“Taking the Flak”/Charity: DVD signed by Tira Shubart up on ebay

Desperate finding the perfect Christmas present?

Look no further and bid on a “Taking the Flak” DVD which has been signed by Tira Shubart, co-creator, co-writer and co-producer of the show. Not only will you get a great DVD, you’ll also support a good cause:

This lot is being sold as part of Save the Rhino’s 15^th Birthday online auction; Hornucopia.  SAVE THE RHINO fundraises for the conservation of endangered species of rhinoceros by supporting community and education programmes in key wildlife habitats in Africa and Asia.

LINK TO AUCTION ON EBAY

“Grapes of Wrath” at Hall for Cornwall, Truro: last night cancelled, this night a go

From the Hall for Cornwall’s blog:

THE SHOW WILL GO ON!

“Unfortunately, during last night’s performance one of the below-stage sprinklers was triggered.  Due to the location, water collected very quickly and for safety reasons power in the theatre had to be shut off and the performance cancelled.”

“All audience members are being offered the choice between a refund or an alternate performance, with Box Office staff working today to re-accommodate many of last night’s audience into the remaining performances.  The play is well worth  seeing and we hope to be welcoming most of our disappointed audience members back tonight and tomorrow.”

Having worked 48 hrs in a row once because the pyrotechnics of a band triggered the sprinkler system at a venue, I know only too well how staff and technicians must have slaved away to get everything going again. Very disappointing for the audience, and a nightmarish experience for cast and crew of the production. But nobody was injured, that’s what really counts.

Please exchange your ticket and watch “The Grapes of Wrath” today or tomorrow; don’t miss this great production. And while you’re there, give the staff a  smile and a thank you – I’m sure it would be appreciated.

Box Office can be contacted on 01872 262466

Fluctuat nec mergitur.

Aaand it’s in the news already:

The Falmouth Packet: Hall for Cornwall flooded by sprinkler system

BBC: Hundreds evacuated from theatre

This Is Cornwall: Alarm bells ring at Hall for Cornwall

Interview: Damian O’Hare in “The Irish World”

The Irish World talked with Damian about his work on “Taking the Flak”, filming in Tanzania, “The Grapes of Wrath” and driving trucks into the set…

WRATH JUSTICE

If you want to read the full article, you need to get a subscription for the online edition of The Irish World. Just invest the 50p, you won’t be disappointed. It’s a full page coverage.

If you prefer to buy the print edition at your local newsagents: it’s The Irish World dated 26 September, 2009.

ITV’s painful cuts – and the future of “The Royal”

PAINFUL CUTS

As expected, ITV’s annual report, released today, reads like the foreword to Dante’s Inferno. 600 jobs axed, 150 of them at the Kirkstall Road studio in Leeds (where “Heartbeat” and “The Royal” used to be produced). We’re talking about pre-tax losses of £2.73 billion here.

£2.73 billion.

BILLION! Quoi? What?

Unbelievable. My sympathies go out to all those who lost their jobs and are now facing an uncertain future. I hope that something new and better will come their way very, very soon.

THE FUTURE OF “THE ROYAL”

ITV will cut the weekly drama by one hour – but they make a point of not telling what programme(s) might face the axe. The official status of “The Royal” is still “shelved”. Season 8 is in the can (or so they say), and sooner or later we’ll get to see it. Talks are of “two year’s worth” of episodes, means into 2010.

Now, I don’t know anything about contracts and schedules, but somehow I can’t imagine that the actors involved with the show will sit around and twiddle their thumbs for the next two years, then pick up their roles again as if they’d never stopped. So if “The Royal” should ever see a season 9, I could imagine that there would be a new cast. Some of the comments from insider sources that “options of cheaper production and modernisation” for both Heartbeat and The Royal were “evaluated” point in that direction. However, that’s all just hear-say and speculation at this moment.

I’d be sorry to see “The Royal” disappear. It’s my guilty pleasure – great fun in its own goofy, innocent and lovable way…

Some links with further information:

Guardian: Gloom descends on ITV Yorkshire

The mood outside ITV Yorkshire’s Leeds studio today, as 192 redundancies and the closure of most of the 40-year-old complex were announced, could be summarised in a single word: grim.

BBC: Troubled ITV cuts jobs and costs

The Scotsman: ITV to axe 600 jobs

Telegraph: ITV cuts – could X Factor and Coronation Street be affected?

Reactions to “The Royal” news / Reviews for “The Brøken”

The news of the maybe-possibly-then-again-maybe-not-axing of “Heartbeat” and “The Royal” (still denied by ITV) didn’t go unnoticed. While ranging from “about time!” to “why do you have to cancel the last bit of lighthearted entertainment?”, comments all over the media were overwhelmingly negative, and ITV had to take a lot of flak for its rumoured future investment in reality TV rather than drama. One doesn’t have to like shows like Heartbeat, The Royal or The Bill to fear the TV monoculture this might announce. All quality aspects aside – for those working behind and in front of the camera, this could mean that their jobs are at risk. It could also mean loss of income for local businesses. And more reality shows will come at the cost of even fewer available jobs for actors.

Here are some links to comments; while the focus is on “Heartbeat” and “The Bill”, “The Royal” is mentioned as well, and the problems are the same for all shows.

Paul Mount’s World of Stuff: “ITV: Making a crisis out of its dramas…”
“(…) So let’s not rejoice at the passing of ‘Heartbeat’ and ‘The Royal’ because their going means more than just the killing-off of two rather twee dramas series – they’re emblematic of a greater, more insidious malaise which sits at the core of British broadcasting like a cancer. (…)”

Manchester Evening News (Ian Wylie): “The Heartbeat Fades”
“(…) Heartbeat and The Royal have been treated disgracefully in recent times. Ratings have gone down due to irregular scheduling on a Sunday evening. With the dramas being screened in short bursts, before inexplicable breaks in the series runs. It’s almost as if bosses have been plotting how to kill off two of British TV’s best loved shows. With a slow death the chosen option to avoid the full wrath of fans. (…)”

The Guardian (Gareth McLean): “Dark Days at Sun Hill”
“(…) Instead of investing in drama – nurturing writers, training and employing crew – ITV has lined the pockets of footballers. I’m not suggesting television should be run as a job creation scheme for producers, dolly grips and actors, but should a broadcaster such as ITV be feathering the nest of the likes of UEFA and the FA? (…)”

The Independent: Moors village in shock at loss of “Heartbeat”
“(…) Now a new fear is stalking this small community of honey-coloured cottages set high in the glorious heather landscape. A fear that the failure of Heartbeat to return to our screens could signal the death of the lucrative tourist trade that has grown up around the programme. (…)”

And now for something completely different… “The Brøken” is now in cinemas, and here are two (positive) reviews.

Review Radio Times

Review Shadows on the Wall