Wednesday, 18 September 2019

The play I wasn't in, but sort of was...

So happy to have had the opportunity to do a portrait for the Florian's production of Harvey in this, their 75th Anniversary year! Nicky Nicol as Edward P Dowd, with Harvey. I drew ideas from the original film painting, but apart from an homage to pose and style, I wanted to be updated and less creepy!! The company liked it and Nicky was very happy with it. Hope he'll get to keep it if he want's!

Tuesday, 17 September 2019

The other Western, the Fringe and the Monster...

Well 2018, what a busy year! Back east for another western, Attack on Tranquility, where I played Twitchy Simpson, store keeper. I love the atmosphere there during filming, but it's certainly the people that give it life. Made new friends too, Katie, Megan and Jack Daynes, not to mention David Milne! It was another good film by William Samson, with an original theme song by The Johnny Cash Duo and an additional outtakes reel...one of them with my own title 😆!! Later, in April 2019, which is when the film premiered in Aberdeen, Margaret Crystall from the provincial press did almost a full page on me, the film and practically everything else I've done. It appeared in the Inverness Courier and several other regional newspapers. Anyway, back to the end of 2018 and following on from Tranquility, I returned to Nairn and my annual role play for the Royal College of General Practitioners along with seven other actors. Always fun to do! Shortly after, I was cast in a short film as Stan in 'Legacy' for Morven Fik down near Dumbarton and with fellow actor Mira Vasiliu, which is doing the film festival rounds just now. About this time, I began working with members of the Dingwall Players in devising and developing a piece for the Edinburgh Fringe, which we eventually did in August 2019. The play was a who-dunnit, called 'Midges' and it went down very well with Fringe audiences!
Not very long after we returned to the Highlands, Karen and I were picked up for some on screen interviews by geneticist Neil Gemmell for a National Geographic documentary called 'Loch Ness Monster : New Evidence' on the Discovery channel! It was first shown on Sep 15th 2019. Next, I was contacted by Peter Whitely to do a piece with him on Word On The Street in Dingwall later in the year and I've already been asked to return to Nairn in a couple of months with the RCGP!!