A detailed series of Questions and Answers concerning many areas Homer’s ODYSSEY, including ‘Who was Homer?’, ‘How was the ODYSSEY performed?’, ‘What is the ODYSSEY about?’, ‘What kind of Hero is Odysseus?’, ‘What is the role of the gods?’, ‘How important is storytelling in the story?’, ‘What influences did Homer’s ODYSSEY on storytelling through the ages?’ and ‘The Trojan War, is it fact or fiction? These questions and answers were written in conjunction with STEVE NALLON’S BIG ODYSSEY, a modern telling of the story with celebrity voices playing the leading characters. Video extracts from the one-man show first performed in the 2002 are included throughout the article.

A look back at the rehearsal process and UK theatre tour of CISSIE AND ADA with an analysis of the comedy of the ‘Cissie and Ada’ characters – plus a few thoughts on the cultural history of northern comedy, the fear of the comedian, the ‘secret of comedy’, creating a well known real character on stage and working with Big Name Comedians. The article has short video extracts from the play CISSIE AND ADA throughout.

SPITTING IMAGE – Was the TV series Spitting Image truly a satire or just a poke in the eye to the rich and famous? What is satire? What are the definitions and what is its etymology? What are the techniques and methods of satire? What makes a satirist? What is the case against satire and the satirist? And why is there so little satire on television today?