Author: Ribs Norman

Folkestone to become the first StoryMap town in the UK

Geo-caching for story lovers is coming to town! Hand of Doom Productions (that’s us!) is preparing to launch the UK’s first ever StoryMap in Folkestone.

The initial six short stories, written by residents or people with a strong connection to the town, will be recorded by actors and then accessed at various points within Folkestone via QR codes and smartphones.

The StoryMap, launching summer 2020, ties in with the Folkestone Triennial theme of Plot.

Supported by Folkestone Town Council and Folkestone and Hythe District Council and its councillors, the project aims to encourage residents of all ages and backgrounds to write and tell stories inspired by its landscape and heritage through workshops.

Writers will be paid a set fee and Hand of Doom Productions, a storytelling and theatre community interest company, hopes that the StoryMap will eventually spread across the town, as well as further along the coast, incorporating oral history too.

Michele Brailsford, of Hand of Doom, who came up with the idea for the StoryMap, said: “Folkestone’s beautiful landscape and amazing history naturally lend themselves to storytelling. The Coastal Park is an ideal location to start because it’s so well used and so well loved by residents and tourists.

“We’re particularly keen to encourage people from all backgrounds and ages to come along to the workshops because unfortunately there are so many barriers to writing opportunities, which are often seen as elitist. This is such a shame because as children, we’re all natural storytellers and everyone loves a great story in whatever format.”

The StoryMap aims to encourage residents to try their hand at storytelling, boost writing confidence, enjoy the mental health benefits of storytelling, get families out and about in the fresh air and boost tourism.

If you’d like to be added to our mailing list to receive updates about the project, please click here.

Coastal Park at Folkestone, Kent, UK
Folkestone’s Coastal Park. Image by grassrootsgroundswell.

Did you know that, in 1930, Faversham WON the Roller Hockey World Cup?

Always wanted to try your hand at Theatre?

We’re entering a show into this year’s Faversham Fringe that tells this amazing story of local heroes winning against the odds.

The theme and inspiration for the production will be The Skate Boys of Faversham Town by Geoff Sandiford which tells the story of how, in 1930, a team of five men, all of whom were from Faversham, won the Roller Hockey Nations Cup – equivalent to the modern World Cup.

No qualifications or experience required, just enthusiasm!

Performance dates will be 24, 26, 28 August 2019 at the Arden Theatre, Faversham. This is an amateur production and all over 18s are warmly invited to get involved.

To express your interest, please email us.

Edinburgh Fringe Preview May 11th

Join comedians Maddie Campion and Aaron Simmonds as they preview their Edinburgh Fringe shows on May 11th in the Arden Theatre, Faversham. Tickets £7.50 each.

MADDIE CAMPION: TRULY MADDIE DEEPLY
Hot gossip about a ghost, Mississippi and the paper clip from Microsoft word. Directed by Thom Tuck. See this VAULT Festival sell-out-show before it heads to Gilded Balloon at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Maddie Campion is a Made in Kent comedy competition runner up, and was shortlisted for the BBC New Comedy Award 2018, “Very inventive and dry writer” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Funny Women. Her 2018 Edinburgh Fringe show was developed through Soho Theatres Edinburgh Lab and received coverage from The List and The Times.

AARON SIMMONDS: DISABLED COCONUT
“A comedian going places” *
Join the 2017 BBC New Comedy Award finalist and wheelchair enthusiast as he tells you about how his first paid gig led to him performing on BBC2 a year later, and what happens when you are being trolled online for not being disabled enough. Aaron is far better at stand-up than standing up and his unique perspective on life – usually of people’s belly buttons – gives him a distinctive edge in his performances as well as a sore neck.

*Places with wheelchair access.

Jewish Comedian Of The Year 2017
“A class act” – Chortle

Details and tickets here:
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/handofdoomproductions

Introducing “Make a Scene!”

Always wanted to write a play? Then you might be interested to hear that we have secured funding for a community writing project to give Faversham the chance to ‘Make a Scene!’.

With the support of an experienced playwright and director, you will have the opportunity to develop a short scene for performance at Faversham Fringe in August 2019.

The theme and inspiration for the scenes will be The Skate Boys of Faversham Town by Geoff Sandiford which tells the story of how in 1930 a team of five men, all of whom were from Faversham, won the Roller Hockey Nations Cup – equivalent to the modern World Cup.

No qualifications or experience required, just enthusiasm!

The course fee is £50 with concessions available to those in receipt of benefits. Course places are strictly limited, so don’t delay.

To book your place, please fill out the application form. If you have any questions, please email us.

Radio Play: A Great Idea by Les Clarke

Our final radio play from last year’s recording session in Faversham is A Great Idea by Les Clarke. Thanks again to Robert “Woody” Burgess who recorded and produced all the plays for us.

Cast: Paul Doust as Dan; Ian Riches as Gerry.

That’s the last of our radio plays for now, but we enjoyed recording them so much we’ll be doing some more this Spring. Keep an eye on this website for a call-out for scripts.

Radio Play: Safe Word by Ribs Norman

Our penultimate radio play from last year’s recording session in Faversham is Safe Word by Ribs Norman. Thanks again to Robert “Woody” Burgess who recorded and produced all the plays for us.

Cast: Anthony Hall as Ulrich; Jude Sach as Soph; and Ribs Norman as Lucy.

We’ll share our final radio play from this session next Monday.

Radio Play: Mrs Shipley’s Spinning Wheel by Michele Sheldon

As promised, here’s the second of our four radio plays which we recorded last year in Faversham. Thanks again to Robert “Woody” Burgess who recorded and produced all the plays for us.

As promised, here’s the second of our four radio plays which we recorded last year in Faversham. Thanks again to Robert “Woody” Burgess who recorded and produced all the plays for us.

Mrs Shipley’s Spinning Wheel was originally a short story written by Michele Sheldon and was adapted into a radio play by the author. Susan Anderson played Daughter and Nicola Carter played Mother.

Stay tuned for play number three next week!

Radio Play: Clouds by Sarah Davies

We are delighted to release our first radio play, Clouds by Sarah Davies. We had a fun day recording this and three other plays in Faversham. Our thanks go to The Limes pub who let us use their plush upstairs room, to Robert “Woody” Burgess who recorded and produced the plays for us, and to all the actors who took part.

We are delighted to release our first radio play, Clouds by Sarah Davies. We had a fun day recording this and three other plays in Faversham. Our thanks go to The Limes pub who let us use their plush upstairs room, to Robert “Woody” Burgess who recorded and produced the plays for us, and to all the actors who took part.

Romeo was played by Jack Finch-Harding and Mercutio by Anthony Hall. Sarah Davies was the writer.

We hope you enjoy the play. We’ll be posting the remaining three over the coming weeks.

Coming Soon from Hand of Doom Productions

Mince Pie, Anyone?

We are very pleased to announce that we are performing Mince Pie For One, a short play with a heartwarming Christmas theme, next Tuesday in Jittermugs, Faversham. If you like Love Actually, you’ll love this 🙂

Tickets are £7 from Jittermugs and include a mince pie and a glass of mulled wine (or prosecco). Tapas menu and licensed bar available. Strictly limited audience capacity, so don’t wait until the night itself to get your ticket.

Doors open at 7pm, performance starts at 8pm. It’s only a 15-minute play though, so don’t be late or you’ll miss it!

We hope to see you there!

 

Sketchy Beasts News

As you can see, Burgess & Norman’s debut sketch comedy show, Sketchy Beasts, went down very well with the full capacity crowd at the Fleur de Lis hall on November 11th. Thanks to everyone who attended.

If you liked what you saw – or are gutted you missed out – fear not! Burgess & Norman are now planning to take the show on the road, ending with a grand finale at HopFestFringe in September (of course!). In the meantime, they will be performing at the Private Widdle Social Club on January 27th (Deal) and in Folkestone Comedy Club on February 3rd (Folkestone, obvs).

 

 

Stand Up Comedy in the Arden: Lee Kyle

At the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe, Lee Kyle got a really nice review. The bit that stuck in his mind was: “it would be good to see him find more of his audience.”

“Yeah,” he thought, “it bloody would!”

So, in a moment of madness, he has decided to bite off more than he can chew and has booked a 30+ date national tour (Hand of Doom Productions is helping him with the Faversham date), as an attempt to answer the question: “What happens if you do a tour while not actually being famous?”

Then, as if that wasn’t enough, he is ending the tour with a gig in a 400-seat theatre in his hometown.

He’ll also be recording a documentary as he goes while hoping not to regret it.

He’s good by the way, should have probably have said that earlier. He’s done a bit of telly and radio but nothing you’ll have seen, which is a good thing really or the whole point of the tour won’t have made sense.

He had a book out last year, that was in the top ten comedians’ books on Amazon UK and led to almost no rasing of his profile. His podcast with Sammy Dobson (from BBC’s Boy Meets Girl (yep, she’s better known) is called Which Is The Best? and is funny and is liked by people who like it.

Come on, get on board, take a chance. Be cool.

Calling All Playwrights!

Have you written a short play, either specifically for radio, or one that could be adapted for radio? We’re planning to start a weekly magazine-style podcast featuring a radio play, some short stories and interviews with authors. This podcast might also become a regular show on a local community radio station.

We’re looking for are plays that are no longer than 15 minutes long, with a small cast. Genre – drama, comedy, sci-fi, political thriller – anything goes.

Sadly we have no funds at this stage, but plays will become part of a podcast which will be available for download, so people will at least get to hear your work. All rights remain with you, naturally.

If you’ve got something you think might be suitable, drop us a line at highfive (at) handofdoom.online. And if you’re an actor, producer or someone who fancies doing some foley work, we’d love to hear from you too. (We’ve got a lot of short stories lined up, but when we run out we’ll post a call out, so keep your eyes peeled.)

UPDATE 28.11: Submissions can come from anywhere in the world 🙂