David Kerby-Kendall

Dearest Readers,

Bless you for your patience while there was a distinct lack of blog entries. This was due to a distinct lack of blog entries.

Other minor reasons were the extraordinary amount of deadlines I had to hit in a very short period. The good thing was that these were all hit. Some of them rebounded and had to be hit again, but that’s producers for you.

So, I have now finished advising Paul Rayfield on the script of his new musical, ‘Playback’. He now has a witty and tight script to go with a great concept and some terrific songs. Paul is now looking for a producer for a decent-sized fringe venue so, if anyone knows somebody who may be interested. please let me know and I’ll pass on the details.

I have also finished writing two framing devices for Heartbreak, for ‘Private LIves’ and ‘The Railway Children’; to of the three outdoor national tours they are taking out this year ( the other being, ‘Much Ado About Nothing’). If you can, do get to see them. Their productions are top notch; strong casts, innovative, creative, yet retaining traditional values; in effect, an idyllic British summer’s evening – unless it’s peeing down, of course. But, as we know, it NEVER rains in the summer….. and I’ve won three Oscars and the moon’s made of Stilton.

I’ve also finished my third independent play. ‘Gay Pride and No Prejudice’ is based on an adaptation I did for Heartbreak of Austen’s fabulous ( if you’re female ) novel. (If you’re male, it’s just lots of women sitting on chairs discussing which chairs they’re going to sit on next). I’ve been converted, however, and love the thinly veiled sarcy remarks and bitchy and clever relationships between the characters. I’ve heightened the humour but kept that lovely 19th century concept of ‘it’s what ISN’T said that’s important’. The BIG difference, of course, is that Darcy and Bingley’s relationship becomes much closer than in the novel. This is, like the rest of the storylines, understated to begin with but, once vocalised, becomes a reality that has to be faced in an era when there were more things swept under the rug than placed on top of it. I’m arranging a rehearsed reading to promote the play and get interest from producers and backers in the next few weeks. More info when we have a definite date.

And we’re now into pre-production on my first short film. It’s called ‘Pub Games’ and is about date rape ( not exactly a comedy, as you will have guessed ), but has a couple of unexpected twists at the end. Looking forward to this as I’m going to be in it, playing the nice guy who turns nasty.

Speaking of nice guys, I’m going to be playing Jesus in a one-off performance in Arundel of a wonderful play called ‘Father and Son: Son and Father’. It’s a series of conversations between God and Jesus from Him being thirty to thirty-three and the resurrection. Terrific snippets of dialogue, such as:

God : What did you do today?
Jesus : Went for a walk by the lake.
God : Where exactly?
Jesus : By the lake.
God : Exactly?
Jesus : OK, ACROSS the lake!

It’s taking place on Sunday 1st April and will be the third time I’ve played Jesus. I’ve also played Judas and the Devil, so that pretty much balances things out! Either that or makes me a bibilcal schizophrenic.

Anyway, I’m off. I have sleep to catch up on and rugby to watch, and my old Leicester accent to revisit. Why it only comes back when I watch sport, I’ve no idea.

Take much care of yourselves, and a big ‘almost’ welcome to Spring – the time of year when anything is achievable.

David.

A jolly spiffing new year to everyone. Hope your festive season was, indeed, festive and that Santa was kind. And, of course, that your new year was enjoyable and, at least, partially, memorable.

I spent a lovely day with my brother and nephew, had some wonderful food ( my bro cooks like a god ), played some games and practiced my ‘yes, I really wanted a new egg whisk’ face instead of my usual honest ‘what the fuck is this this?’ face.

I also broke my first new year resolution by making a list of resolutions. I think they’re good. They give you an incentive ( to fail, usually, and subsequently to become depressed about failing, and consequently to give up for the rest of the year ), and a goal and start the year in a generally positive fashion. I can honestly say that up to today ( January 14th ), I haven’t broken any of them. I have actually started any of them either.

One of my resolutions was to do less. Um, yes, that hasn’t exactly panned out. So far, the ‘to do’ list has the following : Finish advising on the script of a new musical, finish the final edit of my third play, write two framing devices for Heartbreak Prods national tours, revisit the pilot episode of a 6 part TV series for Heartbreak, market my second play after its successful run at Jermyn St Theatre, film ‘Pub Games, my first short screenplay, and start writing my novel again. Apart from that, I’ve got bog all to do.

The musical, ‘Playback’, is a hugely entertaining piece. Great songs and all based around a TV chat show with absent fathers, Essex stereotypes, DNA tests, altered identitites and general mayhem and good, British sarcasm, bitchiness and fun. Paul Rayfield, the writer, has done some sterling work, but its the first thing he’s written, so I’ve come in to give him a hand with the script. We finish this coming week and then the new version will be able to be marketed to potential investors and venues. Watch this space!

My third play is in its final edit and I’m already talking to possible producers. I’m very lucky as its getting a lot of attention. Its called ‘Gay Pride and No Prejudice’ and is an adaptation of Austen’s wonderful novel, but, as you’ve probably guessed by the ever-so-unsubtle title, a major twist. I’ve kept it in Austen’s prose ( as I did for Heartbreak last year ), and have stuck pretty religiously to the storyline. The things that have changed are that I’ve heightened the humour raised the level of bitchiness and cynicism and, of course, explored the ‘friendship’ between Darcy and Bingley in far more detail. By ‘explore’, I mean taken to a whole new level, but still in that terribly restrained Austen style. We’re going to be doing a reading soon to generate interest and see where we go from there. As I mentioned, the initial interest is fantastic.

My film, ‘Pub Games’ is to be shot in February, and concerns date rape, but with some interesting twists. The sort of twists that leave you not knowing whether to laugh, gasp or hide behind a cushion. ( I always go for the cushion, myself. The same when I watch a horror movie or the X Factor. Oh, hang on, no difference ). I’m also going to be in it – as the nice guy who turns rapist – and I’ve been lucjky enough to obtain the services of Jonathan Sendall, who’s going to direct. I’ll post it on the website when it’s edited.

However, I am also going to find some ‘me’ time. I think sometiimes we forget to do this, and its SO essential. We’re not here ( by ‘here’, I mean ‘on earth’, rather than my bedroom, where I’m typing this ) just to work. You can’t discover new things about yourself and the world and generally broaden your outlook, if your head is permanently stuck in a work tunnel. I watched a programme on Discovery the other day, presented by Terry Jones, about the ordinary Egyptian working man, and they’d actually found a piece of stone that a worker had written on during his lunchbreak, and it said’ “Toil for only as long as you have to, and play and relax and live as hard as you can for the rest of the time”. Boy was he right.

Take much care and have a peaceful and happy January.

David.

You know when there’s still three months until the end of the year and you make a list of everything you intend to complete in that time; and it looks so easy because there’s still three months left……….and then suddenly it’s December and you’ve only done four of the twenty-eight things on the list, and you think ‘fuck, what happened? Where did that time go? Surely it’s still October?’ And it’s not and you realise you’ve got to do one and a half things every day until New Year which means you actually need each day to contain at least 56 hours and that it’s simply NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. And then you berate yourself for not achieving your goals. And you feel like a total failure and the most useless buffoon in the world because, yet again, you’ve failed spectacularly to even come close to finishing the list.
STOP!!!!!!!!!!!
Stop making buggery lists and giving yourselves a ridiculously small amount of time to complete them. Nine hundred things in three and a half hours. Note to self, ‘rewrite Geneva Convention by 5 o’clock’. NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
I mean ,sure, write lists, but only so you can remember what you need to do; I know, personally, I could barely remember my name unless I wrote it down once a month. But don’t make a deadline date to finish it. It just makes you feel worthless and, let’s face it, the only person judging you is YOU.
And please come to this conclusion sooner than the twenty years it’s taken me to come to it.
In my defence ( oh, here come the excuses ), I have had a few health problems. Very painful abscesses over very painful verrucas. Operation to remove said abscesses and verrucas by nuking them ( I believe the medical term is ‘laser ablation’ but I like ‘nuking’ better ), leaving six gigantic holes in my feet which are bleeding like its going out of fashion and almost unbearable to walk on. Oh, and a bout of manful. Thank God for Tramadol. It takes away enough of the pain to make it almost bearable; the only side effect being that it makes you forget minor things like where you live and who the Prime Minister is.
All this leading, as you will have already deduced, to me saying that, on the artistic front, I’ve been about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike. As everyone in the profession seems to delight in saying ‘this is the quiet time of the year’. All the pantos have been cast ( instead of being bundled up and dropped in the ocean – just a personal opinion ) and no one is looking for new material. On the plus side, though, I’ve finished about two-thirds of the new play, am currently putting the final touches to the short film we’ll be making in early Feb and am working with a new writer called Paul Rayfield who has written a terrific musical called ‘Playback’ ( a sort of satirical Jeremy Kyle show, but with a tad of humanity thrown in ). The songs are great and, as he has never written a script before, I am working with him as his script advisor.
I now also have a DVD completed of ‘The Moon is Halfway to Heaven’, with graphics and credits and professional shenanigans like that. Obviously, I had nothing to do with it, meaning that it actually looks pretty good. It’s just for promotional purposes as we need to try and raise some interest in either a small tour or a slightly larger London venue. The comments about the play, both from members of the public and industry professionals, were SO nice that I am determined this will not be its only airing on stage.
Anyway, a ‘news dearth’ you might say. Enough now till the New Year when I shall be writing a new blog on a regular basis ( more regular than the ‘once every eight weeks when I find my list’ ), so watch this space as there may be some exciting things happening. No, really, exciting.
Have a wonderful and peaceful Christmas and, most importantly, in these times of austerity, may Santa bring you hundreds of presents.
See you in the January for resolutions and lists. Sorry, not lists. They’re the devil’s work. Bad lists.
Love and peace,
David.

And so ‘The Moon is Halfway to Heaven’ has finished it’s four-week run at Jermyn Street Theatre.

Massive thanks to Sally and Michael at Sally Humphreys Productions for making a fabulous job of producing, to Joe Fredericks for his terrific direction, to Jason, Paul and Theo, our brilliant creative team, Ben Stevens, our superb stage manager, Adam Stone, who was an excellent ASM/Understudy/Asst Director and last, but by absolutely no means least, the brilliant Lucas Hare with whom it was a total pleasure to act with every night.

I had a ball. I was returning to acting after a long stretch away and wondered whether I was actually up to playing a character who ages 83 years in an hour and a half and also, whether I’d enjoy going on stage again. It transpires, from the very lovely comments of the audience and industry pros, that I managed the first point and, as far as the second goes, I LOVED it! I remembered the lines (not necessarily in the right order or, indeed, from the right play ) and even threw in some acting occasionally. I realised how much I’d missed the thrill of live theatre. Even just sitting in my dressing room, caking on enough eye-liner to cater for a burlesque troupe, that strange mixture of comfort, anticipation, nerves and excitement washed over me like waves on a lifeboat. Scary, but you know you’re not going to sink.

My thanks to all my friends and family who supported me and to my flatmates who heard the lines so often, they could probably have appeared in the play themselves.

It’s funny how writing and acting in something that receives a certain amount of critical acclaim galvanises you into knowing what you really want to do with your life. It made me realise that I didn’t want to reach the age of ninety and say ‘I wish I’d done that’. It remiinds me of that oft-used saying, almost cliched now, of ‘there is nothing to fear but fear itself’. We are so afraid to fail that sometimes we never try.

So, up next is some more writing for Heartbreak Productions ( nothing decided yet ), advising a new writer called Paul Rayfield on the script of his new musical called Playback ( a fab parody of the likes of the Jeremy Kyle show ), a secret venture which I shall reveal shortly and which is getting a lot of attention, and hopefully some acting jobs. I said a sad farewell to my Edward, my agent for some time, and a happy hello to Peter, my new agent, two weeks ago (details on the ‘Contacts’ page).

Congrats to my erstwhile acting buddy, Lucas Hare, on his going straight from ‘Moon’ into ‘Death and the Maiden’ at the Comedy Theatre.

And to finish, I’m reminded of a quote from a well-known TV director who I did a class with recently. Myself and the actress I was shooting with were a little dubious as to whether we were confident enough to shoot the scene. The director turned to us and said ‘sometimes in acting as in life, you have to stand on the edge and fly’.

Time to fly.

Take much care,
David

And so, after months of tearing my hair out, opening my own valium-processing plant and generally running around llike a kid whose Scalextric set won’t work, I’ve finally got a play on in a West End studio theatre.
‘The Moon is Halfway to Heaven’ opened at Jermyn Street Theatre on 6th September and runs through until 1st October.
It’s been extraordinary fun, mixed with the obvious stress of acting in as well as writing a play.
Sally Humphreys and Michael Throne, who are producing, have done a wonderful job ( the posters are some of the nicest I’ve ever seen – and that’s without a hint of bias) – and Joe Fredericks has done a terrific job of directing, especially as the rehearsal period was only two weeks. Lucas Hare is simply wonderful to act with and has the role of Jamie down to a ‘T’.
We’ve had some truly lovely feedback from the audiences and even the reviewers have been generally positive in their critiques. My favourite, and I had to read this three times before it sunk in, is from the British Theatre Guide and says ‘This play sits comfortably alongside ‘Blood Brothers’, ‘Waiting for Godot’ and ‘Blue Remembered Hills’. I was so chuffed I nearly bought a round at the pub.
If anyone fancies seeing the play, there’s a Whatsonstage special offer of £10 per ticket at the moment and, importantly, it comes down at 9.20, leaviing time for a ginger beer or seven afterwards. Not a good idea for me, though, as I tend to fall over after two. It’s rather embarrassing when your eighteen year old niece can drink you under the table! Tickets are available at www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk or 020 7287 2875 and more info can be found on www.moonhalfway.com.
‘Pride and Prejudice’, that I adapted for Heartbreak Productions, has just finished its three month national tour, playing to very large audiences and getting some great crits. Fabulous cast and great directing. I could only get to see it once, but they were all simply terrific. Very proud.
That’s all for the time being. More shortly when I’m not so busy with acting and other creative shenanigans. I’m not complaining though; it’s lovely to be back on stage.
Take good care of yourselves and enjoy this final shard of summer sunshine.
David x

Its been an ice-age since my last entry ( No, Matron! ) and, to both my readers, my humblest apologies, and I hope they’ve been letting you out into the prison yard more often.

Things have been a tad hectic; nay, VERY hectic. The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane has been dark for the get-in of ‘Shrek’ but, now the show has opened, we’re back to doing the tours of the theatre and I can once again be seen strutting around the place in a wig, frockcoat and tights. After which I get changed and do the tour. We’re very busy at the moment so, what with this and follow-spotting at Phantom of the Opera, I’m pretty busy earning money as well as trying to be creative. (When I say ‘follow-spotting’, I really mean ‘spotting’. I have trouble remembering the ‘follow’ bit. My mind is usually off on its own, ruminating on ideas for a new play or trying to remember whether or not I took the fish out of the freezer).

On the ‘artistic’ side, a friend of mine suggested I do a reading of my second play, ‘The Moon is Halfway to Heaven’ or ‘Moon’ as its affectionately ( or otherwise ) known. This we did, with the help of my friends, Case Eames and Ben Stevens, who co-produced and stage managed respectively. Also, the lovely people at Jermyn Street Theatre who allowed me to do the reading there and the wonderful managers at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane who gave me the rehearsal space. Its amazing when your only costs are a couple of bottles of champers and enough Fererro Rocher to feed a small African country.

The wonderful Lucas Hare played  Jamie and I took on the role of Paul, the quiet one; much to the hilarity and urine-extraction of several friends. It all went extremely well, and the upshot is that Sally Humphreys Productions have taken on the play and it opens at Jermyn Street Theatre week commencing 5th September 2011 for a four-week run. Its amazing news; simply awesome, he says, reverting to being a sixteen year-old again! To put the icing on the cake, the producers want the same cast as the reading so I get to act in it too. I’m just going to take a valium and lie down for a year.

Before I forget, huge congrats to my God-daughter, Leila Mimmack, who’s playing the juve lead in , er, something at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, which I’m going to see later this month and will then let you know the title, by which time it will be too late to see it. She’s got great reviews, and thoroughly deserved too.

And, on a final note, I played tennis a couple of weeks ago for the first time in nine years. Thirty-two operations during this time have stopped me from being able to play and, at one point, I was told I may never play sport again, but I lasted two hours, occasionally got the ball over the net, and sometimes into the same group of courts as the one we were playing on. I lost 6-2, 6-2 to my brother who, in my defence, is an ex-county champion. Sometimes life deals you something so simple, so ordinary, and yet so personally uplifting, that you wonder why you ever let things get you down.

Anyway, I now have to leave you and don a wig, tights and a frockcoat – but what I do in my local Sainsbury’s is my own business.

Oh, nearly forgot. ‘Pride and Prejudice’, which I adapted earlier this year, is now into final rehearsals and opens in Leamington Spa on 22nd June, prior to a national tour. I went to a rehearsal the other day and its looking terrific. Great cast and director. I’ve given it the ‘Downton’ treatment and made it quite contemporary and bitchy. Do get to see it if you can. Details of the tour are at www.heartbreakproductions.co.uk

‘Choose life’! As a certain rather excellent film, quoted.

Take care,

David.

I always say that spring begins on March 1^st; St David’s Day. My saint’s day. My mum wanted me to become a priest when I was little. (Obviously, she didn’t expect me to become a priest when I was a child, she just hoped that I would become one when I grew up!). Honestly, supposed to be a writer and can’t even explain myself properly. Still very excited about this year; the prospect of warmer weather, a time of ambitions to be fulfilled, picnics to attend, tans, sitting outside cafes, and love. Just the anticipation of it makes you feel like you can do anything. The world is, indeed, your aphrodisiac shellfish.

So, I’m currently sitting at home, having torn muscles in my back. My GP has prescribed valium to stop the muscles spasming. The pain is quite nasty but the valium more than makes up for it. Couldn’t tell you my name at the moment, but the world’s a very happy place!

Heaps of congratulations to my God-daughter, Leila Mimmack who, in the space of two weeks, got herself roles in Holby City and A view from a bridge, as well as currently starring in Becoming Human. Stonking stuff.

‘The Moon is Halfway to Heaven’ is still receiving enormous interest but, as yet, no funding. Unsurprising to an extent, I suppose, in the current financial climate, but a tad annoying nonetheless. I had two letters from well-known producers this week saying ‘this is a great play but is not something we’re looking for at the moment’. TELL ME WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR AND I’LL WRITE THE BUGGERY THING!!!

‘Pride and Prejudice’ is now completed and with the producers and director ready to start rehearsing in May. Though I say it myself ( and, let’s face it, I would ), it’s well worth getting to see if you can. Marie McCarthy is directing ( Marie directed ‘The Secret Garden’ that I adapted last year and made a fabulous job of it ) and Heartbreak’s casts are always excellent. Details of dates and venues can be found on www.heartbreakproductions.co.uk.

I’m now onto the fifth chapter of my novel ( working title, ‘The Last Taboo’ ). Can’t say what it’s about as yet but am having enormous fun with it and thoroughly enjoying writing it. Its rather topical is all I’ll say at the  moment.

Anyway, I must end this entry. I’ve just taken another valium as the pain has intensified and, when it kicks in, I’ll probably start writing in Swahili.

Take care and enjoy the beginning of spring.

David.

Ok, its been a while since the last blog. Unfortunately, December and January’s entries were wiped by a mysterious virus called the ‘I haven’t even got time to eat, sleep, breath, finish this buggery script, buy Christmas presents, why aren’t there more hours in the day’ virus. You know the one; it always happens when you’re so busy, you can’t remember your own name. The upside, however, is that with this brank spanking new website design – another filip for my friend, Anthony Pearson, who designs my sites and excels at this technical stuff that terrifies the Calvin Kleins off me, and to whom I am extraordinarily grateful – I can put blogs on whenever I like! I won’t , of course,  but the thought was there.

Christmas was wonderful. Two days off with my brother and nephew and niece in Devon. Slightly dodgy journey down from London. Even the M4 was icy, and my little convertible Golf was doing an impression of Torville and Dean on acid. On Christmas Eve I left out a glass of sherry for Father Christmas and a carrot for the reindeer. The glass was still full in the morning; it was bound to be – nobody else in the house believes in him and I don’t like sherry.

New Year was a tad of a non-event. I was working in the evening and all day New Year’s day so was confined to a couple of bottles of ‘Crabbies’. Its a bit embarrassing going into a pub and asking the barman if he has crabbies. If he says ‘yes’ I feel obliged to hand over a tube of cream and tell him to apply it twice a day. If you didnt know, Crabbies is alcoholic ginger beer and is one of the two links between my childhood and adulthood. ‘The Famous Five do Alcohol’. The other thing that links the two is the fact that I haven’t left my childhood yet.

Professionally, things have somewhat hit a mire. ‘The Moon is Halfway to Heaven’ is no longer scheduled for a four week run at Jermyn Street Theatre in June. The producer was unable to raise the budget after five months and we have now parted company. Unfortunately, I was left with only three weeks to find a backer and/or producer before contracts were due to be signed; and, despite running around like the proverbial blue-bottomed fly, I was unable to do so. However, Gene David Kirk, the artistic director at Jermyn Street, has very kindly offered me dates later on this year should I be able to raise the finance. Its disappointing, of course, to lose the dates but I’m not starving in a remote African village so things have to be put in perspective.

On a plus note, I have just finished the second draft of a stage adaptation of ‘Pride and Prejudice’. The production will be going on a three month national tour in the summer. (For dates and venues see info@heartbreakproductions.co.uk). I’ve done a ‘Downton’ on it and made it quite acidic, sarcastic and, I hope, witty.

Also, the performed reading of my first play, ‘Save Your Kisses For Me’, at the Tristan Bates Theatre, was a great success. It was my first attempt at directing and my thanks go to my marvellous team. The cast of Louise Voce, Sophie Danino, Tim McFarland and Keaton Makki; John Tucker, simply the best vocal coach; and my excellent stage manager, Ben Stevens, and Mike Smith on sound. Its given me renewed confidence in the play and I’m now determined to get it back on stage in a full-scale production.

I have a great feeling about 2011; not just for me but for everyone. (Mind you, I had this feeling last year and bugger all happened!). There is a mood of positivity and of a more collective human contentment. Maybe I’m just imagining the glass totally full. I hope not.

Take much care,

David.

So, wasn’t ‘Downton’ just fantastic.  Maggie Smith should be hailed as a national treasure “What’s a weekend?” Love it!

Quick one this month – so to speak. Stuff is happening ( I love the word ‘stuff’. It sounds as though you’ve got a vocabulary that’s so large that you can use the word ironically – whereas in fact you only use it because you don’t HAVE a vocabulary ). Unfortunately not all of it good stuff, though.

Struggling for backing for ‘The Moon is Halfway to Heaven’, my second play, due to open at Jermyn Street Theatre next May. The producer’s backers aren’t playing ball. In fact they’re not even playing Tiddlywinks. Obviously I don’t want to lose the chance of doing it at such a great venue but, so far, only an eighth of the budget has been raised and decisions have to be made within the next couple of weeks. I would start selling my body on the streets…but what can you do with £3.50?

On a plus note, the performed reading of my first play ‘Save Your Kisses For Me’ is taking place at the Tristan Bates Theatre in the Actors Centre in London on Thursday 2nd December at 2.30pm.. Please e mail me at davidkerbykendall@hotmail.com if you would like to come. Its free, and we have a great cast in place: Tim McFarland as Alex, Keaton Makki as Sam, Louise Voce as Julie and Sophie Danino as Karen, with me directing.

Continuing to work on the adaptation of  Pride and Prejudice for Heartbreak Prods. At the beginning I’d have rather stuck pins in my eyes but I’m starting to enjoy it now.

As I promised, short and sweet….well, short anyway. If anyone knows anybody with some money who wants to put it in to a play that’s a sure-fire hit (or, indeed, my play), please let me know!!

As the regular readers of this column ( both of you ) will be aware, there was no blog in September. This was due to a multitude of different things. Inertia, lethargy and failing memory may all play a tiny part but the main reason was that September was stupidly busy.

For a start I hit a certain landmark birthday. One with a zero on the end…..and unfortunately it wasn’t thirty. And so new words and phrases begin to insert themselves into my vocabulary, such as:

‘No, I’m too tired, I think I’ll just go home’.
‘I wake up to Radio 4 now, I just love the Today programme’.
‘The trouble with the young….’

And, of course, the perennial favourite

‘When I listened to the charts we had REAL songs in it’.

I spent my ‘not thirtieth’ birthday in a bar on a ship on the Thames ( not on my own, I hasten to add, I’d hired some people from www.makemelookpopular.com! ) and later at the Comedy Store for ‘Whose line is it anyway’ night. Had a great day. Many laughs ( mostly at my drunken dyslexia ) and, considering I normally fall over after two pints, the fact that I had about fourteen double vodka and oranges and still managed to make sense until I was about to leave and decided to make the customary ‘friendship is more important than anything’ speech whilst propping up the bar, a wall and my head, is pretty good going, I think.

The following weekend I treated myself to my first venture abroad for NINE years and flew to New York. One of my best friends lives out there and we had a simply awesome time doing all the touristy things. The 102nd floor of the Empire State at night was breathtaking. The fact that I can’t climb a stepladder without getting vertigo was a little off-putting, but, after I spent the first five minutes clinging to the inner wall of the outside walkway saying ‘Oh f*ck, oh f*ck, oh f*ck, I then got used to it and could join the throngs of the seven year-olds who didn’t give a sod how high it was. Radio City was also amazing; an architectural orgasm of Art Deco, and Grand Central and the museums and Central Park were equally wonderful. I loved the place. Before I went a friend said to me “it’ll be everything you expected, and more”. They were right.

Throw in a few outings to see Dara O’Briain, Reginald D Hunter, Dylan Moran and Eddie Izzard and you’ve got a pretty busy month. However I wasn’t just gallivanting around like…. a big gallivanter on St Gallivant’s Day. My second play, ‘The Moon is Halfway to Heaven’ is now pencilled to open at Jermyn Street Theatre on 30th May 2011 (just the small deal of contracts to be signed). I have also completed the pilot episode of a six-part comedy/drama series for Heartbreak Prods, entitled ‘The Tour’. There is also a possibility that the new version of my first play ‘Save Your Kisses For Me’ may be staged at a London fringe theatre in the spring of next year ( more when I know ), and finally, I shall be directing two play-readings of ‘Kisses’ at the Tristan Bates Theatre in the Actors’ Centre in Covent Garden on 2nd December.

Until November ( hopefully ), take much care.