Wossname – November 2021 – main issue
News and reviews about the works of Sir Terry Pratchett
wossname at pearwood.info
Sun Nov 14 06:16:15 AEDT 2021
Wossname
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
July-August 2021 (Volume 24, Issue er um maybe 11?, Post 1)
********************************************************************
WOSSNAME is a free publication offering news, reviews, and all the other
stuff-that-fits pertaining to the works of Sir Terry Pratchett.
Originally founded by the late, great Joe Schaumburger for members of
the worldwide Klatchian Foreign Legion and its affiliates, including the
North American Discworld Society and other continental groups, Wossname
is now for Discworld and Pratchett fans everywhere in Roundworld.
********************************************************************
Editor in Chief: Annie Mac
News Editor: Vera P
Newshounds: Mogg, Sir J of Croydon Below, the Shadow, Mss C, Alison not
Aliss
Staff Writers: Pitt the Elder, Evil Steven Dread, Mrs Wynn-Jones
Staff Technomancer: Jason Parlevliet
Book Reviews: Annie Mac, Drusilla D'Afanguin, Your Name Here
Bard in Residence: Weird Alice Lancrevic
Emergency Staff: Steven D'Aprano, Jason Parlevliet
World Membership Director: Steven D'Aprano (in his copious spare time)
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
INDEX:
01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
02) EDITOR'S LETTER
03) ODDS AND SODS
04) NIGEL PLANER AND THE UNABRIDGED AUDIOS OF DISCWORLD
05) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
06) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS
07) DISCWORLD MERCH FOR HOGSWATCH
08) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
09) CLOSE
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
"I'm afraid the BBC owns the merchandising rights to the Good Omens TV
series and can do things like this."
– Neil Gaiman, when informed that Auntie had gone over his head and
trademarked the word "ineffable" in his name
"Personally I'm against it, but the world isn't going to just save
itself, is it? If David and I can manage to not fall out too badly this
time it may even have a chance of getting finished."
– Michael "Aziraphale" Sheen, somewhat in character
"The return of Good Omens is great news for me, personally. As I get to
work with Michael again, and I get to say Neil's wonderful words once
more. It's probably less good for the universe as it almost certainly
means there will be some fresh existential threat to its existence to
deal with, but, you know – swings and roundabouts."
– David "Crowley" Tennant, likewise
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
02) LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR
Wossname finally returns... ish.
This issue is somewhat truncated but I will continue to do my best to
keep the news, views and reviews coming on through the next year and
beyond, as long as there *is* fresh Pratchett news – and to my great
delight, the world seems to have forgotten to forget The Author, even in
the face of a pandemic that drags on and on. Discworld plays are
cautiously creeping back into the spotlight (including, at last, the
premiere of Stephen Briggs' "Murder in Ankh-Morpork" this month!), shops
are reopening (though not the Discworld Emporium, which remains as an
online entity only), and people are beginning to gather together again
(apart from those who are permanently shielding, like your Editor). And,
of course, The Author's work lives on in different media, with new
screen productions of The Amazing Maurice, The Abominable Snowbaby, and
Good Omens all in progress.
Hogswatch is a-coming, at least the Roundworld answer to it, so there
are some features on Discworld merchandise to consider for presents.See
item 7!
The Big Book of Modern Fantasy, an 896-page monster comprising almost
one hundred stories by famous authors, has just won the 2021 World
Fantasy Award for best anthology. It offers a wide variety of famous
authors – including Sit Pterry, of course! Published by Vintage, edited
by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer, and available at all reputable booksellers
(which is why, as usual, your Editor is not providing an Amazon link).
https://bookriot.com/2021-world-fantasy-awards/
What does the word "ineffable" mean to you? According to the Oxford
English Dictionary, it means "Too great to be expressed in words;
unutterable, indefinable, indescribable". And now it has a new meaning,
apparently: "an ordinary word trademarked by the BBC for commercial
purposes relating to Good Omens merchandising and as a further slap in
the face to the very fans who made the Good Omens miniseries the
worldwide hit it became". And Auntie didn't even have the honesty to
trademark it under its own name! See item 3.1c for details.
You'll have seen last week's special announcement regarding Nigel "Mr
Sideney" Planer's crowdfunding appeal for his new book "Jeremiah Bourne
in Time", a science fiction comedy with many Pratchett references (and
touches!). Funding is continuing to mount up, but the total isn't there
yet. A reminder on the Wossname mirror site, complete with iconographs:
https://wossname.dreamwidth.org/82520.html
I'll apologise ahead of time for any proofreading or editing slip-ups
I've made, as the pandemic has eaten what's left of my brain and among
other things I now find myself thinking every day except Wednesday is
Saturday.
And now, on with the show...
– Annie Mac, Editor
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
03) ODDS AND SODS
3.0 AMAZING MAURICE NEWS
3.0a IMAGE REVEALS...
Possibly the biggest Narrativia announcement page yet – certainly the
longest!
"Sky today reveals First Look character images and teaser poster for The
Amazing Maurice, a Sky Original to mark the 20th Anniversary of the book
by Sir Terry Pratchett. This animated family film is based on the wildly
popular Discworld ® novels and will star Hugh Laurie (Avenue 5) as
Maurice, Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) as Malicia, David Thewlis
(Wonder Woman) as Boss Man, Himesh Patel (Yesterday) as Keith, Gemma
Arterton (The King’s Man) as Peaches, Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey) as
The Mayor, David Tennant (Doctor Who) as Dangerous Beans, Ariyon Bakare
(His Dark Materials) as Darktan, Rob Brydon (Roald & Beatrix: The Tale
of the Curious Mouse) as The Pied Piper, Julie Atherton (Avenue Q) as
Nourishing and YouTuber Joe Sugg as Sardines. In The Amazing Maurice, a
Sky Original, Maurice is a streetwise ginger cat who comes up with a
money-making scam by befriending a group of self-taught talking rats.
When Maurice and the rodents reach the stricken town of Bad Blintz, they
meet a bookworm called Malicia and their little con soon goes down the
drain...
The Amazing Maurice, a Sky Original will be released on Sky Cinema in
2022. The film will also be available on streaming service NOW via the
Sky Cinema Membership..."
To read the entire announcement and see the images, go to:
https://narrativia.com/maurice.html
[Editor's note: could the artists have tried any harder to create a
character that looks *any less* like Maurice as described in the novel?!
Instead of the scruffy street fighter we know and love – essentially a
spiritual cousin to Greebo – viewers will be offered a blobby,
boofy-haired, self-satisfied creature that barely looks like a cat at
all and at best resembles some kind of super-bloated Garfield. I can't
speak for other readers here but I for one am saddened by this aesthetic
choice, and so is everyone else I've spoken to about this so far.]
3.0b ...AND MERCH...
"Cantilever Media is launching a consumer products campaign for its
upcoming Sky original animated feature film, “The Amazing Maurice,”
produced with Ulysses Filmproduktion in co-production with Sky. Two
licensors have been secured: Titan and Forbidden Planet... Titan Books
has come on board as publishing partner to produce a hardback coffee
table art book, 'The Amazing Maurice: The Art of the Film,' which will
be released to coincide with the movie launch in the U.K. Working in
collaboration with the filmmakers, the book will include concept art,
sketches, storyboards, behind-the-scenes photography and interviews with
cast and crew. It is being written by Los Angeles-based author and
journalist Ramin Zahed, editor in chief, Animation Magazine. Specialist
retailer, Forbidden Planet, is also partnering with Cantilever to launch
a product range including adult and children’s T-shirts, hoodies,
sweatshirts, scarves and an extensive range of gift and home product and
accessories..."
https://bit.ly/3qw2PN7
3.1 GOOD OMENS 2 NEWS
3.1a NEIL GAIMAN'S HA'PETH
From his blogpost:
"So, once Good Omens the TV series had been released by Amazon and the
BBC, to global acclaim, many awards and joy, Rob Wilkins (Terry's
representative on Earth) and I had the conversation with the BBC and
Amazon about doing some more. And they got very excited. We talked to
Michael Sheen and David Tennant about doing some more. They also got
very excited. We told them a little about the plot. They got even more
excited. I'd been a fan of John Finnemore's for years, and had had the
joy of working with him on a radio show called With Great Pleasure,
where I picked passages I loved, had amazing readers read them aloud and
talked about them... I asked John if he'd be willing to work with me on
writing the next round of Good Omens, and was overjoyed when he said
yes. We have some surprise guest collaborators too. And Douglas
Mackinnon is returning to oversee the whole thing with me. So that's the
plan. We've been keeping it secret for a long time (mostly because
otherwise my mail and Twitter feeds would have turned into gushing
torrents of What Can You Tell Us About It? long ago) but we are now at
the point where sets are being built in Scotland (which is where we're
shooting, and more about filming things in Scotland soon), and we can't
really keep it secret any longer. There are so many questions people
have asked about what happened next (and also, what happened before) to
our favourite Angel and Demon. Here are, perhaps, some of the answers
you've been hoping for. As Good Omens continues, we will be back in
Soho, and all through time and space, solving a mystery which starts
with one of the angels wandering through a Soho street market with no
memory of who they might be, on their way to Aziraphale's bookshop..."
To read the whole post (includes some photos), go to:
https://bit.ly/3C9cFqo
Also, from a recent interview for Empire magazine:
"I am so happy to be back here on the streets of Soho, watching, every
day, the glorious performances of Michael Sheen and David Tennant. I
miss having Terry Pratchett’s genius, but it does feel like we are still
all walking around inside his head,” says Gaiman. “It’s been an absolute
pleasure to have the brilliant John Finnemore co-write this season’s
story shenanigans with me, and to work with director and my
co-showrunner Douglas Mackinnon as he steers the ship, along with our
astonishing crew, who have returned to do it again.
“In this season we get to have new adventures with old friends, to solve
some extremely mysterious mysteries, and we encounter some entirely new
humans (living, dead, and otherwise), angels, and demons. We were lucky
in the first season to have so many outstanding actors taking part, so I
took pleasure in inviting people back, wherever we could, some in the
roles they played originally, some in new parts written just for them."
3.1b FILMING NEWS AND PHOTOS
From Rachel LaBonte on ScreenRant:
"Neil Gaiman reveals the spirit of Terry Pratchett is alive and well on
the set of Good Omens season 2 with a new picture. Together, Gaiman and
Pratchett wrote the novel Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophesies
of Agnes Nutter, a humorous take on an impending apocalypse involving an
angel, a demon, and the misplaced Antichrist. It was turned into an
Amazon miniseries back in 2019 and starred David Tennant and Michael
Sheen in the lead roles. Though Pratchett and Gaiman had devised an idea
for a sequel to Good Omens, it never became a reality... Because of all
of that, fans were stunned by the news that Amazon's Good Omens is
returning for another season. The surprise continuation was announced in
June, with Gaiman quickly giving his blessing. In fact, Gaiman is once
again writing the scripts for Good Omens season 2 along with John
Finnemore. Tennant and Sheen are back as odd couple Crowley and
Aziraphale; when the season begins, they'll have just begun settling
back into life among humans when a mysterious visitor arrives... d
Gaiman has already provided more than one peek behind the scenes. In his
most recent post, he revealed Pratchett's famous hat and scarf are
already on set, dangling from a chair with the late author's name.
"Terry is here in spirit and hat and scarf," Gaiman wrote. "When we
shoot in the bookshop we will hang them in there but for now they are
here on his chair." Pratchett's hat and scarf could be seen in
Aziraphale's bookshop in Good Omens season 1, and evidently they will
still be there for season 2.
https://bit.ly/3wEyQnb
From Ray Flook on Bleeding Cool:
"Michael Sheen's Aziraphale and David Tennant's Crowley get back into
their easy-living lives among the mortals populating London's Soho, But
when an unexpected messenger presents them with a surprising mystery,
the game's afoot once more for our duo. Over the past week or so, Sheen
has been posting some fun looks at his return to angelic form. Now,
we're getting a heart-warming reminder from Gaiman that Pratchett's
spirit will always b a part of the adaptation, with his hat and scarf
currently resting on his set chair but soon to have another home
on-camera..."
https://bit.ly/3kshxkE
From Kaila Hale-Stern on The Mary Sue:
"This is a fitting return to Aziraphale and Crowley. They’re in
Aziraphale’s beloved bookshop. Aziraphale has his tartan bowtie and a
dainty new teacup (replacing his iconic angel-wing mug?) and appears
somewhat alarmed at what he’s hearing. Next to him, Crowley is wearing
his trademark sunglasses (which hide his yellow snake eyes) and is in
his customary black clothing. Crowley’s reaction to the person (or
entity) the pair are talking to is a toothy grin—or is that a menacing
grimace? Either way, the picture captures both characters’ personalities
pretty damn perfectly and plunges us straight back into the universe of
Good Omens on television. What makes this go-round so exciting (and for
some fans, trepidatious) is that while a good deal of the plot of the
first season closely hewed to the events of the book, Good Omens 2 will
be exploring new ground. A few elements from a planned but unwritten
sequel by the late Terry Pratchett and Gaiman made their way into the
first season, and we expect many will appear in the second..."
https://bit.ly/3ngkYg9
From Danielle Ryan for Slashfilm:
"The new season will dig deeper into the relationship between the fussy
rare book dealer angel, Aziraphale, and his demonic, hedonistic best
friend, Crowley. They've been close since the beginning of time, and now
that they've fended off the apocalypse together, they have time to
figure out their friendship. The press release says the two are "getting
back to easy living amongst mortals in London's Soho when an unexpected
messenger presents a surprising mystery." It seems there's no rest for
the wicked or the celestial..."
https://bit.ly/3opPyTA
...and Jon Fuge adds, for TV Web:
"Though plot details are being kept under wraps, Neil Gaiman has since
offered some insight into what audiences can expect, revealing that
second season of Good Omens will once again take place in London, and
begins "with an angel wandering through Soho, with no memory." Gaiman
will once again serve as co-showrunner with Douglas Mackinnon and
co-writer with John Finnemore. Good Omens 2 does not yet have a release
date, and will come courtesy of Amazon Prime Video..."
https://bit.ly/3opzkK7
From Brooke Mondor, for Looper:
"When a fan on Tumblr asked Gaiman about a possible sequel for the "Good
Omens" novel, he replied: "There is an entire novel plot that nobody
knows about, and Terry was absolutely in favour of that story being
told. Whether or not we do it depends on a lot of factors though. (Of
which my time is a big one.)" On the one hand, it's entirely possible
that Season 2 will consist of whatever Gaiman and Pratchett cooked up
together before the latter's death in 2015. Of course, it's also likely
that the "Good Omens" team is creating something entirely new for the
next season..."
https://bit.ly/3krNUzB
3.1c THE (IN)EFFABLE BBC: YOU -ING WHAT???
Yes, the BBC has trademarked the word "ineffable" in the names of Neil
Gaiman and Dunmanifestin Ltd. From Rich Johnston, founder of Bleeding
Cool.com:
"'Ineffable' means something is so extraordinary or extreme that it
cannot be described in words. It gained recent popularity in the book
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and the late Sir Terry Pratchett, especially
when adapted by the BBC and Amazon Prime Video. The book and TV show
make several references to God's unknowable and 'ineffable' plan for
them all. Well, two things happened recently. Firstly the word
'ineffable' was trademarked under the names of Neil Gaiman and the
company managing the estate of the late Sir Terry Pratchett, with both
US and UK governments. And secondly, the BBC began taking down Etsy
listings of people selling products using the word 'ineffable.' Neil
Gaiman didn't seem to know anything about it. A couple of years ago,
Gaiman had even stated, 'I'm glad that the artists and the Etsy folk
have made Good Omens things. I just imagine a world in which we had cool
things it would take more resources to make. Like a proper little
burning Bentley.' Though Gaiman did provide some qualifications, saying,
'There are people out there selling stuff (like the posters) they didn't
create in industrial quantities. And there are cool crafty people making
art on eg, Etsy. I hope that the former will be discommoded while the
latter will continue to make stuff with love.' Now, remember, this is
about the registration and defence of a trademark, not a copyright. A
business registers the right to trade under a mark, even if that was a
preexisting word. No one can sell books if they call themselves Amazon
these days. Or broadband with the word Virgin. Or medicine using the
word Boots. And Neil Gaiman seems unaware that an 'ineffable' trademark
was made in his name and that the BBC is enforcing it. It appears to
have been actioned by Dunmanifestin, the company charged with looking
after the estate of Sir Terry Pratchett. So, apparently, they have a
plan to use that word in commerce. An ineffable plan, one might say...
Etsy sellers have repeatedly reported that the BBC has legally
challenged anyone selling anything on Etsy using the words Good Omens,
Crowley, Aziraphale, or Ineffable, with the #ineffablehusbands getting
the brunt of it."
https://bit.ly/3qvBIBL
[Note: the page includes and image of the Ineffable trademark
registration document – Ed.]
3.2 YOUR FAVOURITE DISCWORLD NOVELS
From Discworld.com – remember this? – the results: "You may remember in
August we polled all of our social media followers and asked, 'What is
your favourite Discworld book of all time?' We included the Guards,
Witches, Death, Unseen University, Tiffany Series plus all the
standalones. Well, the results are in and here are your top eight..."
1. Night Watch
2. Witches Abroad
3. Hogfather
4. Going Postal
5. The Wee Free Men
6. Carpe Jugulum
7. Reaper Man
8. Monstrous Regiment
...and of course, should you need replacement copies and Hogswatch gift
copies, all these, plus the rest of the Oeuvre of Pratchett, are
available for purchase from https://discworld.com
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
04) NIGEL PLANER AND THE UNABRIDGED AUDIOS OF DISCWORLD
Nigel Planer, beloved for his many acting roles and also known to
Discworld fans as the man who has voiced almost half the Discworld
unabridged audiobooks, has kindly given Wossname an exclusive look back
at his work for the Pratchett oeuvre! Over to you, Mr P:
Listening back now to the Audio recordings I did of Discworld is
strange. I don’t remember speaking so fast, too fast. But I suppose
there was a lot to get through, my unabridged versions come out at an
average of 9 or so hours each. It always seems to me they cut too much
in abridged versions – almost two thirds of a book. Also, I don’t
remember recording so many of them. I had to go online just now to find
out exactly how many, and I counted 21.[1]
My favourites were Mort, Small Gods, Guards Guards... actually as I’m
writing this I keep remembering others; Pyramids, Interesting Times,
Witches Abroad. But to be honest they all merge into one experience in
my head. They were recorded over a few years in the nineties, in a small
studio on an industrial estate outside Oxford. The original publisher
was named -rather unfortunately for them – Isis, after the river in
Oxford. I would go up there and stay over a couple of nights – a book
takes approximately two and half days. Long hours in a tiny booth, with
my editor through the glass in the control room, using her eagle eye to
make sure everything is getting down correctly and asking for retakes if
necessary. Although in theory all you are doing is sitting and reading
for eight hours, the process is physically tiring; the energy has to be
up, the concentration total, and doing all the different voices
generates more adrenaline than you might think.
Proper preparation for an audio book means studying the text in advance,
marking it up for inflections and where to breathe, and practicing
particularly hard sentences. I didn’t do any of that. It wasn’t just
laziness, my feeling was that rather than do everything the proper way,
it would be better to keep the comedy fresh. Things are funny when they
take you by surprise, that’s what makes a joke. I wanted the readings to
be as if I was in the room with you, just enjoying reading out loud to
you. If that meant losing a little polish, then I felt it was worth
sacrificing.
Of course, I did read the books in advance to check for any plot
surprises – such as a mystery character turning out to be someone else
at the end – and I did take notes. Important to know which character is
speaking at any time, and how they’re going to talk.
To help me with this I had Stephen Briggs’ "The Discworld Companion",
which I consulted frequently. And I compiled my own personal character
voice list which grew and grew as the books mounted up. I’ve still got
it in a box somewhere, it runs to tens of pages, but it wouldn’t make
much sense to anyone else. Every character would have three entries by
their name; firstly I would cast them, in other words, imagine who would
play them if this were a film in my head. It didn’t have to be an actor,
might be a friend or relative. So the first entry a character would have
might say, for example; "Michael Gambon", or "my Uncle Geoff". The
second entry would be something about the type of speech or accent to
use; so it might say "posh Edinburgh", or "cocky car salesman". And the
third entry would be something about the voice quality and rhythm
itself, as in; "gravelly stammer", or "back of the throat, deep". So
just as an example, and from memory, the Archchancellor might have an
entry like; "John le Mesurier, Geography Teacher, high, wandering,
nasal." Or Vimes might be; "Jack Dee, blocked nose, low growl cockney."
This little system was not failsafe, for instance when a Troll (Billy
Connolly, Scottish, sibilant S) talks to a Dwarf, (Jeremy Irons, gruff
Welsh, too much saliva) I could get in a Celtic muddle and wander off
into something that ended up sounding vaguely Spanish[2]. But the worst
trouble I got myself into was with Sgt Colon. The first book he appears
in, he only has one scene, and I was running out of accents. My worst
accent at the time was Northern Irish, so I thought, "I’ll do that, it’s
only a few sentences, so, no problem." It was when I returned for the
next book, and the next, and the next, that I realised I was stuck with
it. I hope I got better at Northern Irish as the series went on. And I
hope I did Colon, and Sir Terry justice.
– Nigel Planer, London 2021
[1] Editor's note: that's correct, according to Wikipedia!
[2] Don't be hard on the man, O Readers – after all, Mr Planer had been
given no specific instructions as to what accents to use and hadn't been
introduced to the Nac Mac Feegle yet!
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
05) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
5.1 FORTHCOMING PLAYS
* MURDER IN ANKH-MORPORK IN ABINGDON (NOVEMBER 2021)
Stephen Briggs' new Discworld play is finally being staged... and
already completely sold out! But there's always the possibility of
people who can't make it: "We were amazed and delighted that the show
has sold out so quickly (in under 9 hours!). We can't offer a listing
for returns. Experience tells us that returns, if any, only get notified
at the last minute – often only on the day of performance, when there
simply isn't time to start asking around." Standard info is below in
case a ticket becomes available...
When: 17th–20th November 2021
Venue: Unicorn Theatre, Checker Walk, Abingdon OX14 3JB
Time: evening performances at 19.30, plus a 14.30 matinee on Saturday
20th November
https://bit.ly/3n7BezG
* WYRD SISTERS IN ADELAIDE (NOVEMBER 2021)
The Unseen Theatre is back at last, starting this week! It's another
round of old favourite Wyrd Sisters, starring Unseen's heart and soul
(and producer) Pamela Munt as Granny Weatherwax, with the usual cast and
crew (and Nullus Anxietas' Danny Sag as the Fool)!
When: 17th,18th,19th, 20th, 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th November 2021
Venue: Bakehouse Theatre, 255 Angas Street, Adelaide, South Australia 5000
Time: 7.30pm all performances
Tickets: $22 adult, $18 concessions, $16 groups of +6, available from
https://bit.ly/3kvXbXr
unseen.com.au
...and a special message re Unseen Theatre's latest production, from
Granny, I mean, Pamela, herself:
"So – we have had all sorts of problems with this Discworld version of
the "Scottish Play". I mean what were we thinking? Were we so arrogant
as to think that we would be exempt? If so – we have now been proven
wrong! As far as the cast is concerned we have had all sorts of
sickness, injuries, transport problems – in short everything that could
contribute to an inability to get to rehearsals, and even if we did all
get there, where were our lines, the crew, costumes, and props? And
why did one of us have to take the term "break a leg" so literally?
"It's okay. Don't worry. Everything is under control! See you there!"
*HOGFATHER IN PERTH, FOURECKS (NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2021)
The Roleystone Theatre is doing another Discworld play – this time, the
seasonally appropriate Hogfather!
"Adapted by Stephen Briggs and directed by Bradley Towton for Roleystone
Theatre, the Discworld version of Santa Claus – known as the Hogfather –
has gone missing... 'Hogfather shines a lantern onto the messier and
more real side of the holiday, in a very unreal manner,' Bradley said.
'This is my fourth time directing a Pratchett play and, with the
Christmas season rapidly approaching, I thought it would inject a nice
amount of holiday cheer into the lives of Perth people. Hogfather is a
very emotional piece in certain moments and can hit close to home at
times. It just fits, as a capstone to the year we've all had.'"
When: 26th, 27th and 28th November and 2nd, 3rd and 4th December 2021
Venue: Roleystone Theatre, 587 Brookton Hwy, 6111 Roleystone, Western
Australia
Time: 7.30pm all evening performances; 5pm matinee November 28th; 2pm
December 4th
Tickets: $20 ($15 concession), available from www.trybooking.com/BUTQA
https://bit.ly/3qw2r17
5.2 REVIEWS
* CARPE JUGULUM IN BRISBANE, FOURECKS
By Edmund Tadros for Stage Diary:
"One of the problems with a play this well produced and acted is that
it’s hard to pick out standout performances. For my money, it’s Greg
Rowbotham’s Igor who is the scene-stealer. Throughout the play his comic
timing as is perfect as he tries vainly to get the De Magpyrs to
maintain vampire traditions. Another two actors who give standout
performances are Katherine Kiogaard as Agnes and Lauren Dillon as her
inner thin girl Perdita. Their constant bickering about what to do in
each situation is by turns charming and amusing. The play also has very
high production values with excellent costumes by Robyn Edwards and a
simple and functional set design by Jackie Fraser. In addition Casey
Moon-Watton provides appropriately cheesy music, in keeping with the
light tone of the play. The direction, by Sally Daly, is slow at first
but picks up pace halfway through the first act and doesn’t let up until
the play ends. The Terry Pratchett story, adapted for the stage by
Stephen Briggs, is entertaining and amusing but at three and a half
hours (with only one intermission) is way too long. This problem is
compounded by the parts of play with a disconcerting, and seemingly
unnecessary, number of scene shifts. These are small problems though,
for Carpe Jugulum is an amusing play that is well acted and very, very
funny..."
https://bit.ly/3wFcbau
By Robyn Smith, on the Brisbane Arts Theatre's Facebook page:
"I went to see the delightful Carpe Jugulum on Saturday night and loved
it all. The actors, all amateurs, gave us a good laugh and provided us
with an evening of good fun. Callum Pulsford was deservedly a great
favourite with the audience, showcasing his comedic skills. Apart from
his perfectly timed delivery, he also entertained with his excellent
physical comedy. He was a joy to watch. The five witches were simply
wonderful. Each of them was so individual and followed her own journey
trying to meet the challenges posed by the nasty vampires. It was
inspirational to see these five actresses portray their characters’
doubts and uncertainties as they took their journey fighting against the
vampires. I particularly enjoyed the standout performance by Caitlin
Smith in her role as Mightily Oats. The sadness and distress she so
poignantly portrayed were perfectly counter balanced by her superb comic
timing. Overall, a wonderful evening with very memorable performances."
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
06) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS
Confession: I *still* have no idea if any info on non-Fourecksian
Discworld groups is up to date. What I do have is an update on the
various Fourecksian Discworld fan groups, courtesy of the ever helpful
Danny of Nullus Anxietas. As for the rest, up to date info from any
Wossname readers out there would be greatly appreciated!
The Broken Drummers, "London's Premier Unofficially Official Discworld
Group"
BrokenDrummers at gmail.com or nicholls.helen at yahoo.co.uk or join their
Facebook group at https://bit.ly/2YrPGW7
"The Gathering of the Loonies (Wincanton chapter)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/373578522834654/
The Broken Vectis Drummers
broken_vectis_drummers at yahoo.co.uk
The Wincanton Omnian Temperance Society (WOTS) meets at Wincanton's
famous Bear Inn when social gatherings are possible.
The Northern Institute of the Ankh-Morpork and District Society of
Flatalists normally meet at The Narrowboat Pub in Victoria Street,
Skipton, North Yorkshire, Details of future meetings are posted on the
Events section of the Discworld Stamps forum:
http://www.discworldstamps.co.uk/forum/
FOURECKSIAN DISCWORLD GROUPS:
Adelaide – City of Small Gods Terry Pratchett Fan Club
http://www.cityofsmallgods.org.au
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cityofsmallgods/
https://discord.gg/3RVzsyJ
Regular events: Monthly dinners (when permitted!), Monthly crafty
evenings on discord, regular book discussions, and occasional board game
days. We also hold special events sometimes, such as picnics, Quiz
Nights and outings to see Discworld plays.
Melbourne – Victorian Discworld Klatch
https://2022.ausdwcon.org/fan-clubs/melbourne/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/VictorianDiscworldKlatch/
https://discord.com/invite/w5KPAaYH
Regular events: Monthly gatherings, board game days, crafternoons,
movies, picnics, and more. We are also regulars at the various pop
culture events around Victoria.
Sydney – Mended Drummers and Western Drummers
Mended Drummers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/downunderdrummers/
Western Drummers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/100376433635355/
Both groups get together monthly to chat over a few drinks, with
subjects ranging far and wide, have a Discworld themed quiz and
generally enjoy the company of fellow Discworld fans.
Brisbane – Pratchett Partisans
https://www.facebook.com/groups/pratchettpartisans/
Join us in and around Brisbane for regular Pratchett-inspired nights
including Dining Around the Disc, board games arvos, Pratchett Picnics
and Discworld Discussions. We also hold special events once or twice a
year like themed parties, scavenger hunts and cocktail nights. Many of
us also attend opening night of Brisbane Arts Theatre's Pratchett
Productions in costume.
Perth – Treacle Mining Corporation
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Perth.Drummers/
Hobart – Purdeigh Islanders
https://www.facebook.com/groups/205967619882683/
Canberra – Drumknott's Irregulars
https://www.facebook.com/groups/824987924250161/
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
07) HOGSWATCH MERCH TIME
* Socks!
"Grab all four pairs of Discworld socks before they walk off the
shelves! Striking socks featuring Rob Anybody, Terry Pratchett, The
Luggage and Rincewind!Four pairs of socks with instantly recognisable
Discworld individuals... Guaranteed not to be devoured by sock-eating
manifestations caused by excess amounts of belief."
Each set of officially licensed Discworld socks is priced at £22.50 and
is available in UK Sizes 7–11. For more info, and to order, go to:
https://bit.ly/30faJ2z
* The Ultimate Discworld Companion!
"From The Colour of Magic to the Shepherd's Crown, The Ultimate
Discworld Companion is your complete guide to the denizens, destinations
and details of Terry Pratchett's Discworld, an essential encyclopaedia
for the most detailed landscape in literature, comprehensively compiled
by Stephen Briggs and illustrated by Paul Kidby! The Ultimate Discworld
Companion is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Discworld's characters,
concepts and countries from Ankh-Morpork to Zemphis and beyond. If you
want help telling your watchman from your wizard, your Octarine from
your Octavo or your Klatchian Coffee from your Peach Corniche then look
no further, the Ultimate Discworld guide is THE authority on Terry
Pratchett's beloved Discworld books!"
Each Ultimate Discworld Companion is priced at £25. For more info, and
to order, go to:
https://bit.ly/3c5ocwr
...and for the more financially blessed among you, the Dunmanifestin
edition of The Ultimate Discworld Companion is available for pre-order:
"Your ultimate guide to the entire Discworld from The Colour of Magic to
The Shepherd’s Crown and everything in between! Presented in a beautiful
slipcase and bound in an exclusive foil-embossed cover this spectacular
edition includes more incredible content and extra artwork – plus an
exclusive print with every pre-ordered copy! This definitive edition has
been created by Discworld archivist, playwright and cartographer Stephen
Briggs with master illustrator Paul Kidby, and manifested by
Dunmanifestin, the official publishing house for the works of Terry
Pratchett. PLEASE NOTE, THIS INCREDIBLE PUBLICATION IS STILL IN THE
PROCESS OF BEING CREATED, SO CONTENTS MAY BE SUBJECT TO a BIT OF CHANGE
HERE AND THERE AS THE PROJECT EVOLVES."
Each Dunmanifestin edition of The Ultimate Discworld Companion is priced
at £150 and will be published on 28th April (Sir Pterry's birthdate)
2022. For more info, and to pre-order, go to:
https://bit.ly/3olM4Si
* Puzzles!
There are three new Discworld puzzles – Twas the Night Before Hogswatch,
the Ankh-Morpork Post Office, and The Chalk – added to the extant seven
puzzles. All puzzles consist of 1,000 pieces and each puzzle is priced
at £ 19.50. For more info, and to order, go to:
https://www.discworldemporium.com/35-games-activities
...and there's a selection of t-shirts and such – https://bit.ly/3n9pVqR
– and figurines – https://bit.ly/3DcvrOS – to complete your Hogswatch
shopping madness. Happy commercialism to one and all! Ho! Ho! Ho!
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
08) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
The Boys are back in (London) town! A few looks at Good Omens 2,
currently filming in the land of the Feegles:
https://bit.ly/3qqQb22
https://bit.ly/3n55R94
https://bit.ly/30nJK59
Also, the (in)famous Crowley hair, as tweeted by Georgia Tennant:
https://bit.ly/2YF1oR7
...and the ineffably bleached Aziraphale hair, as tweeted by Michael Sheen:
https://bit.ly/30sgv0W
Unseen Theatre's Pamela Munt makes a very believable Granny Weatherwax:
https://bit.ly/3c2n5O0
...and a stunning representation of Elf queen Nightshade, by Paul Kidby,
for the forthcoming Dunmanifestin edition of the Ultimate Discworld
Companion: https://bit.ly/3F7AqRE
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
09) CLOSE
...and that's it for November. Take care, mind how you go, and we'll see
you next month!
– Annie Mac
This issue can be viewed on the Clacks at
https://wossname.dreamwidth.org/82795.html
Copyright (c) 2021 by Wossname for the Klatchian Foreign Legion
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The End. If you have any questions or requests, write: wossname-owner
(at) pearwood (dot) info
More information about the Wossname
mailing list