[Or "Loopedcamp"? No, I don't think that works...]

This week sees training for Totally Looped. Not rehearsal, as that would imply foreknowledge of the clips that we will be dubbing. We don't have that luxury. Our only safety net is blind terror and audience goodwill.

It has been magical, terrifying, baffling and exciting. Today, I offered Hattie Hayridge a Twiglet. The other day, Marcus Brigstocke smacked Humphrey Ker from the Penny Dreadfuls with a rolled-up newspaper before even saying hello. This is the sort of entertainment that money cannot buy.

Except, it can! Tickets are still available for all shows, including the six I shall be performing at. Please do drop by and yell at us whilst we're on stage. (There are also some cheap tickets on lastminute.com.)

Those dates again:-

Monday 2 Feb - Epsom Playhouse (with Marcus Brigstocke, Pippa Evans and the Penny Dreadfuls) - link
Thursday 12 Feb - Bracknell South Hill Park (with Joe Liss and the Penny Dreadfuls) - link
Friday 13 Feb - Southend Palace (with Sanjeev Bhaskar, Pippa and Joe) - link
Saturday 14 Feb - Wycombe Swan (with Sanjeev, Pippa and Joe) - link
Sunday 22 Feb - Peterborough Key (with Hattie Hayridge, Joe and the Penny Dreadfuls) - link
Saturday 7 March - Newcastle Journal Tyne (with Marcus, Pippa and Joe) - link

The Surbiton pantomime that I've written the songs for is next week. All songs are now up on YouTube, handily in order in this Playlist... (click left and right arrows to scroll through the videos)



The production is sold out, I believe, but I'll try to get some footage of the cast singing the songs this weekend!

(There's also a couple of new songs on the YouTube channel. Do subscribe and rate!)

Labels: video

Brave new world, and all that.

Why not celebrate it with the marvellous Obamicon.me?

I did!

Hello all -

Anyone who received a gift worth more than £50 from Oxfam Unwrapped over Christmas received a comedy DVD called "The Art Of Giving".

It featured Johnny Vegas, Justin Lee Collins, Richard Ayoade, Jenny Eclair, Meera Syal, and me.

I wrote a song specifically for it whilst in Edinburgh, and was filmed singing it whilst sitting in a tree, and then whilst wandering around a soggy Pleasance Courtyard with a very patient and forgiving umbrella-bearer in pursuit!

A photo of me also appeared on the back cover, nestling in between Milton Jones and Natasha Kaplinsky, a very nice place to nestle, for sure...

I'll post a re-recorded version of the song, "Give Give Give" on YouTube at some point, but if you received an expensive, ethical present for Christmas, do seek out my little song! It's at the end, over the credits.

Do buy presents from Oxfam Unwrapped! They're marvellous! My parents were given bees for Christmas. BEES!

Thanks to director Marcus Shepherd for asking me to take part!

Hi there!

Excited to report that I'll be at the following Totally Looped dates:

Monday 2 Feb - Epsom Playhouse (with Marcus Brigstocke, Pippa Evans and the Penny Dreadfuls) - link
Thursday 12 Feb - Bracknell South Hill Park (with Joe Liss and the Penny Dreadfuls) - link
Friday 13 Feb - Southend Palace (with Sanjeev Bhaskar, Pippa and Joe) - link
Saturday 14 Feb - Wycombe Swan (with Sanjeev, Pippa and Joe) - link
Sunday 22 Feb - Peterborough Key (with Hattie Hayridge, Joe and the Penny Dreadfuls) - link
Saturday 7 March - Newcastle Journal Tyne (with Marcus, Pippa and Joe) - link

More information at the website.

Hi there -

As well as my YouTube channel, I'm also going to put videos up on www.musicalcomedy.co.uk, alongside videos by Earl Okin and Jonni Music. My profile is here - do please view, rate and comment on my videos, if that's the sort of thing you do.

Hello there -

Totally Looped is an American show pioneered by director Vince Waldron. The idea is: a bunch of comedians and improvisers redub old film clips live on stage. In America, they've had terrifyingly good people doing it. Dan Castellaneta being one.

Check out some clips of the US version!



And now, it's coming to the UK. Production maven Erica Fee has assembled a top-notch crew of comedians, including Phill Jupitus, Marcus Brigstocke, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Hattie Hayridge, Toby Hadoke, Pippa Evans, The Penny Dreadfuls (yay!), Natalie Haverstock, and me.

Blimey.

I'm thrilled, panicky, thrilled, and thrilled to be involved. A little nauseous.

The tour starts in glittering Epsom. EPSOM! It's practically a homecoming show for me! It then wends a leisurely path around the UK. I won't be in every show, so I'll let you know nearer the time which ones I'll be at, but if you're near any of the theatres below, do book up... it will be a great show, guaranteed!

There's also a Facebook group to join for updates!

2 February - Epsom Playhouse
5 February - Basingstoke Haymarket
6 February - Guildford Yvonne Arnaud
12 February - Bracknell South Hill Park
12 February - Brighton Theatre Royal
13 February - Southend Palace
14 February - Wycombe Swan
18 February - Bedford Corn Exchange
19 February - Reading Hexagon
20 February - Cheltenham Town Hall
21 February - Crawley Hawth
22 February - Peterborough Key
24 February - Worthing Pavilion
25 February - Buxton Opera House
26 February - The Lowry, Salford Quays
27 February - Wolverhampton Grand
1 March - Tunbridge Wells Assembly
4 March - Wakefield Theatre Royal
5 March - Portsmouth Southsea King's
7 March - Newcastle Journal Tyne
12 March - Victoria Hall, Stoke
15 March - Harlow Playhouse

Hello there -

As you'll have noticed if you've looked at the live list (on the right of this page), I'm writing the songs for a pantomime in Surbiton. I've been in this panto since I was a kid and about four years ago I started writing the songs and being the Musical Director.

This year it's very very loosely based on CS Lewis's Narnia books, and it's called "None O' Yer Messing About", to cunningly avoid being sued.

If you're in the Surbiton area, do come along! It's on the 28th to the 31st of January, with a matinee on Saturday 31st, at the Cornerhouse just off the Tolworth Broadway in Douglas Road. It will feature something north of four new songs by me. BOOK EARLY! It sells out every year, particularly Saturday nights. Booking information can be found here.

If you aren't in the Surbiton area, I'm going to post the songs on YouTube for your enjoyment. At the moment, the first and last songs are up there, so why not go check them out?


And immediately following the panto, there is Totally Looped, which I will post more about tomorrow.

Merry 2009 to one and all! I am hoping this year brings nothing but the repulsion of all mice from my flat. They are pesky. Quite happy for them to live, but somewhere else, please.

I'm currently sprucing up my YouTube channel with some actual, like, videos. Might take a while as I'm not good at editing video - especially not on this very old computer - but there'll be some stuff to see there soon.

As a taster, here's a performance of "Getting It On" at "The Wateracre Gambit" at the Etcetera Theatre. It was my first warm-up date of material for "Polite Club", so a little scratchy around the edges, but perfectly serviceable.



Information about TOTALLY LOOPED coming soon!

Labels: video