing the set of the British Isles), and at the same time handling another writing gig for the BBC (you wait years for one, then two come along all at once). Having liked the episodes we wrote for ‘The Slammer’, we were called back in by Steve Ryde to discuss his new project – the return to the BBC of Dick and Dom, with whom he’d produced the infamous ‘…In Da Bungalow’ show. Titled The Legend of Dick and Dom, we were asked to pitch episode ideas, which we were more than happy to do. And then we got a third commission, to write a non-broadcast pilot for Sam and Mark, the double act who’d been called in to play the double act parts we wrote for The Slammer, who’d really liked what we’d written for them (ahem). Never rains but it pours. So we ended up darting from town to town in Ireland as part of the Earagail Festival (six shows in three different towns in three days – it was originally supposed to be six shows in SIX towns in three days, but thankfully we were able to talk them out of it!), hunting out mobile internet reception so we could fire various drafts of various scripts back and forth. Nothing like a quiet relaxing week in the countryside. And this WAS nothing like… etc etc etc. But the Ireland tour did turn up one of my favourite newspaper headlines ever. We were playing at Butt Hall in Ballybofey, named after its local benefactor. It had just reopened after refurbishment, with a well-attended gala. So how would you report this momentous event? Well, how about: “HUNDREDS TURN UP TO BUTT OPENING”. Brilliant.
As well as breaking new ground, the Ireland run was a good warm-up for our big project this year – a four-week run of I, Lear in the West End. We’d taken the opportunity to rewrite several aspects of the show, building on the more physical comedy slant we’d taken performing the show in Warsaw, and blowing money on (for us) a lavish costume budget, which was worth every penny. The Ireland dates saw the first performances of the new version (bar a rather disastrous appearance in a giant inflatable cowpat at the Brighton Fringe. Lesson learned – never appear in an inflatable venue, particularly one where they have to leave a giant, noisy motor running throughout in order to keep it inflated), and they went down a storm. As did the run itself, with house sizes that started off reasonable and grew larger and larger as the month went on, some nice reviews, in particular from The Times, and by-and-large a very warm reception (there’s always going to be a few people who look at us like we’re morons. That’s kind of the point, you just have to realise that we’re supposed to be morons). I like to think we baffled and entertained foreign audiences in equal measure – we took full advantage of the Trafalgar and Leicester Square tourist crowds, and I think some of them took the offer of ‘the entirety of British theatre in an hour and ten minutes’ on face value, and may have gone home with a rather skewed version of how we do things over here.
With two shows a day (with Professor Bumm as a matinee, for once being overshadowed by our adult show which made a nice change), the summer flew by. We actually kept our promise not to go back to Edinburgh this year. Loads of people asked us if we missed it. Erm, no. Not remotely. Not one tittle or jot. Given that it’s actually roughly the same advance cost to mount two shows in Edinburgh as it is to do so in the West End (if, as in our case, you go to an expensive Edinburgh venue and a relatively inexpensive West End one), but you get to be in the West End of London, competing with maybe 30 shows rather than 3,000, eating at home and sleeping in your own bed, honestly we didn’t miss the meat pie suppers, incessant flyering and final-week insanity that is the Edinburgh Fringe. And given the implosion of the Fringe Box Office this year, we couldn’t have picked a better time not to be there.
After that, the rest of the year could only be a bit of a come-down. We notched up various tour dates, fiddled around with various writing projects, increased our appearances as a sketch double-act at London comedy clubs (leading to a decision to put on a new sketch show in the new year), and ended the year with another outing for Professor Bumm’s Christmas Story Machine, this time in sunny Halifax. Which was very nearly a festive end to the year, but had a bit of a crimp put into it when the technician we’d been working with all week managed to break his back during the get-out, negotiating a treacherous iron fire-escape in an icy gale. He’s back on his feet now, thank Heavens, but there you have it – a year in which we had our first TV scripts broadcast, mounted a successful West End run, and once again put on well over a hundred performances, but somehow still ended with us feeling a bit down.
It’s a funny business, this funny business.
SHOW CREDITS
Click on show titles for more details
I, Lear
Director: Cal McCrystal
Lighting design (Trafalgar Studios): Joe Hornsby
Costume maker: Ronnie Dorsey
Video sequence: Murray Buesst
Tec (Trafalgar Studios): Jen Davey
Graphic design: Steve Ullathorne www.ullapix.com
Tour management: Scamp Theatre
PR (Trafalgar Studios): Clout PR
The Joy of Wine
Director: Cal McCrystal
Graphic design: Steve Ullathorne www.ullapix.com
The Cabinet of Curiosities
Lighting design and Tec: Joe Hornsby
Professor Bumm’s Story Machine
Music: Dominic Currie
Design: Mike Lees
Lighting design (Trafalgar Studios): Joe Hornsby
Tec (Trafalgar Studios): Jen Davey
Graphic design: Steve Ullathorne www.ullapix.com
Tour management: Scamp Theatre
PR (Trafalgar Studios): Clout PR
Fairly Tales
Graphic design: Steve Ullathorne www.ullapix.com
Professor Bumm’s Christmas Story Machine
Music: Dominic Currie & Alex Silverman
Design: Mike Lees
Production: Scamp Theatre
SHOW DATES
January 5: The Black Sheep, The Cock Tavern, London
January 8: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine & I, Lear, The Tolmen Centre, Constantine
January 9: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, The Flavel, Dartmouth
February 13: Fairly Tales & The Joy of Wine, Lelant Village Hall
February 15: The Joy of Wine, Devoran Village Hall
February 16: Fairly Tales & The Joy of Wine, Leedstown Village Hall
February 22: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, Mill Arts Centre, Banbury
February 24: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, Aberystwyth Arts Centre
February 28: The Black Sheep, PBH's 60th Birthday Celebration Tour, The Betsy Trotwood, London
March 2: The Black Sheep, Finger in the Pie Cabaret, Madame JoJo's, London
March 9: I, Lear, Private show
March 14: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, Glyncoch Community Centre
March 26: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, Theatr Mwldan, Cardigan
March 27: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, Wyllyotts Theatre, Potters Bar
March 29: The Black Sheep, Saturday At The Strongroom, London
March 30: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, artsdepot, North Finchley
April 5: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, Forum 28, Barrow-In-Furness
April 16: The Black Sheep, Cheap Laughs At The Salisbury, London
April 25: Cabinet of Curiosities, Trafalgar Studios, London
April 26: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, Theatre Royal, Margate
April 27: Cabinet of Curiosities, Hen & Chickens, London
May 2: Cabinet of Curiosities, Trafalgar Studios, London
March 4: The Black Sheep, Finger in the Pie Cabaret, Madame JoJo's, London
May 9: Cabinet of Curiosities, Trafalgar Studios, London
May 15: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, Redbridge Drama Centre, South Woodford
May 16: Cabinet of Curiosities, Trafalgar Studios, London
May 17: I, Lear, Udderbelly, Brighton Fringe
May 17: The Black Sheep, Yoicks!@Hare & Hounds, Brighton Fringe
May 25-26: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, Udderbelly, Brighton Fringe
May 27: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, The Egg @ Theatre Royal, Bath
May 30: I, Lear, Bridgwater Arts Centre
June 6: I, Lear, Commemoration Hall, Huntingdon
June 7: I, Lear, Thriplow Village Hall
June 8: I, Lear, Sawston Village Hall
June 13: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine & The Joy of Wine, Dornie Hall, Lochalsh
June 14: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine & The Joy of Wine, Macphail Centre, Ullapool
June 16: Fairly Tales & The Joy of Wine, Colonsay Village Hall
June 18: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, Wick Primary School
June 19: I, Lear, Lyth Arts Centre
June 20: The Joy of Wine, Craignish Village Hall
June 21: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, Craignish Village Hall
July 1: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, Roseheyworth Primary School, Abertillery
July 15-17: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine & I, Lear, Earagail Festival, County Donegal
July 21-August 16: I, Lear, Trafalgar Studios, London
July 22-August 16: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, Trafalgar Studios, London
September 11: The Joy of Wine, Private show
September 24: The Black Sheep, Peter Buckley Hill And Some Comedians, Lamb Tavern, London
October 15: The Black Sheep, Cheap Laughs At The Salisbury, London
October 17: Fairly Tales, Sonas Festival, Lousiburgh, County Mayo
October 20: The Black Sheep, The Fix Presents... Wilmington Arms, London
October 21: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, The Feel Good Factory, Rhondda Cynon Taf
October 22: The Black Sheep, Peter Buckley Hill And Some Comedians, Lamb Tavern, London
October 28: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, Swan Theatre, Worcester
October 29: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, Borough Theatre, Abergavenney
October 31: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, Solihull Arts Complex
November 1: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, Southport Arts Centre
November 15: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, Marlborough Town Hall
November 16: The Black Sheep, Finger in the Pie Cabaret, Madame JoJo's, London
November 19: The Black Sheep, Peter Buckley Hill And Some Comedians, Lamb Tavern, London
November 22: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, Russells Water Village Hall
November 23: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, Checkendon Village Hall
November 27: I, Lear, Rhodes Arts Complex, Bishop Stortford
November 28: I, Lear, Havant Arts Centre
November 29: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, Wytham Village Hall
November 30: Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, Fritwell Village Hall
December 7: Professor Bumm’s Christmas Story Machine, Rosehill Theatre, Whitehaven
December 15-19: Professor Bumm’s Christmas Story Machine, Square Chapel Arts, Halifax
WRITING COMMISSIONS
The Slammer – Series 2: Who’s the Chef
The Slammer – Series 2: WardRobe 2000
The Legend of Dick’n’Dom – Series 1: Swampy’s Girlfriend
Class – Additional material for pilot episode
