I was recently a guest on Radio 4's Saturday Review again. Among the items was the jukebox musical Soul Sister. I agreed with the other panelists that it was a competent but disappointingly bland retelling of one of the juiciest stories in R&B and R&R history. Of course, in true Saturday Review style, we all disagreed on just WHY it was so disappointing. That's why they invite us on, I guess. I was the only one to stand up for Ian MacEwan's novel Sweet Tooth, which was my most enjoyable read of the year so far.
I had an odd but fun job recently, standing in for a Famous American Actor at the read-through for a prestigious ITV prime-time series. I'm always being told that I'm breaking a confidentiality clause by mentioning names, so you'll have to trust me here. The script was terrific and the cast was first-rate but otherwise my lips are sealed.
Had a hilarious audition the other day for the role of Harry S Truman in a European film. I don't look much like the former President, but I can do his voice perfectly and have a pair of specs of the sort he was famous for. When I entered the audition room, it was full of actors of a certain age, all of whom looked vaguely like Harry S Truman. An unusual experience. Will keep you posted.
Popped in to see The Comedy Store Players the other week. After several decades, they're still in top form. Amazing work. And they're still packing them in. I used to belong to an Impro group that included Comedy Store Players Lee Simpson and Phelim McDermott but I gave up after a few years when I realised that I was never going to be as good as these two. Phelim and Lee went on to form the mind-bogglingly innovative Improbable Theatre.
I was recently honoured with the prestigious Audible "Sounds of Crime" Award for my reading of the Best Crime Audiobook (abridged). It was for Lee Child's terrific Jack Reacher thriller of 2011, The Affair. The award was even sweeter because it was chosen by Audible listeners themselves. If you track it down on Audible or Amazon, the guy who sounds a bit like Clint Eastwood on steroids is actually me.
I have read the BBC Radio 4 Book of The Week twice in 2012. First up was Escape From Camp 14 by Blaine Harden. This was the shocking story of a North Korean man, born and raised in a political prison camp, who escaped to the West. Then in July I read Jonathan Lethem's book of weirdly entertaining essays, The Ecstasy of Influence.
I have a cameo in a couple of episodes of a new TV series of Red Dwarf (official title: Red Dwarf X) which beams down in October on cable channel Dave. I have an amusing on-set picture which I'm not allowed to post until the series goes out (that darned confidentiality clause again).
"Listen to me when I'm yelling at you!" Last Autumn in Manchester, I played the part of "Maurice" in the award-winning play Good at the Royal Exchange Theatre (above), directed by director-of-the-moment, the lovely Polly Findlay.
I have also visited Glasgow twice this year to spend a sofa-bound evening on BBC2's The Review Show. Despite the fact that it's a nationally broadcast LIVE arts programme (though most people think it's prerecorded) it's actually very enjoyable. I like Glasgow; my Dad's mother was born there.
I'm currently recording Series 2 of the BAFTA-winning "The Amazing World of Gumball", an amazing animation for The Cartoon Network. Worth tracking down on DVD! Series 1 has been broadcast in both the UK and the USA. And recording is on-going for the new series of "Thomas and Friends" in which I voice the legendary Sir Topham Hatt and half a dozen legendary engines including the ever-bombastic Gordon.
Ya'll come back now, y'hear?
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