Declan
Thursday 5th February 2009 4:47pm
753 posts
Morning all
Really glad that some BSGers came to the show last night, don't be scared of introducing yourselves to us, we love to chat with you guys in person!
We'll let other people tell us if we did well last night, and also if we did anything we can do better. Please give us feedback if you were there.
As for the shows, we had an industry show at 5pm with a number of TV companies in, and an audience show at 7pm. Both shows completely sold out, and we had to add more chairs for the 7pm so that we didn't turn people away.
Andy Fox, doing his first compering gigs for six years, did an absolutely brilliant job in both shows, and showed his utterly playful side when making the audiences both relaxed and 'up for it'.
The four sitcoms in contention were Desperate Men, written by John O'Shea and directed by Dan March, Boo! by Brian Scolaro directed by Maggie Inchley, The Pumpkings by Ben Davies directed by Caitriona McLaughlin and All I Need Is A F**k Buddy written and directed by Lydia Parker.
Interestingly, our industry judges, My Family writer Jane Lamacraft, Time Out's Tim Arthur and Radio 4's Dawn Ellis all voted the same way, totally independently of each other. Desperate Men picked up 13 points out of a possible 30, Boo! came third with 17, The Pumpkings put in an exemplary performance and stole the show on 24, while F**k Buddy came second on 20. Congratulations to the cast and director of The Pumpkings and F**k Buddy who go through to the quarter finals in April.
The audience vote saw F**k Buddy scream out if front with 29, with The Pumpkings on 12, Boo! with 6 and Desperate Men on 3.
We've got a few things to iron out for next week, but news from the box office is that we've nearly sold out the 7pm show already. If you want to book for it, or the credit-crunch-busting 5pm show at £5, please go online at www.leicestersquaretheatre.com or go to the theatre from 12noon (any day, not just the day of the show) to book in person.
We'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone - directors, cast members and all at the theatre - for their can-do attitude over the last few days. And to audience and industry members for turning up and coming in from the cold. We had a blast, and it was deeply satisfying to know that two of the writers are now talking to TV production companies.
Hey, let's do it again next week, but book early to avoid disappointment.
Love to all
Dec and Simon