Project Titanic -official birth!

Today it is exactly 100 years since the keel of Titanic was laid in Belfast -effectively the birth of that great ship. Three years later she was fully grown, and then so tragically lost. However, she wasn’t really lost, because almost every single fact  about the ship, its crew and passengers, its maiden voyage, its rediscovery by Dr. Ballard and its legend have been the subject of endless fascination. Books, films, articles, exhibitions all keep Titanic alive, even with the wreck itself slowly disintegrating beneath the sea. Ever since I saw A Night To Remember on television at the age of about 9 I have been drawn to the story of Titanic. It is one of the greatest true stories in history, comprising thousands of destinies and as many tales and legends. For the past few months I have been doing a lot of research, reading up in preparation for writing what I have temporarily called "Project Titanic" -a play about the legend of the ship. This is not going to be a huge, James Cameron type of thing, but storytelling on a very intimate human level, shared by one particular character connected with the ship.  This, for me, is a labour of love, and I do not have a deadline for completion or an immediate plan of production –at present I have nothing but the keel. "Project Titanic" has been born!  

Article completed:

I have just completed two articles for a periodical about Noël Coward and Norway, in which I examine both the history of Coward’s productions in Norway and other connections he has with the country. Amongst other things,  I was able to share the the intriguing results of some research into M/S Toronto, the Norwegian freighter on which Coward travelled in 1932 -and on which he wrote the brilliant comedy Design For Living. Coward obviously learned some Norwegian from the crew, because he used the phrase "Hvordan staar det til?" in the text. Translated this means "How are you?". Coward described his time on the Norwegian freighter, travelling from Panama to Los Angeles, as amongst the happiest he had ever known. 

This week’s Flashback -Sarge in "Female Transport"

One of the features I shall be sharing here is a weekly look at some production or project from   the past. Mostly because it’s fun to dig out old pictures and memories, but also (perhaps) to show the variety of things I have been involved in over the years.

This week we go back 15 years to 1994, when I played Sarge   –one of the most brutal characters I have ever done– in the play "Female Transport".  I was still at drama school, and heavily influenced by Anthony Hopkins who had generously just become my sponsor. I was so grateful I rather assimilated his style for the part -which I think the above picture shows! 

Starting off

Well, my first ever blog post. A sort of seminal event I suppose. Like going to the moon. When I was a child we had a record on which Louis Armstrong sang, the album cover of which had a picture of the Earth on it. When I was told at some point that "Armstrong was the first man on the moon" I was deeply impressed that Satchmo, in addition to being a great jazz performer, had had time to go to the moon -from where, my young mind supposed, he had also managed to snap the picture of the Earth for the album cover. That was the sort of person I wanted to be: performing constantly and flying to the moon; to be gloriously and illogically diverse. That was the start of the journey that has taken me to where I am today. Not to the moon, but to this blog. It was a big shock for me to learn that it was Neil, not Louis, who first got to the moon, but I realised then the power of imagination. I therefore dedicate this first post to both Mr Armstrongs –and the moon!