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Hello, and welcome to what was meant to be the late
August NL, and instead has turned out to be the early
September one... This NL is going to go out in two
halves, as I want to address two things at some
length. I’ll be talking about Crazy Dog Audio
Theatre’s six-part series of radio plays in this one,
and giving a brief overview of Octocon in the next, as
well as various other things. Crazy Dog first,
though. Six free radio plays, to watch and listen to.
How do you watch a radio play? Read on...
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I’m a huge fan of Crazy Dog Audio Theatre, and the
work of its founder, Roger Gregg. To begin with,
you’re asking yourself ‘Who are Crazy Dog Audio
Theatre?’, aren’t you? Like much of the rest of this
bit, I’m going to quote directly from RTÉ’s press
release on the subject:
"Crazy Dog Audio Theatre have won several awards for
their work including the Gold Mark Time Award (on 6
July 2002) presented annually by the American Society
for Audio Science Fiction to honour the 'Best Audio
Science Fiction Production'. Their winning entry was
the episode; "Who's Afraid of Rotwang Krell?" from
Crazy Dog's Big Big Space! comedy series for RTÉ Radio
1. They also won the Silver Mark Time Award in 1999
for "Time out for Bill Lizard" and the Gold Mark Time
Award in 2000 for their "Tread Softly Bill Lizard"
series both of which were also first broadcast and
produced by Tim Lehane for RTÉ Radio 1"
On the subject of Roger himself, they tell us that:
"Originally from the United States, playwright,
musician, audio producer and voice artist, Roger
Gregg, has been living and working in Ireland for the
past 23 years. He became an Irish citizen in 1986.
He has written plays for companies such as Graffiti
Theatre Company, TEAM, the Dublin Youth Theatre and
the Gaiety School of Acting. In 1999 he founded Crazy
Dog Audio Theatre Company to produce original audio
theatre designed to fully exploit the imaginative
potential of the medium." The most important thing, though, is this:
"Following the success of their award winning Big Big
Space! series of 2001, Crazy Dog Audio Theatre is back
with Crazy Dog Live running for six Saturday mornings
at 11.02 AM beginning on Saturday 14 September. In
six separate adventures, produced by RTÉ Radio’s
Eithne Hand and directed by Roger Gregg, Crazy Dog
Audio Theatre will be presenting their unique style of
radio comedy each designed to fully exploit the
imaginative power of the medium with live music and
sound effects. Each of the plays will also feature
celebrity guests in the cast. These performances are
live to air and require a studio audience in the radio
centre, RTÉ. To take part in these adventures,
listeners can book tickets by ringing 01 208 2728 or
by emailing (giving name and postal address) to
crazydoglive@rte.ie. Seating is limited so hurry!" If you’ve been to these performances before, then you
know you have to be there. If not, you’re are
genuinely in for a treat. These shows get the full
100% Irish Sf News approval rating, the Zaphod
Beeblebrox ‘Three Thumbs Up’ seal of approval. Not
only that, but I can tell you that the special guests
at the recordings include Frank Kelly, from Father
Ted, Mary McEvoy, late of Glenroe, and Phil Proctor,
one of the voice-over actors on Rugrats, amongst
others. And all for free!! Write off for those
tickets now!!!
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Starting from Tuesday the 10th of September, there
will be a regular gaming night in the Exchequer Bar in
Exchequer Street every Tuesday, which is directly
opposite SubCity’s fine comic shop, here in Dublin.
This is going to be more than just role-playing games
and card games, I’m given to understand. I’m hoping
to bring along a Scrabble board one of the nights, as
I’ve been promising to give Richie Lawlor, the manager of SubCity, a game for some time now. It all takes place in the back bar from 7PM. So, if you’ve got a
game you’d like to play, bring it along, and chances
are you’ll find a few takers. For more information
ring SubCity on 01-677-1902
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This Tuesday, the 3rd of September, the SciFiClub is
holding one of its reasonably regular and highly
popular table quizzes. This time around, Frank Darcy,
the club’s current organiser, is setting the
questions. I’m particularly looking forward to it, as
this will be the first time in a long time that I’m
not involved in the running of the quiz, so can
finally actually take part. Rivalry is keen, though
(generally) friendly... There are bound to be prizes
galore, as well as the usual raffle. The quiz takes
place, as do all the SciFiClub meetings, in the
upstairs lounge of Bowe’s Pub in Fleet Street, Dublin
2. The meeting, in the finest of political
traditions, starts at 8PM sharp.
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I’ve noticed, the last few times I was in there, that
Hodges-Figgis’ wonderful bookshop in Dawson Street in
Dublin is having a major shop refit. H-F is actually
now part of the Dillons group, who own Waterstone’s.
Despite the Dublin branch of Waterstone’s being
directly opposite H-F on Dawson Street, it is still
the most profitable shop in the company. I ran into
Walter Pohli, the managing director of H-F, and he told me the refit is costing two million euro, and they’re hoping to have it finished in a few weeks
time, just before the start of the academic year. H-F
also has probably the best selection of SF and genre
literature outside of Forbidden Planet, and is well
worth a visit.
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- I want to send best wishes to Jo Fletcher, the editorial director for Victor Gollancz, and wish her a speedy recuperation from her recent surgery. Jo had recurrent problems with her neck due to injuries sustained in a car crash, and finally went for reconstructive surgery in July. She tells me she’s taking her time before going back to work. You can’t hurry stuff like this…
- I’ve been promised a copy of ‘Sons of Shiva', which is a CD from poet Sex W Johnston and ex-Stranglers
frontman Hugh Cornwell, which I’m looking forward to
immensely. Sex, under his more prosaic alter-ego of
John W Sexton, is a guest at Octocon this year, and
seems like an all round good guy, on the few occasions
I’ve met him. I’ve not met Hugh, and am afraid my
usually world-weary demeanour would be completely
ruined by my plaintive bleatings at being in the
presence of a member of one of my all time favourite
bands. I’m not entirely sure why I’m mentioning this,
except for the fact that I’m thrilled to be getting
stuff for free…
More about SWJ/JWS at http://www.disturbtheearth.com
- I see Robert Rankin’s latest book, ‘The Hollow
Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse’ has a dedication
page that reads ‘This book is dedicated to the memory
of JonJo.’
John Joseph O’Dowd was a good friend, and
worked for me for a while in the Flying Pig Bookshop.
He died on Tuesday the 4th of December 2001 of cancer
of the bowel. It’s fair to say that JonJo made an
impression on most people who met him, as Robert’s
dedication shows. I have a wonderful photograph of
him dressed as The Emperor of Europe, during street
theatre in the Balkans. I miss him still.
The second half of this NL should follow within the
next few days, when I hope to have news of a sponsor
for my monthly quizlet, along with much else...
Pádraig Ó Méalóid
Irish SF News
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