Frank Skinner: Man in a Suit...

I've always liked Frank Skinner. His quick-witted, easy-going blokiness was always something I always felt comfortable with. He liked football, women, seemed non-threatening, had a great line in smut and innuendo, and always seemed pretty self-deprecating and self-aware. What's not to like? 

So when the Missus bought me tickets to see his new live show, Man in a Suit, I was pretty excited. This was the first time he'd toured in seven years so my expectation level was pretty high. 

And Skinner's 90-minute set was perfectly good. It covered stories about his relationship with his girlfriend, stories from his days of 'playing the field', and musings on various other topics, including the trial of Max Clifford and even a few lines on the current state of British comedy. 

And, much as I constantly laughed and there were plenty of good lines included, it just didn't feel like a complete piece. It felt like lots of little 10-minute routines pieced together, a sort of comedy memoir with some topical bits thrown in. 

Skinner the performer was excellent and it's impossible not to warm to him because he is funny, engaging and very skilled. But the material didn't feel as good as the man doing it and whole package wasn't quite as good as I was hoping.

Maybe my expectations were too high, or maybe telly fame has slightly dulled his edge when it comes to polishing his stand-up material. Who knows? The truth probably lies somewhere in-between...

Write One...

I've been running a group for local scriptwriters in my new home town of Guildford for about 14 months now, and we had our second staged reading of two 50-minute scripts from the group a few weeks ago.

The idea of the group is that it's a chance for local scriptwriters to sit down and discuss and critique each other's work in an informal setting. Then, if we get a script we really like, we cast it and give it a rehearsed reading in front of an audience to give it a test-run.

It's a great process for writers to sit in rehearsals and see how their words on the page become a living and moving thing, and it's even better when it then becomes an event with an audience as the writers can hear what works, see what needs trimming and get all other sorts of feedback on their work.

It's a good and talented bunch of people in the group and it's helping me up my game on the writing front, too, because I get feedback on stuff I've written and I get ideas of where a thing can go next.

We're doing decent work already here. And together we'll all do even better work.

John & Jen: Part I...

Just in case you didn’t know… I'm back involved with a new theatre company in Guildford, namely Guildford Fringe Theatre Company. I'm onboard as an associate producer and director and we've got some very cool stuff coming up this year.

Our first show is the musical, John & Jen, which is on at the Star Inn at the bottom of Guildford High Street. It starts Thursday 8 May and runs until Saturday 17 May 2014.

It's a cracking show and there’s additional information below if you fancy an evening out:

John & Jen, the acclaimed and moving American musical, will be Guildford Fringe Theatre Company’s first show of 2014.

John & Jen is a two-hander set in the USA and follows the funny, tender and moving relationship between a brother and a sister, and a mother and a son.

Written by Andrew Lippa and Tom Greenwald, the show opened Off-Broadway in 1995 to rave reviews, and this staging, from 7-17 May at The Back Room of The Star Inn, will offer a rare chance to see this little-performed modern classic.

And, in something of a coup for local drama, two acclaimed actors are joining Guildford Fringe Theatre Company to take on the title roles.


John is being played by Martin Neely, whose previous work has included Les Miserables (West End) and Mary Poppins (UK Tour), while Jessica Sherman, whose previous work includes Lend Me A Tenor (Vienna) and Batman Live (World Arena Tour), will play the role of Jen.

The show runs from 7-17 May 2014 at The Back Room of The Star Inn, Quarry Street, Guildford, GU1 3TY. Tickets are available by phone on 0844 8700 887 or from the Tourist Information Centre, High Street Guildford.

So, if you’re kicking your heels and you fancy a night out, give us a try.