Vultures Festive Bloopers

This is a bit of festive fun from Vultures, the bloopers and gratuitous corpsing from our very first episode The Kris Kringle Konundrum, which went online December 24th 2007. Enjoy and happy Christmas!

Tenterhooks

Just a wee note about a one act play I've got coming up next week. It's called Tenterhooks and it's being produced by a new theatre group What's On Tom out in Thomastown.

It's playing as part of a series of short plays entitled 7 Deadly Scenes, and I'm delighted to be part of the line up.

The play itself is my first one act so it was a bit of an experiment for me and everthing that came after has been a bonus. And with a great director and a really top cast I've had very little to do. Which makes a welcome change at the moment, as I'm up to my balls in Dario Fo at the moment.

I'v described the play as 'a black comedy set in a variety of accident and suicide blackspots' and I think that pretty much sums it up. It's a two hander with Jack O'Leary and Lynsey Moran making up the cast and direction being handled by Andrew O'Leary.

As far as I know, tickets are nearly sold out but there still might be a few floating around. Ticket enquiries can be made to whatsontom@gmail.com and the show runs from November 26th - 28th.

Accidental Death Of An Anarchist Revs Up

Time has flown like a motherfucker and I've barely had time to catch my breath and get together a few words about Devious Theatre's upcoming Accidental Death Of An Anarchist. The first play in our upcoming Dario Fo Season.

It's been a tremendously exciting process so far and I still haven't got over the giddy excitement of the fact that I'm directing a Dario Fo play and generally getting to immerse myself in the world and work of the great man for 6 months. Well, 4 months now because once we close up shop on this one, I'll be directing the next production in the Dario Fo Season, Can't Pay? Won't Pay!

Ahhhh, too much excitement, too little time to write coherently.

Anyway, I'll be blogging about the show from this Monday on Devioustheatre.com so I'll be able to give a bit more insight into how the production is running. So do keep an eye out for that. And it won't be just me, all our cast and crew will be giving their own insights into the play and we'll have a fine selection of bits and pieces to show off.

The show itself hits the Set Theatre, John Street Kilkenny from December 2nd - 6th.

All information on the production can be found over on Devioustheatre.com

These two wonderful Saul Bass tinted posters are again, the work of Mr. Paddy Dunne.

Love And A Bit With A Dog

According to Geoffrey Rush's character in Shakespeare In Love, that's all that's needed for any play to work.

The new show from Devious Theatre kicks off tonight in Cleere's Theatre, Kilkenny.

It's Shakespeare In Bits, a Bard related sketch show performed by the wonderfully talented trio of Stephen Colfer, John Doran and Eddie Murphy.

We first performed a different version of this show during the Shakespeare In The House festival back in June. This time though, it's bigger and funnier and messier! And more expensive!

But it's all for a good cause. The show runs for 3 nights as part of the Rockfall Festival, now in its 21st year, which raises funds for the O'Neill Centre in Kilkenny. Tickets are 8Euro and all proceeds go to Enable Ireland and the O'Neill Centre. There's also going to be a matinee show on Sunday 25th at 4pm for the slightly cheaper price of 5Euro so chalk that one down as an option as well.

If it's irreverent sketch comedy with a Shakespearean bent that you're looking for, then you'll get it down in Cleere's Theatre this bank holiday weekend. Adding to the good news, Cleere's now have a loyalty card as well. Should be plenty of competition at the bar for stamps. Add the Savour Kilkenny food festival into proceedings and it's going to be a tasty weekend.

And there probably will be love... and a bit with a dog.

The Long Goodbye

With a teary eye, the final episode of Vultures has just gone online.

'The Long Goodbye' is the concluding part of our comic detective serial and follows on from the events of 'Attack Of The Pinkertons'

The episode is synopsised as thus:

'With Isabelle Vultour captured and the Pinkertons establishing their firm grip on the town, the gentlemen detectives of V.P.I. must concoct a plan to get Isabelle back, stick it to the Pinkertons and for Vultour and McGrain... avoid a threesome with Natalie Blaise? But in order to do so they must rally the troops. And the actions of the bullying Pinkertons has ensure that there's plenty of volunteers. This is it. The final battle. The detective apocalypse. Who will reign supreme? Who will prove to the best detective force in town? Or will it all descend into a terrible mess? This is the long goodbye, where the goodbyes are long and the farewells are hard.'



Thanks so much to all the cast and crew who worked on Vultures over the past 2 years, without you we wouldn't have a low budget webcom!

Also, a big thanks to the people who have watched it and have supported the show since we first shot and screened that first episode in Christmas week back in December 2007. We're glad to have reached the end of the road with it, it's been a hell of a journey and this is a rather fitting goodbye. A long one.

Meet The Terrific Three...

The trailer for the final episode of Vultures 'The Long Goodbye' has just gone online.

Set in the glory days of 1998, when the summer holidays were spent laughing, running, solving and knacker drinking, we're introduced to the teenage Dan McGrain, Jim Vultour and Natalie Blaise, all before things went very, very bad.

But for a while, these teen detectives were the best of friends and could do no wrong. And here they are, in all their Blyton-esque glory.



Thanks to the immensely talented gents that are David Sheenan, Neil Quigley and Peter Lawlor for producing that 70's tastic title track. And also thanks to David Galster, James Doran and Hazel Doyle for such good flashback acting.

'The Long Goodbye' goes online this Sunday October 4th over at www.VulturesPI.com

Running, Laughing, Solving...

Here's our Vultures flashback picture that was first glimpsed at the end of 'Attack Of The Pinkertons'.

It shows our happy, smiling, group of teen detectives before things went very wrong.

L-R: Isabelle Vultour, Jim Vultour, Natalie Blaise (with Marlowe), Dan McGrain.

You'll see more from these Enid Blyton inspired scamps when the trailer for Vultures Episode 7 'The Long Goodbye' goes online this Sunday, September 27th.

The Pinkertons Have Attacked!

The penultimate episode of Vultures 'Attack Of The Pinkertons' has just gone online. And here it is!

This is the first of our two part finale that will conclude with 'The Long Goodbye' on October 4th.

We had the screening for cast and crew on Saturday night and it was lovely to bring the series to a close with everyone who worked on it. People who we are enternally indebted to. The sheer exhaustion of finishing has been helped by the nice feeling of accomplishment in completing the series and telling the story we wanted to tell. It was a tough, long haul and we learnt many lessons, and indeed probably would do it completely differently but it was worth it. Which is really all that counts.

If you believe in the Pinkertons then you've probably seen their campaign popping up around the place and their website has been spruced up too. Here's some photos from the campaign as taken by Ross Costigan, who has provided fine acting, photography and directing throughout the project. Enjoy!

Oh, and keep an eye out for the Episode 7 teaser trailer which will go online this Sunda

I Believe In The Pinkertons

Bastards.

Vultures 6 & 7 Title Cards

We've just got our hands on the title cards for the upcoming Vultures finale. As is usually the case, Paddy Dunne has done another sterling job in representing the episodes in a fine display of design and fancy lettering.

Our idea for the Attack Of The Pinkertons title card was to go a little Manga on the look. And of course, pink. Which is quite befitting of the storyline in which the Pinkertons finally open shop and start their campaign to take over our little unnamed town. Our remit for this episode was to load up on the action and of course, we're suckers for Manga so we thought it'd be a nice look for what's shaping up to be our most violently cartoonish episode.

The title card for The Long Goodbye is a little more noirish and does a good job of evoking the sense that this is the final hooray for Vultures. We went a little 40's noir on this as the episode itself has plenty of smoky bars, subterfuge, femme fatales and indeed, goodbyes.

Attack Of The Pinkertons goes online on Sunday September 20th.
The Long Goodbye will follow 2 weeks later when it brings all matters to an end on Sunday October 4th.

I'll be posting a few bits and pieces here in the run up but as usuall, all things Vultures can be found over on www.VulturesPI.com

The Pinkertons Are Coming...

We've just launched the trailer for the penultimate episode of Vultures 'Attack Of The Pinkertons'.

We've kept up the idea of using the trailers to bridge the gaps (and there have been long, long gaps) between episodes. But this one is kinda short and sweet. Which after the last few talk heavy trailers is a nice change. Although the Dragnet thing is very overdone at this stage, it was something we really wanted to indulge ourselves with. So here it is!



'Attack Of The Pinkertons' is just abouts finished and we're still beavering away on its sister episode 'The Long Goodbye' which will be taking a bow 2 weeks later on October 4th. And that'll be us done. But instead of me going on about it, here's the synopsis from the website:

"Entitled Attack Of The Pinkertons, the episode sees the newly unemployed gentlemen detectives of V.P.I. reacting badly to the Pinkertons opening for business. Unemployed and underground (well, in Tennyson’s house), Vultour and McGrain are intent on eluding the clutches of their old friend Natalie Blaise. Tennyson however is looking for a peaceable resolution, no doubt with a strong mug of scald and a chat involved. However, Natalie Blaise doesn’t seem to be open to dialogue. The Pinkertons are making their presence felt. And people are getting hurt. Can V.P.I. regroup and fight back? Will Natalie Blaise emerge from the shadows to explain herself in a long winded villainous fashion? Or is she merely just misunderstood? And what will Tennyson do to fill in the unemployed hours?

All these questions and more will be answered when the action packed denouement of the Vultures series goes online on the 20th of September.

All will be finally resolved two weeks later when our final instalment The Long Goodbye brings the series to a close on October 4th."

This episode is probably the one we're least complainy about. The first couple of episodes have suffered from all pratfalls associated with doing something as a part time project but with the last 3 episodes we've had a chance to refine it and get closer to what we want to achieve.

We'll be ramping up the promo campaign for the two final Vultures episodes in the coming weeks. Ideally, we'd have Pinkertons attacking people on the street but we're not too sure what the legalities of that just yet.

Von Bizmark 'London'

Over at Mycrofilms, we've just produced the first video for Kilkenny rockers Von Bizmark. It's for their 'London' single which is currently sale in Tower Records and Heartbeat City outlets around the country.



This was my first time getting to cut my teeth on a music video. I learnt a lot of lessons. For example, it's hard to get those women in silver hotpants to show up for any old video. And always keep the camera with you on sunny days. Always.

Without the hotpants and car washing scene, we just had to settle for the boys in Von Bizmark rocking out. Another fine editing job from Mr. Alan Slattery. And thanks to the Von Bizmark lads for working up a real sweat.

Meet Quint Quigley

Quint Quigley (Kevin Mooney)

The profile for the fugitive stoner from 'The Adventure Of The Hidden Microfilm' has just gone online over at that very page.

Quigley was one of our favourite characters on page. We'd never had anything as exciting as a fugitive to work with and we wanted to flesh him out into something different than what we'd done before. So, yeah, stoner comedy and fart jokes. Voila, there he is. And we liked the idea that a fugitive who initiates a chase episode would in fact be completely brain fried and slow.

Our grand plan was for Quint to be the resident tech nut for V.P.I. Kinda like their equivalent of Q in the James Bond series. Hence, the name. Q central. But we never really got around to loading Quigley up with all the cool homemade implements that we wanted him to design. And he never did get to give V.P.I. cool gadgets to fight the Pinkertons with. But we did manage to get him across as a stoned and paranoid conspiracy theorist. So at least that base was covered. And thanks to Kevin Mooney for keeping that moustache for 3 months. Legend.

Quigley will be making his return in the forthcoming 'Attack Of The Pinkertons'. There'll be more announcements on that tres soon. In blog form! In the meantime, enjoying getting to know Quint a little bit better.

Thanks to Ross Costigan for another lovely profile capture in our ever expanding micro universe.

Meet The Hardy Lads

Shane and Nicky Hardy (Peter O'Connor and Geoff Warner Clayton)

A character profile for these two young scamps just went online over on the Vultures website.

Introduced in Episode 5 'The Adventure Of The Hidden Microfilm', the Hardy's are two young scamps caught keying cars by Janine. Janine evidently saw something in them as she's recruited them to help her out with her own detective business, The Janine Drew Agency. You can find out more about these thick yet enthusiastic teens here. And you can watch The Janine Drew Agency in action here.

The boys are obviously based on teen detectives The Hardy Boys, much in the same way that Janine is partly based on Nancy Drew. We thought a modern Irish, slightly stupid and chav friendly version of the characters might be a nice twist. Spot the difference:

And yeah, there's a bit of Scooby Doo in there as well. It's a good look though.

There'll be a lot more from this lot in the upcoming Vultures 'Attack Of The Pinkertons'.

Remember Me In 1983

Remember Me In 1983 is a new exhibition of nostalgic artwork by Kilkenny man Mick Minogue and it opens this coming Thursday night in the Coach Road Studios, Coach Road, Kilkenny. This is a lovely space where Mick has exhibited in the past but not to the degree that he will this week.

The exhibition is based around old tv series and cartoons from the 1980's and Mick has created some beautiful, bittersweet and tragic pieces of art from these much beloved staples of our 1980's childhoods (Check out Death Of Superted... it'd bring a tear to an oul shtone). He has been working on this series of paintings for the past year and on the eve of the Kilkenny Arts Festival he's showing it off. His excellent gig poster for The Lion's Mane last year was another great taster of what this work is. Also keep an eye on the lovely teaser poster campaign he has running around town where you can snatch glimpses of Mick's take on He Man and Ghostbusters.

What I'm reeaally excited about is the Saturday morning opening Mick is hosting this coming weekend. Complete with breakfast cereals, old cartoons and pyjamas, it's going to be some serious childhood regression for any of us kids of the 80's. I can't wait for 1983. I missed it the first time.

The revolution will not be televised...

Once Upon A Time In The Glorious Revolution is a short western set in the bloody days of late 17th century Ireland. It was written and directed by Sean Clancy, a director who seems to be able to do anything and everything. Even make the tea. And a fine brew it was.

I got to spend some wet and wild, midge infested days in County Leitrim. And if any county in Ireland lends itself to a western, it's Leitrim. Mountains, lakes and valleys up the jacksie. I was a lucky man to play a part in it, along with my old Vultures mucker Pete McGann. And there's nothing a lad likes better than running around fields and mountains firing guns and jumping in ditches.

The final version is being cut and readied by Sean at the moment. But in the meantime I got my paws on a couple of stills:

The Janine Drew Agency

We've started the promotional push for the upcoming sixth installment of Vultures 'Attack Of The Pinkertons'.

And the first thing we've launched is a website and promo advert for everyone's favourite teen chav detective, Janine Drew. Janine has decided to branch out and using all the smarts and business acumen she's attained during her Transition Year run, she's set up her own business. It's an after school detectve project entitled The Janine Drew Agency. And she's even got her own website www.JanineDrewAgency.com



She's joined by Shane and Nicky Hardy, two wayward young dopes who she's coralled into helping her. These lads have fliers and everything. It's pretty obvious who these three teen detectives are based on but hey, half the fun is in the inspiration.

Of course with three rival detective agencies operating in the land of Vultures, there's no doubt that all tensions will come to a head in Episode 6. The Janine Drew Agency are also relevant to another little subplot we've got going so do keep tuned to see where it all leads.

On the website you'll find Janine's promo videos and find her blog. Which should no doubt be a source of constant flashing fonts and sparkling icons.

'Attack Of The Pinkertons' is coming soon, real soon... Watch your backs.

Church On Time: Stags and Hens Closes

The Devious Theatre Company wrapped Stags and Hens on Saturday night with a heavy, Red Bull accelerated heart. It was without a doubt my favourite production to work on so far in the three years of Devious Theatre. From an actors perspective, I never had as much fun working on a text. Probably because it was the first time I hadn't written, adapted, rewritten or polished something. The cringe factor was out the window on this one. And it was great to take a well written and finely tuned piece of writing and apply the acting process to it. And also to bring something as colourful, fun and relevant as Stags and Hens to a Kilkenny audience was a real joy.

The cast were extremely tight knit and close in a way that none of our casts had been before. I don't mean physically close although with that final scene in the hallway there's definitely a case to by made. But the chemistry was great and it really helped the final product.

Anyway, it's all done and dusted now and put to bed. We got some great feedback, great audiences and wonderful support from a lot of people. Ken has documented all of this in a blog he's just written over on the website, which can be viewed right here.

With all bases covered, I want to say a personal thanks to an amazing cast of actors, a fantastic committed crew and a very special thanks to a wonderfully supportive and talented director in Kevin Mooney.



So until the next Devious Theatre production, tarar. And hey, we're not done for 2009. Not by a long shot. Oh no. It is my dream to play a judge...

Dinner Party

Stephen Colfer and John Doran, who I'm currently working with on Devious Theatre's Stags and Hens have just gone and released a lovely little short under the joint umbrella of Meaningless Movies and Slackless Films.

It's called Dinner Party, and here it is:

The Big Day Approaches...

I've just posted a new blog about our final preparations leading into our upcoming production of Stags and Hens. You can find it here over on DeviousTheatre.com

I'll post something a little bit more detailed leading into next week. Right now, everything is busy, busy, busy and it's very exciting. By the by, the play runs in The Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny from July 21st - 25th. But don't read about it here, everything you'd need to know and more is over on the website.

Stags and Hens Trailer

This is the trailer for our upcoming production of Stags and Hens by Willy Russell. Cut to the strains of David Bowie's classic 'Modern Love' it depicts the titular stags and hens engaging with the bathroom mirrors of the same nightclub they inhabit. And as you'll see they engage with them in completely different ways.

We shot this trailer on the 21st June and it was one of the most fun shoots I've ever been part of. We had a blast getting into our costumes and just letting fly in front of the camera. From concept to blocking, we at Devious Theatre developed the entire trailer along the way getting the assistance of Alan Slattery of Mycrofilms in Kilkenny, who shot and edited the trailer under the direction of Kevin Mooney, the man at the helm of the production. We've wanted to shoot a trailer for a Devious Theatre production for years and this was our first shot at it. Considering the buzz it's after generating and the feedback we've all been receiving, it's something we'll definitely try out again.

Tickets for the show are on sale and available by calling in person to the Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny or by phoning 056-7761674. For group bookings (six and over), please contact ourselves at The Devious Theatre Company by clicking here.

Stags and Hens: The Cast

The Blood Brothers Featuring Peter Taylor (Eddie Murphy)

The Roadie (Paul Young)

Bernie and Eddy (Ciara Donegan and Ken McGuire)

Robbie and Billy (Myself and Stephen Colfer)

Linda (Roisin O'Reilly)

Dave (John Doran)

Carol and Maureen (Lynsey Moran and Mairead Kiernan)

Kav and Frances (Geoff Warner Clayton and Maria Murray)

The character intros in full can be viewed on www.devioustheatre.com. All these lovely promo images were designed by Paddy Dunne. Stags and Hens starts next week in The Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny. It runs from July 21st -25th.

70's Nite - A Devious Theatre Fundraiser

We're having a fun packed night of 70'stastic tunes, fancy dress and dancing down in Cleere's, Kilkenny this coming Saturday night July 11th. And it's all in aid of the Devious Theatre.

We usually throw a yearly fundraiser in order to keep a theatre above our heads but last year was the first time we missed out (probably because we were too damn busy) but this year it's back.

And because of the upcoming Stags and Hens, we've gone for a slightly 70's vibe on this one and eschewed the live acts to concentrate on tunes, tunes and more tunes. T-Rex, Queen, Bowie, The Undertones, Kool and The Gang, Jackson 5, Roxy Music and Kate Bush are amongst the acts we'll be spinning. There's prizes for fancy dress and plenty of grub and booze to keep going. Oh, and a discoball. It's free on the door so come along if you're in Kilkenny this Saturday night.

The Word On The Street

That spiky haired scamp Jack Street has just updated his blog.
He's got a lot of thoughts about local elections, Romanians and his arch enemy Hamish Lane.
And of course, a dead cat.

You can check out the musings of a filthy, snitchy informant over at his website JackStreetHasPanache.com

Pinkertons: Now Open In Leitrim

The villainous Pinkertons of our ongoing webcom Vultures have recently updated their website. And it turns out they've set up a new branch. In Leitrim of all places. The swanky scumbags.

Over in the land of Vultures, the Pinkertons mob are upping the stakes as anyone who has watched 'The Adventure Of The Hidden Microfilm' might have seen. They've got the ominous Hooded Man and Eye Patch Man being joined by a very dapper Brick Man. With Episode 6 being titled 'Attack Of The Pinkertons', it's safe to say that things are going to escalate to a crazy degree. And we still haven't got around to their leader Natalie Blaise.

In the lead up to Episode 6, there's going to be a lot more activity over on the Pinkertons website so keep an eye on it. Just don't be tempted to join the fuckers.

Shakespeare Is Only In Bits

As part of this weekends Shakespeare In The House festival which is taking place in Rothe House, Kilkenny, us folks at Devious Theatre are performing a 45 minute slot entitled Shakespeare In Bits.

With Stags and Hens being full tilt ahead, it wasn't possible for us to stage a full on Shakespeare production so we decided to do something to complement the fine work that will no doubt be done by the good thespians of Dreamstuff Youth Theatre.

The production is made up of various Shakespeare related sketches (Shakespeare's editor and a 16th centruy version of the Bale rant with William Shakespeare walking in front of the 'cantelbras'), some Shakespeare based works (The Reduced Shakespeare Company, Rosencrantz and Guidenstern Are Dead), some devised Shakespeare pieces, some monologues and a whole lot of nice little bridging devices between. It's going to be a crash course in Shakespeare for the ADD generation.

With a troupe of 7 actors (all well versed in the playing of Shakespeare), this should be a fast paced mish mash of a mixed bag of Shakespeare related hi-jinks. Apart from myself, the actors involved are Scott Barriscale, Stephen Colfer, John Doran, Ken McGuire, Kevin Mooney and Niamh Moroney.

The festival takes place all over the weekend and there's plenty going on throughout the rather splendid setting of Rothe House for two days. And it's all entirely free! So do pop along. Bring rotten vegetables if needs be. Just save them for the kids.

We're on at 3pm on Saturday and 2pm on Sunday.

Stags and Hens Poster

The 70's tastic main poster for our upcoming production of Willy Russell's Stags and Hens has gone online over at DeviousTheatre.com

Expertly designed by Mr. Paddy Dunne, it features the titular stag and hen parties of the play in their own little toilet cubicle settings. Which aptly enough is where they spend most of the play anyway! It's got a lovely, and slightly tacky, 1970's disco feel which is exactly where the play is coming from. The promotion campaign is currently revving up for July 21st when the play will take to the stage of the Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny until July 25th.

Paddy has written a blog talking us through the poster and it can be read in all it's glory over here.

The rehearsals are coming along great and there's also some pretty nifty rehearsal photos over on the site as taken by Messrs McGuire and Galster.

The Adventure Of The Hidden Microfilm is online!

The newest installment of Vultures has gone online as of last night.



This is the fifth episode of Vultures and I'm probably the most satisfied (as in least complainy) with this one. The general consensus coming from the cast and crew screening was 'the best one since Episode 2' which made me very happy indeed. Episode 2 has always been our best episode I think and it was nice to recapture the fast paced comic feel with this one. NOTE: If audiences prefer the ones with dead hookers and frantic fugitive escapades more than the ones about bin bags and blind dates, it's a good indicator that audiences like things to be exciting!

Personally, my favourite aspect of 'The Adventure Of The Hidden Microfilm' is getting to see the depth of cast. The supporting characters are really effective in it and every actor has done fine work to create such distinctive characters. From my own perspective, playing one of the detectives, I think we've succeeded in freshening up the dynamic between V.P.I. and their relationship with each other. It got a little stale in episodes 3 & 4 I felt, but we seem to be back on track heading into the final strait.

So, do enjoy the fruits of our tired, low budget sitcom making efforts. This week I'm back to chopping the footage down for Episode 6, which will go online in August. If, for some reason, you have Vultures related needs, the only place for them is over at www.VulturesPI.com. We'll have some real nice little bits and bobs in the coming weeks.

Episode 5 Is Ready To Roll

After a lot of editing on really hot days with little air conditioning in the room, Vultures 'The Adventure Of The Hidden Microfilm' is just about ready for its bow this Sunday on www.VulturesPI.com

This is a glimpse at the title card for the episode, as designed by Paddy Dunne. Suitably 70's paranoia thriller, it gives a nice taste of the kind of vibe we're going for on this one. This is our North By Northwest / The French Connection aping episode. Hopefully keeping the adventure to the forefront along with the comedy. I'll quietly say it's the best one we've done so far but don't take my word for it.

Here's the newly Youtubised version of the Episode 5 trailer. Please do take a gander when it goes online Sunday.

Meet Jane Tennyson

The character profile for Jane Tennyson has just gone online over on the Episode 4 page.

Played by Annette O'Shea, Jane is the slightly potty mouthed and somewhat aggressive Bangarda twin sister of Niall Tennyson, played by Sean Hackett.

Jane was another one of those characters that we had come up with very early on, but like Janine, we never got to put her into an episode until 'The Case Of The Poisoned Dates'. In that episode we only just about got her established, and even at that I've a feeling that she was established to be something she might not be. But we do get ample time to spend with her in the upcoming 'The Adventure Of The Hidden Microfilm' where you'll get a chance to see the character take a bigger part in proceedings.

In terms of the roots of this character, over on the Development page myself and Paddy have wrote another one of those needlessly over referential essays about characters that we do so like to write. This one is 'The Making Of A Modern Law Lady'. And you'll find out much more about the character and generally, why she exists.

As you can see, police dramas were a big part of our research. Especially TJ Hooker.

Stags and Hens

At the weekend we launched the 2009 programme for The Devious Theatre Company with a wee session and meet and greet in The Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny. Kevin Mooney made the announcement that our main production for this year would be a production of Willy Russell's STAGS AND HENS, which he will be taking the directing reins on.

This is one that I'm really amped up about doing. The play is just an actor's playground and Kev has put together a really diverse ensemble cast of which I am delighted to be part of.

The play is a very sharp comedy about the social mores of a bunch of working class Liverpudlians in 1978. It all takes place in the ladies and gents bathrooms of a dingy nightclub where both the stag and hen parties of the same wedding have ended up. And from there, things take some very funny, dark and emotional twists and turns along the way. It's a fantastically well written play, definitely the best we've worked on so far. Over the years it has been marred a little by successions of dodgy student productions which tend to play up the booze and debauchery instead of the story and character but we're intent on keeping the story to the fore. And it's a damn good story.

Rehearsals started this week. Lots of acting rust to shake off. And the Liverpool accent is a bastard. I sound like one of the Chuckle Brothers at the moment.

All updates on Stags and Hens are going to be hitting the Devious Theatre website as we have 'em.

Also at the launch we announced our involvement in Shakespeare In The House and nicely asked people for funding by launching our 'Friends Of' program.

More of which can be found over on the website. I'll write further about Shakespeare In The House as our programme comes together for it.