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Discworld Con 2010.
Sep. 1st, 2010 04:42 pmUm. Er. where to start.
( Read more... )
So, a glorious, fun, silly convention. I missed a lot of program items - Werewolf, How to Draw Dragons, Elf History just being some of them. Mostly due to this thing called 'The Bar'. Only bad point? Really fecking awful bar service during the day, especially serving early dinner, where they appeared to hide and I got one of the few competent bar staff on saturday. felt rather guilty about this.
( Read more... )
So, a glorious, fun, silly convention. I missed a lot of program items - Werewolf, How to Draw Dragons, Elf History just being some of them. Mostly due to this thing called 'The Bar'. Only bad point? Really fecking awful bar service during the day, especially serving early dinner, where they appeared to hide and I got one of the few competent bar staff on saturday. felt rather guilty about this.
aka Progress Theatre company, the local lot who do Shakespeare in the Abbey Ruins. (this always sells out. They're *good*.) This was the surprise my brother had been promising me as birthday treat.
Fucking hysterical. Wee bit of disconnect of book->stripped down stage, but Stephen Briggs adapted well so v. little was missed out, costumes were simple but awesome, slightly irritating use of Clannad's Second Nature as the between-scenes music, and the tiny theatre was full of Pratchett fans (you could tell because at the end of the play, where it went black after Moist and Adora Belle Dearheart theoretically walk off into the sunset, no-one started clapping because they all knew there was the Reacher Gilt scene to come). Effects - special mention to the glowing eyes they rigged for the golems and the omni-whatsit viewer.
Most of the cast were awesome (sadly, Reacher Gilt not so brilliant) - as usual, there are our fave regulars like Trevor the stage manager/director/whatever he's doing this production who always has a minor role that's a couple of lines but kills the audience every time, Moist was great, Dan playing the Patrician was channelling pure and undiluted Stephen Briggs, Assistant Junior Postman brilliant, the boy playing Stanley was sheer genius, Igor hammed it up something chronic and Adora was good. (more on her later). As ever, these people do the best bloody physical comedy and comic timing I've ever seen as a company. Even the ones who aren't brilliant actors can slay you with their timing.
My only problem? It's the first time I've seen someone playing a character based on someone I know. ABD =![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
random_c for those who don't read this journal regularly. Actress was good, don't get me wrong, I just kept having this little voice going 'arrrgh, voice! gestures! AND WHY IS SHE NOT WEARING BLACK OR A CORSET?' ....I have no idea how people who know, say, Tony Blair IRL cope with seeing Michael Sheen playing him.
Fucking hysterical. Wee bit of disconnect of book->stripped down stage, but Stephen Briggs adapted well so v. little was missed out, costumes were simple but awesome, slightly irritating use of Clannad's Second Nature as the between-scenes music, and the tiny theatre was full of Pratchett fans (you could tell because at the end of the play, where it went black after Moist and Adora Belle Dearheart theoretically walk off into the sunset, no-one started clapping because they all knew there was the Reacher Gilt scene to come). Effects - special mention to the glowing eyes they rigged for the golems and the omni-whatsit viewer.
Most of the cast were awesome (sadly, Reacher Gilt not so brilliant) - as usual, there are our fave regulars like Trevor the stage manager/director/whatever he's doing this production who always has a minor role that's a couple of lines but kills the audience every time, Moist was great, Dan playing the Patrician was channelling pure and undiluted Stephen Briggs, Assistant Junior Postman brilliant, the boy playing Stanley was sheer genius, Igor hammed it up something chronic and Adora was good. (more on her later). As ever, these people do the best bloody physical comedy and comic timing I've ever seen as a company. Even the ones who aren't brilliant actors can slay you with their timing.
My only problem? It's the first time I've seen someone playing a character based on someone I know. ABD =
random_c for those who don't read this journal regularly. Actress was good, don't get me wrong, I just kept having this little voice going 'arrrgh, voice! gestures! AND WHY IS SHE NOT WEARING BLACK OR A CORSET?' ....I have no idea how people who know, say, Tony Blair IRL cope with seeing Michael Sheen playing him.Because the parrot is awesome.
Dec. 4th, 2009 12:58 pmAlso, you can get £10 tickets...
Went to the National Theatre yesterday to see Nation with parents and Rai, who picked up spare ticket (my brother is possibly the worst diary keeper I know - he managed to double book Eddie Izzard on the same date). Rai has not read Nation. Rai was sniffling and laughing her head off and going 'oooo' throughout.
It's brilliant. The set design alone is just.... We didn't know how they'd manage the shipwreck scenes, or the swimming, but considering everyone was spell-bound and going 'gahhhhh' whenever the blood hit the water, I'd say it was successful. (points for doing the ship with just a rope for the rail) They cut a lot, but you have to when it's book vs. staged/filmed (the only books I know that had to be expanded for the stage/film were Fight Club and Christmas Carol because they're so short). Seamless, though, and the stuff about science and gods so on was not preachy or boring, thank you critics.
Mao and Daphne are wonderfully cast - Mao's frustration with all the islanders wanting to attribute things to the gods and cling to the past, and Daphne's terribly well-bred victorian teenager that morphs into practical but horrified at what she's doing are great. They did turn up the romance a bit between Mao and Daphne, but it works as kids-just-discovering-hormones. Especially when Daphne looks utterly scandalised when the islanders tease them about it.
Islanders varied a bit between slightly iffy crowd scenes and really good individual ones. The sailors and Cox? Brilliant. Cox is, admittedly only okay until he gets to the Raiders. At which point it's a case of 'you are deeply, deeply scary'.
Milton the Parrot is a complete fucking scene stealer - does it all through body language and smug sarcastic bastardness - had audience in stitches. Grandma is also a veteran scene stealer. Points to Daphne's father when he turns up.
V. confused by some of the critics complaining that the islanders were wearing cliched grass skirts and printed woven mats. Er. What the hell else do you expect them to wear? In several places they still wear the things, especially on formal occasions. Sometimes over jeans.
I deny sniffling something chronic at the end.
Went to the National Theatre yesterday to see Nation with parents and Rai, who picked up spare ticket (my brother is possibly the worst diary keeper I know - he managed to double book Eddie Izzard on the same date). Rai has not read Nation. Rai was sniffling and laughing her head off and going 'oooo' throughout.
It's brilliant. The set design alone is just.... We didn't know how they'd manage the shipwreck scenes, or the swimming, but considering everyone was spell-bound and going 'gahhhhh' whenever the blood hit the water, I'd say it was successful. (points for doing the ship with just a rope for the rail) They cut a lot, but you have to when it's book vs. staged/filmed (the only books I know that had to be expanded for the stage/film were Fight Club and Christmas Carol because they're so short). Seamless, though, and the stuff about science and gods so on was not preachy or boring, thank you critics.
Mao and Daphne are wonderfully cast - Mao's frustration with all the islanders wanting to attribute things to the gods and cling to the past, and Daphne's terribly well-bred victorian teenager that morphs into practical but horrified at what she's doing are great. They did turn up the romance a bit between Mao and Daphne, but it works as kids-just-discovering-hormones. Especially when Daphne looks utterly scandalised when the islanders tease them about it.
Islanders varied a bit between slightly iffy crowd scenes and really good individual ones. The sailors and Cox? Brilliant. Cox is, admittedly only okay until he gets to the Raiders. At which point it's a case of 'you are deeply, deeply scary'.
Milton the Parrot is a complete fucking scene stealer - does it all through body language and smug sarcastic bastardness - had audience in stitches. Grandma is also a veteran scene stealer. Points to Daphne's father when he turns up.
V. confused by some of the critics complaining that the islanders were wearing cliched grass skirts and printed woven mats. Er. What the hell else do you expect them to wear? In several places they still wear the things, especially on formal occasions. Sometimes over jeans.
I deny sniffling something chronic at the end.
Research Tiem. (you can't make me!)
Oct. 5th, 2009 01:34 pm:sigh: nano approacheth. Cannot yet decide which one to do of the Upstairs-Downstairs, Psycho girl, and Girl in the army. Really to do more research to see which one's the most viable at this point, since research sparks plot bunnies and also tells you what you can and can't do.
Upstairs-Downstairs, I need to check out 1920s, valet stuff and also how big houses of the time operated. I don't need too much on this since theoretically the main focus is on the couple, but background stuff and any details (eg, this tech wasn't used). So far bits to tweak in the plot are how wet the valet character is.
Psycho Girl and Girl in army - I need to re-read the Rifles and Peninsula War books I have access to, possibly re-watch a bit of Sharpe and re-read Monstrous Regiment. Which I've started but there are shiny new things. What I also want to find is stuff on women in the military, but the main problem I've come up against is that most of the material I've found is on the American Civil War (understandably because it's more recent and better documented). Not helpful, since it's a good couple of generations later and on another continent. Not to mention there will be plenty of wives and/or girlfriends floating around camp. Sir Terry has said it exists. He's read it. Where the hell does one find it? Any recs? Bits to tweak : Psycho Girl needs to be more off-kilter. Girl in army : more banter, less overt romance. And need to figure out precisely what the timespan is - I think I want her to join up at 17/18, but the question is also how old people think she would be when dressed as a boy.
Problem facing this : I'm behind on my tv (3 eps of Big Bang Theory, Merlin + Secrets and Magic, and catching up on Warehouse 13 and FlashForward. also there is SGU evaluation to be done. And new Jane Austen on the BBC. Not even thinking about Glee, Better off Ted and Burn Notice at this point - I think that'll have to wait until post nano at this rate) Unseen Academicals arrived and I've got two chapters in so far.
Upstairs-Downstairs, I need to check out 1920s, valet stuff and also how big houses of the time operated. I don't need too much on this since theoretically the main focus is on the couple, but background stuff and any details (eg, this tech wasn't used). So far bits to tweak in the plot are how wet the valet character is.
Psycho Girl and Girl in army - I need to re-read the Rifles and Peninsula War books I have access to, possibly re-watch a bit of Sharpe and re-read Monstrous Regiment. Which I've started but there are shiny new things. What I also want to find is stuff on women in the military, but the main problem I've come up against is that most of the material I've found is on the American Civil War (understandably because it's more recent and better documented). Not helpful, since it's a good couple of generations later and on another continent. Not to mention there will be plenty of wives and/or girlfriends floating around camp. Sir Terry has said it exists. He's read it. Where the hell does one find it? Any recs? Bits to tweak : Psycho Girl needs to be more off-kilter. Girl in army : more banter, less overt romance. And need to figure out precisely what the timespan is - I think I want her to join up at 17/18, but the question is also how old people think she would be when dressed as a boy.
Problem facing this : I'm behind on my tv (3 eps of Big Bang Theory, Merlin + Secrets and Magic, and catching up on Warehouse 13 and FlashForward. also there is SGU evaluation to be done. And new Jane Austen on the BBC. Not even thinking about Glee, Better off Ted and Burn Notice at this point - I think that'll have to wait until post nano at this rate) Unseen Academicals arrived and I've got two chapters in so far.
Sir Terry - we're so not worthy
Jan. 13th, 2009 11:09 pmFinally read nation (nano happened, then the rest of my family did, and then my brother somehow managed to pack it in with the rest of his stuff on Boxing Day, so I finally read it today.)
Wow. Just... wow. so much thinking. Lots of anger. the world. Everyone. Humans. And when you put it down, after the epilogue, you sit there and go '...Wow. That was just so awesome.'
Sir Terry, I'm just going to sit here and go wow.
Wow. Just... wow. so much thinking. Lots of anger. the world. Everyone. Humans. And when you put it down, after the epilogue, you sit there and go '...Wow. That was just so awesome.'
Sir Terry, I'm just going to sit here and go wow.
