Appearing in panto as Dame Trott in JACK AND THE BEANSTALK at the Buxton Opera House for the Christmas season 2014/2015.  

A look at the themes and ideas of Charles Dickens A CHRISTMAS CAROL. ‘Fancy and Imagination’ examines how Scrooge has to change his very way of thinking in order to become his new self. ‘Memory and Remembrance’ looks at the importance of reflection in Dickens’ work, especially his writing concerning Christmas time. ‘Life as a Prison’ takes one of the strong underlying metaphors of A CHRISTMAS CAROL and sees how Dickens applies it to many aspects of the story. ‘Time’ examines the great theme of the tale and asks what exactly does Scrooge mean when he says he must live “in the Past, the Present, and the Futureâ€�.

Charles Dickens and his ability to create characters who have appear to have a living and breathing life of there own. The article examines all the main players of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, their role in the tale, the imagery Dickens uses to describe them, and their place in the life and times of Charles Dickens and the Dickens cannon.

A look back at STAR WARS with voice actor Steve Nallon. With a voice selection of seven STAR WARS characters including Obi-wan Kenobi, The Emperor Palaptine, C-3P0, Darth Vader and Yoda. Steve talks about on his own experience of classic film series as a teenager, plus some of the influences behind the movie – artistic, storytelling and mythological – and finally his reflections on STAR WARS now nearly forty years on.

“Why do you do so many female voices?” in answering this often asked question, Steve Nallon reflects on his background, his psychology and his ‘Two-Spirits’ nature. The article includes numerous videos and examples of The Man with the Female Voice.

Looking a sixteen voices from the HARRY POTTER film series and the character actors behind them – plus how HARRY POTTER might have been cast had it been made in the 1950s using character actors of that period.

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?