Wossname – Sektober 2018 – main issue
Nov. 5th, 2018 12:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wossnameWossname
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
Sektober 2018 (Volume 21, Issue 10, 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: Asti, Pitt the Elder, Evil Steven Dread, Mrs Wynn-Jones
Staff Technomancer: Jason Parlevliet
Book Reviews: Annie Mac, Drusilla D'Afanguin, Your Name Here
Puzzle Editor: Tiff (still out there somewhere)
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) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
05) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS
06) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
07) CLOSE
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
"Terry Pratchett and I wrote the novel almost 30 years ago. We failed to get a movie made almost immediately. And then a few years ago, Terry and I thought it might be a good idea to try it as television. We went to looking for writers, and they all said no, it's too big and too weird. And then Terry sent me a letter saying, 'you have to [write] this because I don't have very long to live, and I want to see it before the lights go out.' And then he died much, much faster than any of us expected. And that was his last request, and so I've seen it through."
– Neil Gaiman sets the record straight about Good Omens season 2 (not) at New York Comic Con 2018
"Good Omens is a very – I'm going to use a very particular word here – is a very English production. It's very English. There's no British, no UK. It's very English. I'm Scottish, when I read the book it felt so much like a ... I wouldn't say cliche or stereotype, but it's so much about how English people talk to each other. That's why with Aziraphale and Crowley, they're both English."
– Good Omens director Douglas MacKinnon
"The Watch is a distinctly British but defiantly global exhilarating, thriller that is disruptive in its approach to the fantasy genre and also big on the themes of mortality, inclusion, alternative facts and justice. It's a dizzying riot of hope, joy, suspense and audaciously dark humor. We can't wait to work with BBC AMERICA to bring it all to life for existing fans and brand new audiences."
– Hilary Salmon, Executive Producer and Head of BBC Studios Drama Production London
"The meat of Discworld is societal commentary. Pratchett used his comic fantasy series to shine a light on human nature, politics, opera, racism, war, religion, fairy tales, traditions, gender identity, industrialization and lofty concepts like justice and destiny. It's all subtly done, of course. You're too busy laughing at the hysterical dialogue, slapstick physical comedy and clever puns to realize the author is really talking about serious concepts. It's only upon reflection that you see it wasn't just a rip-snorting, action-packed adventure: it was a moving, honest piece of philosophy, too. The stories may star magical creatures, but you'll be a better human by reading them."
– Canadian web journalist Angie Barry sums it up nicely
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
02) A LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR
Department of We Ate'nt Dead: we're doing somewhat better now at Wossname Central. Your Editor is still sufficiently unwell that more time has to be spent resting than sitting at the household Hex, hence the late arrival of this month's issue, but at least there's a bit more in it...
Our heartfelt thanks go to the various people who wrote to offer us their best wishes for recovery, especially to Jason and Rachel of Discworld Monthly for their kind shout-out in their October issue and also to faithful reader Robert Byrd. Here's hoping that 2019 will bring better health and good fortune for all of us, not just Better Half and self!
Department of Discworld Helps With Grief: our Staff Technomancer recently suffered an awful family bereavement. I'm not going to be inappropriate by publishing details here, but I did want to mention that even in the depths of mourning he and I found room for some Discworld references about GNU and Feegle beliefs about life and death that brought humour to lighten the tears. Thank you once again, Sir Pterry, for the inspirations you left us.
Department of Grovelling Apologies: more than four months ago, when things at Wossname Central were already going pear-shaped, reader Andy Feeney in Washington DC sent a letter in which he presented his analysis of Sourcery – at the time, as a rebuttal to one of the blog reviews in our June 2018 issue. Somehow in the kerfuffle I managed to file his email and never replied. So I'm going to publish his analysis below in Odds and Sods, and hope he doesn't set The New Firm on me for being presumptuous...
There's good news for bricks and mortar bookshops: the American Booksellers Association says the number of independent bookstores has risen from 1,651 in 2009 to 2,470 in 2018. "History continues to bear out Howe's and Strauss' predictions based on a four-generation cycle in American history. So Howe's recent Forbes.com article, 'Millennials: A Generation of Page-Turners' – about the strong upswing in print reading among young people born between 1981 and 1996 – piqued my interest. Besides preferring print to digital reading, 'Millennials read more than older generations do – and more than the last generations did at the same age.' Howe cites Pew Research Center's survey findings that 80 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds read at least one book in the last year, compared to 73 percent of 30- to 49-year-olds, 70 percent of 50- to 64-year-olds and 67 percent of seniors. Moreover, 'print books remain by far the most popular book format among all age groups,' with 72 percent of Americans reading print books, but only 35 percent reading e-books. That's why 'after years of steady growth, e-book sales slowed sharply in 2014 and have since plateaued.' A contributing factor is that it's simply harder to read digital books; study upon study show that digital reading is physically slower and comprehending what's being read is significantly diminished..." (_https://bit.ly/2p4ENIn_)
And now, on with the (still slightly short) show...
– Annie Mac, Editor
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
03) ODDS AND SODS
3.1 HERE COMES THE WATCH... AT LAST!
BBC America has finally given the greenlight to the series we've waited so long for! Here be an extract from Narrativia's announcement:
"The Watch is a punk rock thriller inspired by the legendary 'City Watch' subset of 'Discworld' novels. This disruptive, character-driven thriller centers on Terry Pratchett's misfit cops as they fight to save a ramshackle city of normalized wrongness, from both the past and future in a perilous quest. Modern and inclusive, The Watch features many famous 'Discworld' creations including City Watch Captain Sam Vimes, the last scion of nobility Lady Sybil Ramkin, the naive but heroic Carrot, the mysterious Angua and the ingenious non-binary forensics expert Cheery together with Terry Pratchett's iconic characterization of Death... 'The Watch has been startlingly reimagined for television by writer Simon Allen, while still cleaving to the humor, heart and ingenuity of Terry Pratchett's incomparably original work,' commented BBC America President, Sarah Barnett. “BBC America embraces what's fresh and exhilarating in TV; we believe The Watch will astonish audiences.'
"Writer Simon Allen said: 'With events in our own world making the insanity of "Discworld" seem outrageously familiar, there couldn't be a better time to bring Terry's fun, fire and fury back to the small screen or a better place than BBC AMERICA. I'm grateful to them, BBC Studios and especially Rob Wilkins at Narrativia who has been a constant source of inspiration on this epic and emotional journey.” Hilary Salmon, Executive Producer and Head of BBC Studios Drama Production London, said: 'The Watch is a distinctly British but defiantly global exhilarating, thriller that is disruptive in its approach to the fantasy genre and also big on the themes of mortality, inclusion, alternative facts and justice. It's a dizzying riot of hope, joy, suspense and audaciously dark humor. We can't wait to work with BBC AMERICA to bring it all to life for existing fans and brand new audiences.' Rob Wilkins, Executive Producer and Managing Director of Narrativia, said: 'Many years ago Terry made the brave decision to allow brand new Watch stories to be told with his existing characters. It's taken a long time for anything to happen because we guard these characters with our very lives! So many of Terry's biggest ideas seem more vital and urgent now than ever before and I am thrilled to be working with Simon and such a talented team, who understand the unique genius of their creator. They have really keyed into the subversive qualities of Terry's voice and they clearly adore 'Discworld' as much as I and millions of fans around the world do.'..."
To read the entire announcement, go to http://narrativia.com/watch.html
3.2 GOOD OMENS NEWS
First off, THE NEW TRAILER! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZSXlNRRoGU
Then, some cast and crew comments. In the Irish Examiner:
"Gaiman, appearing alongside the cast of Good Omens during the Prime Video Presents event in London, said: 'It came out and rapidly became a cult book, the kind of book people would show up (with) at signings and it had been read to death, dropped in the soup, held together with Sellotape. Then we spent many years failing to get it made as a movie. Terry Gilliam was determined but failed and finally Terry (Pratchett) and I thought, "Let's make a TV series", went out and began looking for somebody to do the adaptation. We knew it wouldn't be us because we were far too busy. Then in the summer of 2014 Terry (Pratchett), who had serious Alzheimer's, he was very compos mentis but it was tragic and awful, he wrote me a letter saying: 'You have to do this because I want to watch it before the lights go out. You have the passion of the old girl that I have.' Then he died, which made it a last request...' Speaking about starring opposite former Doctor Who star Tennant, [Michael] Sheen said: 'My biggest problem when we were filming and I would genuinely be going between: "Oh you're really good" to "I think I love you." I was never quite sure where the character ended.' Tennant added: 'Most of our stuff is with each other. We spend a lot of time on park benches, so when you start on what was a long shoot, we had never worked together, what if we rub up against each other? But we found a rhythm quickly and if you've got someone you feel safe to play with and these characters that feel new and also recognisable, that comes from the writing. And you know what this unique world is straight away, it was a joy.'..."
https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/entertainment/neil-gaiman-pratchett-wanted-to-watch-good-omens-before-the-lights-go-out-872993.html
...and on tv.com (originally in TV Guide):
"The creator and stars of Amazon Prime's upcoming series Good Omens dropped by New York Comic Con on Saturday to reveal new details about the upcoming series based on the Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett novel of the same name... Saturday's panel, moderated by Whoopi Goldberg and featuring Neil Gaiman, Michael Sheen, David Tennant, Jon Hamm, Miranda Richardson, featured two clips, cheeky banter between the cast, and the first incredible trailer of the Amazon series. In the first clip, Aziraphale and Crowley are returning home after a failed trip to track down the missing Antichrist and Crowley has some ~thoughts~ on Aziraphale's music choices. Crowley quips, 'You know if you lined up a million people and asked them to describe the Velvet Underground, none of them would say bebop.'... In the second clip, the angel Gabriel (Hamm) deigns to come down to earth and visit Aziraphale at the book shop. In an attempt to blend, Gabriel rolls in and announces he'd like to buy one of the shop's material objects. His delightful angel henchman reminds him it's called a book, and that it's probably pornography... The amazing first look at Good Omens is a huge reassurance to fans. Many attempts have been made to bring the story to screen before, including a 2002 movie helmed by Terry Gilliam that didn't happen, but Amazon Prime is finally bringing the beloved property to your eyeballs and it looks like they're doing it right..."
http://www.tv.com/news/amazon-good-omens-trailer-released-15388389870024304/
...and an interview on Den of Geek with Good Omens director Douglas MacKinnon (although many of the quotes are from the main cast *about* MacKinnon):
"Director Douglas Mackinnon is behind the camera for all six episodes of what looks to be a trippy, distinctive, and wonderfully weird adaptation of a beloved book. Mackinnon knows his way around both an adaptation and a fantasy world. Standouts on the Scottish director's long resume include Doctor Who's 'The Husbands of River Song' (he's directed eight episode of NuWho), Sherlock's 'The Abominable Bride,' and the first three episodes of Steven Moffat's highly underrated Jekyll. Den of Geek had the chance to talk to Mackinnon and the cast of Good Omens at the recent New York Comic Con..."
https://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/good-omens/277047/the-distinctive-direction-of-the-good-omens-tv-show
3.3 REMINDER: DISCWORLD AND BEYOND EXHIBIT
Paul Kidby's Discworld and Beyond exhibit is now on at the Chapel Gallery in Ormskirk and will move in mid-December to the North Hertfordshire Museum. See the details below!
Currently...
When: now through 1st December 2018
Venue: Chapel Gallery, St Helens Road, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L39 4QR (phone 01695 571 328, email chapel.gallery@westlancs.gov.uk)
Time: 10am–4.30pm Tuesdays–Saturdays (closed Monday, Sunday & all Bank Holidays)
Tickets: free admission; there is also disabled access.
https://www.paulkidby.com/event/discworld-beyond-5/
...and then...
When: 15th December 2018–February 2019 (finishing date TBC)
Venue: North Hertfordshire Museum, Via Town Hall, Brand Street, Hitchin SG5 1JE (phone 01462 474554)
Times and Tickets info still TBA
http://www.northhertsmuseum.org/contact-us/
"For further details contact Emma Mackinnon, Exhibitions & Collections Officer at St Barbe Museum, Lymington.
Emma.Mackinnon@stbarbe-museum.org.uk"
https://www.paulkidby.com/events/#upcoming-events
3.4 A PTERRY GOOD BET FOR BOOKSHOP
Red Lion Books in Colchester is turning 40, and some of their initial success depended on a certain helpful author:
"'Terry Pratchett became a good friend of the shop after we asked him along quite early in his career and I remember George Martin telling us that his books were just about to be filmed, so we got him just at the right time.' ... Terry Pratchett's regular visits to the shop over 20 years attracted ever increasing numbers of fans until the queue would stretch out of our door and up the High Street to the Town Hall..."
https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/16989295.red-lion-book-shop-will-mark-its-40th-birthday/
3.5 A CARPET PEOPLE CHARACTER WINDOW DISPLAY IN THE LAND OF FEEGLES!
From Fiona Pringle in The Scotsman:
"A life-sized imagining of a Munrung, one of the characters from a tribe created by Terry Pratchett for his children's story The Carpet People, has taken over the Herman Brown window on West Port. Costume designer Harriet Ogden and part-time sales assistant, was searching for inspiration for her costume performance degree when her dad Steve suggested she look into the mind of Pratchett. 'I was chatting to my dad and explained that I wanted to make crazy, weird little creatures and make something really creative. I was interested in transforming the human body so the focus wasn't on a facial expression but on expressing movement through textiles. He suggested Terry Pratchett and when I found The Carpet People it reminded me of The Borrowers, who I loved when I was younger. The Carpet People characters are very like The Borrowers, only tinier and I realised there were loads of fun ways that I could bring them to life.'..."
https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/entertainment/costume-designer-gets-prime-spot-in-west-port-window-with-terry-pratchett-character-1-4824073
3.6 "SOURCERY": SOME THOUGHTS
By Andy Feeney
There's a great passage in "Jingo" where Sam Vines and 71-Hour Ahmed are discussing their differing approaches to police work, and Vimes says, "Different strokes for different folks." Ahmed replies, "I generally find that for me, one at breast height is sufficient," meaning the sword stroke he generally uses to cut off miscreants' heads. The phrase comes to mind as I look through the June 2018 Wossname, and I read the review of "Sourcery" by blogger acallidryas, who writes in part: "When you're as prolific as Pratchett, you're bound to have a miss or two, and unfortunately, that was Sourcery. The book isn't as fleshed out as the others, and not just in terms of the missing call-backs to how Discworld works. I didn't quite understand why the wizards were all fighting each other, and I'm still not clear on how sorcery becomes such a problem. Or why Coin's father became so malevolent. Or how the whole thing resolved in the end? The book flowed on quickly, and never seemed to explain itself, and I'm left rather unsatisfied with the plot itself."
Different strokes and all that, but I beg acallidryas to look at "Sourcery" again and rethink what Pratchett was up to in many of the Discworld books. This is fantasy; Pratchett grew up loving fantasy and was an enthusiastic fan of the Lord of the Rings cycle; but one thing he brings to fantasy is a sometimes nearly brutal sense of realism. Death, of course, is a presence in nearly Discworld novel, and the central focus of many of them, and one way in which Discworld "works" is by making repeated, nearly constant references to everyday life on Earth – with the ever-present reality of Death being a big part of Pratchett's realistic humor. For me, maybe because I'm almost in my 70s, the best and most outrageously funny line in "Sourcery" is where Ipslore the Red, who's gone mad from a lifetime of resenting his expulsion from Unseen University and from the recent experience of having his wife killed in a freak thunderstorm, holds up his son Coin for Death's inspection and says "Children are our hope for the future." Death replies, "THERE IS NO HOPE FOR THE FUTURE." And when Ipslore pleads, "What is there, then?" Death says simply, "THERE'S ONLY ME."
For more than a century, modern writers have made a huge issue out of speaking "forbidden" truths about sex, but here Pratchett is hitting the reader with the most forbidden and scandalous truth of all – something NOBODY wants to think about. And for me, anyway, the sheer effrontery of this makes me laugh out loud ever time I reread the passage, which is often. As for the plot, which admittedly is extremely complex, everyone who's grown up with some familiarity with Christian (or for that matter, Norse) prophecies about the end of the world ought to have some appreciation for how Pratchett ends "Sourcery." What the book does is combine the idea of the Apocrypha – the books that some Christians admire and still read, but that have a disputed place at best in the official canon on which most Christian bibles are based, with the idea of the Apocalypse of the St. John, the fearsome prophecy of how all human history will come to end in a bloody disaster that only the saints will survive.
In Pratchett's fantasy, we get instead of these the "Apocralypse," an End Times that we're not sure will actually happen. And in fact, it doesn't: thanks to the fumbling struggles of a failed wizard, Rincewind, and the way that a failed hairdresser, Conina, and a ridiculous excuse for a barbarian hero, Nigel, interfere with the famous Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the whole triumph of the Ice Giants doesn't come off, and Discworld is saved. Whatever Pratchett might or might not have been saying about the deep structure of Discworld, then, in this book he's dealing with the most terrifying Christian prophecy (and also the most terrifying Norse prophecy), about the future of our own universe. And he's suggesting how with some luck, it will all come out well in the end – well, at least it'll be OK for now.
This is fabulous stuff, for those of us who read the Discworld novels not for immersion in an alternative universe, but for whatever insights and reassurances Pratchett can provide us about the often terrifying non-fantasy world that we actually inhabit. I think I remember Pratchett writing somewhere that the best thing about fantasy is that it's realistic, but my memory admittedly is imperfect these days. But if he didn't write this about his own work, he should have.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
04) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
Editor's note: as Wossname normally only comes out once every month, do check the Wossname blog for information on plays that might fall between issue dates! Go to https://wossname.dreamwidth.org/ for interim updates.
4.1 PLAYS TO COME
* HOGFATHER IN ABINGDON (NOVEMBER)
The Studio Theatre Club's next Discworld production will be Hogfather! – or as they say it, "another of our world Premiere Terry Pratchett shows, dramatised by Terry's friend, Stephen Briggs".
When: 14th–17th November 2018
Venue: the Unicorn Theatre, Medieval Abbey Buildings, Checker Walk, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 3JB
Time: 7.30pm all evening shows; 2.30pm matinee on Saturday 17th November
Tickets: £12, available by post (see _http://www.studiotheatreclub.com/ordering-tickets_) or online via http://www.wegottickets.com/StudioTheatre (note that there is a 10% booking charge). "If you're booking for one of the weekend performances (Friday or Saturday evening, Saturday matinee), please give a second and third choice, as these performances are expected to sell out really quickly."
http://www.studiotheatreclub.com/whats-next
* GOING POSTAL IN BRISTOL (DECEMBER)
The Kelvin Players will be staging Going Postal in December: "Moist von Lipwig was a con artist, a fraud and a man faced with a life choice: be hanged, or put Ankh-Morpork's ailing postal service back on its feet. It was a tough decision. With the help of a golem who has been at the bottom of hole in the ground for over two hundred years, a pin fanatic and Junior Postman Groat, he's got to see that the mail gets through. In taking on the evil chairman of the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company, and a midnight killer, he's also got to stay alive. Getting a date with Adora Bell Dearheart would be nice, too. In the mad world of the mail, can a criminal succeed where honest men have failed and died? Perhaps there's a shot at redemption for man who's prepared to push the envelope..."
When: 5th–8th and 12th–15th December 2018
Venue: Kelvin Studio, 253B Gloucester Road, Bishopston, Bristol BS7 8NY
Time: 7.30pm all shows
Tickets: £10 and £12, available online from https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/bristol/kelvin-players-theatre/going-postal-by-terry-pratchett-and-stephen-briggs
https://www.kelvinplayers.co.uk/current-production
* MASKERADE IN WEST SUSSEX (MARCH 2019)
Ifield Barn will be back with another Discworld play next March! Sounds like a wonderfully Discly setting: "The theatre was created from a group of agricultural buildings and consist of a 700 year old tithe barn which now forms the auditorium and dressing rooms, a former Granary which serves as a kitchen and stables which have been converted to an exhibition room and workshops. All three buildings have been linked by a modern addition tastefully integrated to form the foyer and theatre bar. Due to some inspired fund-raising by members many improvements have been made to the theatre."
When: 6th–9th March 2019
Venue: Ifield Barn Arts Centre, Ifield Street, Ifield, West Sussex. RH11 0NN
Time: 8pm all evening shows; matinee 9th March 3pm
Tickets: £10 (£8 for members and children), available online at http://www.ticketsource.co.uk/ifieldbarntheatre or by post or in person at the venue
http://www.ifieldbarn.co.uk/coming-soon.html
4.2 REVIEWS
ERIC IN ADELAIDE
Reviewed by Ewart Shaw in The Advertiser:
"Please note: non Pratchett lovers, and there may be a few, won't understand half of this review. Now read on. The story of Eric, pimply teen demonologist (Sam Tutty, left), and Rincewind the wizard (Chris Irving) is not one of the greatest Pratchett adventures, but Pamela Munt's adaptation to the Unseen Theatre Company's house style, has laughs and thoughts enough to satisfy fans. Director Munt turns up as Footnote to fill in the narrative gaps, and the cast, almost all of them Unseen veterans, work hard to put the story across. Hugh O'Connor stands out as the Lavaeolus, the Discworld Ulysses, and Amy Ford is an energetic Urgglefloggah. Danny Sag impresses in multiple roles and Alicia Rabig is a great parrot and creator of planets. Other demons and denizens are incarnated by Paul Messenger, and Harold Roberts. Special mention must be made of David Dyte as the carnivorous luggage. There are some great costumes and technical effects from Michelle Whichello and Stephen Dean, a bit too much furniture for smooth scene changes, some neat film bits, and enough Pratchett magic and wisdom to carry the play along..."
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/entertainment/arts/good-chemistry-on-stage/news-story/6388a3b2f70723eb35d6afaac0631b89
By Nicola Woolford for Glam Adelaide:
"The Bakehouse Theatre foyer is flooded with red lights and decorated with demonic motivational posters, such as 'The beatings will not continue until morale improves'. This perfectly sets the mood for the devilish adventures to come. Our hero of the evening is the titular Eric, portrayed by a winningly naive Sam Tutty. Eric is a 13-year-old aspiring demonologist, who makes a critical error when trying to summon an all-powerful, wish-granting demon from the depths of Hell. Instead Eric calls Rincewind, portrayed by the charismatic Chris Irving... The chemistry between Irving and Tutty is perfect, at times fostering a touching mentor and protege relationship, at others a negligent nanny and spoilt child. Their comedic timing and range is on point. As our two main characters carry the story forward, Eric boasts a talented cast of supporting players who undertake multiple roles. These include Alycia Rabig, Paul Messenger, Aimee Ford, Danny Sag, Harold Roberts, Hugh O'Connor, and David Dyte. Whether portraying a foul-mouthed Parrot familiar, the Demon King, the pacifist Captain Lavaeolus, or Death, these actors are commendable and often hilarious..."
http://www.glamadelaide.com.au/theatre-review-eric/
...and by Christine Pyman for Broadway World:
"Pamela Munt has worked hard with Sir Terry's vision, by adapting, producing, and directing his written novel into to a two-hour play for her Unseen Theatre Company. In this story, we are introduced to Eric, a very typical almost fourteen-year-old boy, one of the Billy Bunter types, who just happens to be an exceptional demonologist. His talents gain him the attention of the demon king of Hades, Astfgl, played in a funnily and frighteningly bureaucratic fashion by Paul Messenger. Astfgl has a cohort of demons at his apparent beck and call, very ably realised by Danny Sag, Aimee Ford, and Harold Roberts. The machinations of the demon host are witty and well played, in every sense... Sam Tutty plays Eric, our would-be schoolboy Ruler of the World, in an appropriately petulant manner, demanding his wishes from the unprepossessing Rincewind, Chris Irving. These two actors are on stage for almost every scene, forming a continuation of narrative, through an ongoing series of vignettes. The sheer number of set changes led to a lowness of production initially, with improved pace for the second act. The use of pre-recorded video projections shows the attention to detail, and the passion for these productions, that Unseen brings to their shows... Any theatre company that can recreate one of Pratchett's most loved characters, the Luggage, in all of its magical wooden aggression (cabinet constructed by David Dyte), has my vote of confidence..."
https://www.broadwayworld.com/adelaide/article/BWW-Review-ERIC-at-Bakehouse-Theatre-20181011
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
05) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS
The Sir Terry Pratchett Book Club at Waterstones Leeds meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 6pm in the Cafe W coffee shop (in Waterstones), to discuss a Pratchett book. "Join us for the most fabulous Book Club in Leeds. Each month we come together to discuss the splendid novels of Sir Terry Pratchett. We are a very friendly group and new people are always welcome!"
The next meeting of the Sir Terry Pratchett Book Club will be on Tuesday 6th November at 6pm at Waterstones, 93-97 Albion Street, Leeds LS1 5JS. (phone 0113 244 4588). The November book under discussion will be Diggers, "a wonderful novel, suitable for all ages, featuring the Nomes."
*
The Broken Drummers, "London's Premier Unofficially Official Discworld Group" (motto "Nil percussio est"), will be meeting tonight, Monday 5th November (remember, remember!) from 7pm at the Monkey Puzzle, 30 Southwick Street, London, W2 1JQ. "We welcome anyone and everyone who enjoys Sir Terry's works, or quite likes them or wants to find out more. We have had many visitors from overseas who have enjoyed themselves and made new friends. The discussions do not only concern the works of Sir Terry Pratchett but wander and meander through other genres and authors and also leaping to TV and Film production. We also find time for a quiz."
The Drummers' October meet report, by Helen:
"We met Monday night, which seems so long ago. Alex G. told us about his teacher training and told me off for putting too much salt on my pizza. I was indignant given that he recently had the Monkey Puzzle's chocolate pizza and once ate a pizza that was covered in chips.James came along and I had a nice a chat with him about video games. He recommends the Monster Hunter series. Then we came to the quiz. Alex G. was quizmaster and showed his enthusiasm for his new vocation by doing a quiz on Discworld schools. I suggest he practice classroom discipline by treating those who were disruptive (Edmund!) like naughty schoolchildren. He was not keen. Andrew and I technically tied but I was somehow declared winner for knowing so many alumnae of the Quirm College for Young Ladies. Towards the end, only a few of us remained when Tom appeared. He had gone to great lengths to travel to us after working late. Pete immediately bought him a drink plus a Babycham for himself, much everyone's fascination. By the end we had a situation where the gentlemen were discussing Biblical movies, while Marina and I discussed stage nudity, a conversation that rapidly degenerated. Marina does not recommend Iggy Pop. The next meeting is Monday 5th November. Also, I'm looking for ideas for things we could do outside the regular meetings. I'm less keen to do weekend meets at the Puzzle over the winter as we can't sit in the garden."
Twitter thread: https://twitter.com/BrokenDrummers/status/1048497559298351104
For more information, email BrokenDrummers@gmail.com or nicholls.helen@yahoo.co.uk or join their Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/55107511411/permalink/10156634038566412/
*
Canberra, Australia's Discworld fan group is Drumknott's Irregulars: "The group is open to all, people from interstate and overseas are welcome, and our events will not be heavily themed. Come along to dinner for a chat and good company. We welcome people from all fandoms (and none) and we would love to see you at one of our events, even if you're just passing through. Please contact us via Facebook (_https://www.facebook.com/groups/824987924250161/_) or Google Groups (_https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/drumknotts-irregulars_) or join us at our next event."
*
For Facebook users in Fourecks: The Victorian Discworld Klatch is "a social group for fans of Discworld and Terry Pratchett... run by a dedicated team who meet monthly and organise events monthly." "If you'd like to join our events please ask to join the Klatch."
https://www.facebook.com/groups/VictorianDiscworldKlatch
*
"The Gathering of the Loonies (Wincanton chapter)" is a public Facebook meeting group: "This group, by request of Jo in Bear will continue to be used for future unofficial (not run by the Emporium) fan Gatherings in Wincanton. Look here for information."
https://www.facebook.com/groups/373578522834654/
*
The Pratchett Partisans are a fan group who meet monthly at either Brisbane or Indooroopilly to "eat, drink and chat about all things Pratchett. We hold events such as Discworld dinners, games afternoons, Discworld photo scavenger hunts. We also attend opening night at Brisbane Arts Theatre's Discworld plays." The Partisans currently have about 200 members who meet at least twice a month, usually in Brisbane.
For more info about their next meetup, join up at https://www.facebook.com/groups/pratchettpartisans/ or contact Ula directly at uwilmott@yahoo.com.au
*
The City of Small Gods is a group for fans in Adelaide and South Australia: "We have an established Terry Pratchett & Discworld fan group in Adelaide called The City of Small Gods, which is open to anyone who would like to come – you don't have to live in Adelaide or even South Australia, or even be a Discworld fan, but that's mostly where our events will be held, and we do like discussing Pratchett's works. Our (semi-) regular meetings are generally held on the last Thursday of the month at a pub or restaurant in Adelaide. We have dinner at 6.30pm followed by games until 9pm. Every few months, we have a full day's worth of board games at La Scala Cafe, 169 Unley Rd, Unley in the function room starting at 10am. In addition, we will occasionally have other events to go and see plays by Unseen Theatre Company, book discussions, craft, chain maille or costuming workshops or other fun social activities."
The next CoSG events will both be on Saturday 24th November: the Hogswatch in Grune Dinner at the Astor Hotel in the Pulteney Room, 437 Pulteney Street, Adelaide, South Australia 5000 (go to https://www.trybooking.com/book/event?eid=412755& to book) followed by the Martin Pearson House Concert – The Secret Origins of Humpty Dumpty and other songs at Kochanski Mews, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095 (go to https://www.trybooking.com/book/event?eid=427177& to book).
The CoSG also have another identity. Here's the skinny:
Round World Events SA Inc is a not-for-profit incorporated association whose aim is to run fun social Pratchett-themed events for people in South Australia. Our first major event was the Unseen University Convivium held in July 2012. We have also run three successful and booked out Science Fiction and Fantasy themed quiz nights named Quiz Long And Prosper, in 2013, 2014 and 2015! The association will run some events under the City of Small Gods banner, but you do not have to be a Round World Events SA member to be part of City of Small Gods. However, we are always on the look out for new members for Round World Events SA to help us organise future events! Membership is $20 a year (for Adelaide locals) or $5 a year (for those not quite so close) and has the following benefits:
A shiny membership certificate all of your very own
Discounted entry price to some of the events we run
A warm, fuzzy feeling deep down in your chest (no, not quite that deep)
For more information, or to join as a member, please email RoundWorldEventsSA@gmail.com
www.cityofsmallgods.org.au
*
The Broken Vectis Drummers meet next on Thursday 6th December (probably) from 7.30pm at The Castle pub in Newport, Isle of Wight. For more info and any queries, contact broken_vectis_drummers@yahoo.co.uk
*
The Wincanton Omnian Temperance Society (WOTS) next meets on Friday 7th December (possibly) at Wincanton's famous Bear Inn from 7pm onwards. "Visitors and drop-ins are always welcome!"
*
The Northern Institute of the Ankh-Morpork and District Society of Flatalists, a Pratchett fangroup, has been meeting on a regular basis since 2005. The Flatalists normally meet at The Narrowboat Pub in Victoria Street, Skipton, North Yorkshire, to discuss "all things Pratchett" as well as having quizzes and raffles. Details of future meetings are posted on the Events section of the Discworld Stamps forum:
http://www.discworldstamps.co.uk/forum/
*
Sydney Drummers (formerly Drummers Downunder) meet next on Monday 3rd December (possibly) at 6.30pm in Sydney at 3 Wise Monkeys, 555 George Street, Sydney 2000. For more information, contact Sue (aka Granny Weatherwax): kenworthys@yahoo.co.uk
*
The Treacle Mining Corporation, formerly known as Perth Drummers, meet next on Monday 3rd December (possibly) from 5.30pm at Carpe Cafe, 526 Murray Street, Perth, Western Australia. For details follow Perth Drummers on Twitter @Perth_Drummers or join their Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Perth.Drummers/ – or message Alexandra Ware directly at <alexandra.ware@gmail.com>
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
06) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
Paul Kidby's concept art for The Watch telly series: http://narrativia.com/assets/img/watch-logo.jpg
The Librarian himself, carved into a seasonal pumpkin by the amazing Mediumawareness:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dqvvv_-WwAEO4uD.jpg
"Avaunt, demon!" Eric holds Rincewind at by – he thinks – in Unseen Theatre's production:
https://bit.ly/2Aih1ih
...and Astfgl, demon Duke of Hell, as iconographed by director Pamela Munt: https://bit.ly/2CqHBqV
The impressive cast of Men at Arms in Brisbane Arts Centre's recent production, as posted by Danny Sag:
https://bit.ly/2yL1Egp
A lovely still of Aziraphale and Crowley in St James' Park, from the filming of Good Omens:
https://bit.ly/2qrPgOs
...and the wonderful promo art for Good Omens at New York Comic Con, as posted by SyfyWire:
https://bit.ly/2yRff6R
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
07) CLOSE
To finish, here be a little piece of Roundworld Tales that might strike TAMAHER fans as strangely familiar: "A US wildlife centre has saved five young gray squirrels after their tails became dangerously fused together. The siblings had become entangled with the grass and plastic strips their mother used to build the family nest. They were handed in at the Wisconsin Humane Society's Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, which worked to save their tails and possibly their lives. The five were cut free with scissors while under anaesthetic..."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45545179
And finally, while Pratchett references have become commonplace around the world now, occasionally one comes across one in a very unexpected place that makes it worth sharing – such as this one, from a sport-pages review of Liverpool footballer James Milner's performance in a match: "Such was his level of concentration and the aura of absolute certainty that if he had a hypothetical staring contest with Terry Pratchett's personification of hollow-eyed Death, the latter would blink first." Sweet!
And that's it for October, er, Sektober, and also it for Your Editor who's going for yet another lie-down. Take care, and we hope to see you in a few weeks!
– Annie Mac
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The End. If you have any questions or requests, write: wossname-owner (at) pearwood (dot) info
Copyright (c) 2018 by Klatchian Foreign Legion
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
Sektober 2018 (Volume 21, Issue 10, 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: Asti, Pitt the Elder, Evil Steven Dread, Mrs Wynn-Jones
Staff Technomancer: Jason Parlevliet
Book Reviews: Annie Mac, Drusilla D'Afanguin, Your Name Here
Puzzle Editor: Tiff (still out there somewhere)
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) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
05) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS
06) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
07) CLOSE
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
"Terry Pratchett and I wrote the novel almost 30 years ago. We failed to get a movie made almost immediately. And then a few years ago, Terry and I thought it might be a good idea to try it as television. We went to looking for writers, and they all said no, it's too big and too weird. And then Terry sent me a letter saying, 'you have to [write] this because I don't have very long to live, and I want to see it before the lights go out.' And then he died much, much faster than any of us expected. And that was his last request, and so I've seen it through."
– Neil Gaiman sets the record straight about Good Omens season 2 (not) at New York Comic Con 2018
"Good Omens is a very – I'm going to use a very particular word here – is a very English production. It's very English. There's no British, no UK. It's very English. I'm Scottish, when I read the book it felt so much like a ... I wouldn't say cliche or stereotype, but it's so much about how English people talk to each other. That's why with Aziraphale and Crowley, they're both English."
– Good Omens director Douglas MacKinnon
"The Watch is a distinctly British but defiantly global exhilarating, thriller that is disruptive in its approach to the fantasy genre and also big on the themes of mortality, inclusion, alternative facts and justice. It's a dizzying riot of hope, joy, suspense and audaciously dark humor. We can't wait to work with BBC AMERICA to bring it all to life for existing fans and brand new audiences."
– Hilary Salmon, Executive Producer and Head of BBC Studios Drama Production London
"The meat of Discworld is societal commentary. Pratchett used his comic fantasy series to shine a light on human nature, politics, opera, racism, war, religion, fairy tales, traditions, gender identity, industrialization and lofty concepts like justice and destiny. It's all subtly done, of course. You're too busy laughing at the hysterical dialogue, slapstick physical comedy and clever puns to realize the author is really talking about serious concepts. It's only upon reflection that you see it wasn't just a rip-snorting, action-packed adventure: it was a moving, honest piece of philosophy, too. The stories may star magical creatures, but you'll be a better human by reading them."
– Canadian web journalist Angie Barry sums it up nicely
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
02) A LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR
Department of We Ate'nt Dead: we're doing somewhat better now at Wossname Central. Your Editor is still sufficiently unwell that more time has to be spent resting than sitting at the household Hex, hence the late arrival of this month's issue, but at least there's a bit more in it...
Our heartfelt thanks go to the various people who wrote to offer us their best wishes for recovery, especially to Jason and Rachel of Discworld Monthly for their kind shout-out in their October issue and also to faithful reader Robert Byrd. Here's hoping that 2019 will bring better health and good fortune for all of us, not just Better Half and self!
Department of Discworld Helps With Grief: our Staff Technomancer recently suffered an awful family bereavement. I'm not going to be inappropriate by publishing details here, but I did want to mention that even in the depths of mourning he and I found room for some Discworld references about GNU and Feegle beliefs about life and death that brought humour to lighten the tears. Thank you once again, Sir Pterry, for the inspirations you left us.
Department of Grovelling Apologies: more than four months ago, when things at Wossname Central were already going pear-shaped, reader Andy Feeney in Washington DC sent a letter in which he presented his analysis of Sourcery – at the time, as a rebuttal to one of the blog reviews in our June 2018 issue. Somehow in the kerfuffle I managed to file his email and never replied. So I'm going to publish his analysis below in Odds and Sods, and hope he doesn't set The New Firm on me for being presumptuous...
There's good news for bricks and mortar bookshops: the American Booksellers Association says the number of independent bookstores has risen from 1,651 in 2009 to 2,470 in 2018. "History continues to bear out Howe's and Strauss' predictions based on a four-generation cycle in American history. So Howe's recent Forbes.com article, 'Millennials: A Generation of Page-Turners' – about the strong upswing in print reading among young people born between 1981 and 1996 – piqued my interest. Besides preferring print to digital reading, 'Millennials read more than older generations do – and more than the last generations did at the same age.' Howe cites Pew Research Center's survey findings that 80 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds read at least one book in the last year, compared to 73 percent of 30- to 49-year-olds, 70 percent of 50- to 64-year-olds and 67 percent of seniors. Moreover, 'print books remain by far the most popular book format among all age groups,' with 72 percent of Americans reading print books, but only 35 percent reading e-books. That's why 'after years of steady growth, e-book sales slowed sharply in 2014 and have since plateaued.' A contributing factor is that it's simply harder to read digital books; study upon study show that digital reading is physically slower and comprehending what's being read is significantly diminished..." (_https://bit.ly/2p4ENIn_)
And now, on with the (still slightly short) show...
– Annie Mac, Editor
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
03) ODDS AND SODS
3.1 HERE COMES THE WATCH... AT LAST!
BBC America has finally given the greenlight to the series we've waited so long for! Here be an extract from Narrativia's announcement:
"The Watch is a punk rock thriller inspired by the legendary 'City Watch' subset of 'Discworld' novels. This disruptive, character-driven thriller centers on Terry Pratchett's misfit cops as they fight to save a ramshackle city of normalized wrongness, from both the past and future in a perilous quest. Modern and inclusive, The Watch features many famous 'Discworld' creations including City Watch Captain Sam Vimes, the last scion of nobility Lady Sybil Ramkin, the naive but heroic Carrot, the mysterious Angua and the ingenious non-binary forensics expert Cheery together with Terry Pratchett's iconic characterization of Death... 'The Watch has been startlingly reimagined for television by writer Simon Allen, while still cleaving to the humor, heart and ingenuity of Terry Pratchett's incomparably original work,' commented BBC America President, Sarah Barnett. “BBC America embraces what's fresh and exhilarating in TV; we believe The Watch will astonish audiences.'
"Writer Simon Allen said: 'With events in our own world making the insanity of "Discworld" seem outrageously familiar, there couldn't be a better time to bring Terry's fun, fire and fury back to the small screen or a better place than BBC AMERICA. I'm grateful to them, BBC Studios and especially Rob Wilkins at Narrativia who has been a constant source of inspiration on this epic and emotional journey.” Hilary Salmon, Executive Producer and Head of BBC Studios Drama Production London, said: 'The Watch is a distinctly British but defiantly global exhilarating, thriller that is disruptive in its approach to the fantasy genre and also big on the themes of mortality, inclusion, alternative facts and justice. It's a dizzying riot of hope, joy, suspense and audaciously dark humor. We can't wait to work with BBC AMERICA to bring it all to life for existing fans and brand new audiences.' Rob Wilkins, Executive Producer and Managing Director of Narrativia, said: 'Many years ago Terry made the brave decision to allow brand new Watch stories to be told with his existing characters. It's taken a long time for anything to happen because we guard these characters with our very lives! So many of Terry's biggest ideas seem more vital and urgent now than ever before and I am thrilled to be working with Simon and such a talented team, who understand the unique genius of their creator. They have really keyed into the subversive qualities of Terry's voice and they clearly adore 'Discworld' as much as I and millions of fans around the world do.'..."
To read the entire announcement, go to http://narrativia.com/watch.html
3.2 GOOD OMENS NEWS
First off, THE NEW TRAILER! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZSXlNRRoGU
Then, some cast and crew comments. In the Irish Examiner:
"Gaiman, appearing alongside the cast of Good Omens during the Prime Video Presents event in London, said: 'It came out and rapidly became a cult book, the kind of book people would show up (with) at signings and it had been read to death, dropped in the soup, held together with Sellotape. Then we spent many years failing to get it made as a movie. Terry Gilliam was determined but failed and finally Terry (Pratchett) and I thought, "Let's make a TV series", went out and began looking for somebody to do the adaptation. We knew it wouldn't be us because we were far too busy. Then in the summer of 2014 Terry (Pratchett), who had serious Alzheimer's, he was very compos mentis but it was tragic and awful, he wrote me a letter saying: 'You have to do this because I want to watch it before the lights go out. You have the passion of the old girl that I have.' Then he died, which made it a last request...' Speaking about starring opposite former Doctor Who star Tennant, [Michael] Sheen said: 'My biggest problem when we were filming and I would genuinely be going between: "Oh you're really good" to "I think I love you." I was never quite sure where the character ended.' Tennant added: 'Most of our stuff is with each other. We spend a lot of time on park benches, so when you start on what was a long shoot, we had never worked together, what if we rub up against each other? But we found a rhythm quickly and if you've got someone you feel safe to play with and these characters that feel new and also recognisable, that comes from the writing. And you know what this unique world is straight away, it was a joy.'..."
https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/entertainment/neil-gaiman-pratchett-wanted-to-watch-good-omens-before-the-lights-go-out-872993.html
...and on tv.com (originally in TV Guide):
"The creator and stars of Amazon Prime's upcoming series Good Omens dropped by New York Comic Con on Saturday to reveal new details about the upcoming series based on the Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett novel of the same name... Saturday's panel, moderated by Whoopi Goldberg and featuring Neil Gaiman, Michael Sheen, David Tennant, Jon Hamm, Miranda Richardson, featured two clips, cheeky banter between the cast, and the first incredible trailer of the Amazon series. In the first clip, Aziraphale and Crowley are returning home after a failed trip to track down the missing Antichrist and Crowley has some ~thoughts~ on Aziraphale's music choices. Crowley quips, 'You know if you lined up a million people and asked them to describe the Velvet Underground, none of them would say bebop.'... In the second clip, the angel Gabriel (Hamm) deigns to come down to earth and visit Aziraphale at the book shop. In an attempt to blend, Gabriel rolls in and announces he'd like to buy one of the shop's material objects. His delightful angel henchman reminds him it's called a book, and that it's probably pornography... The amazing first look at Good Omens is a huge reassurance to fans. Many attempts have been made to bring the story to screen before, including a 2002 movie helmed by Terry Gilliam that didn't happen, but Amazon Prime is finally bringing the beloved property to your eyeballs and it looks like they're doing it right..."
http://www.tv.com/news/amazon-good-omens-trailer-released-15388389870024304/
...and an interview on Den of Geek with Good Omens director Douglas MacKinnon (although many of the quotes are from the main cast *about* MacKinnon):
"Director Douglas Mackinnon is behind the camera for all six episodes of what looks to be a trippy, distinctive, and wonderfully weird adaptation of a beloved book. Mackinnon knows his way around both an adaptation and a fantasy world. Standouts on the Scottish director's long resume include Doctor Who's 'The Husbands of River Song' (he's directed eight episode of NuWho), Sherlock's 'The Abominable Bride,' and the first three episodes of Steven Moffat's highly underrated Jekyll. Den of Geek had the chance to talk to Mackinnon and the cast of Good Omens at the recent New York Comic Con..."
https://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/good-omens/277047/the-distinctive-direction-of-the-good-omens-tv-show
3.3 REMINDER: DISCWORLD AND BEYOND EXHIBIT
Paul Kidby's Discworld and Beyond exhibit is now on at the Chapel Gallery in Ormskirk and will move in mid-December to the North Hertfordshire Museum. See the details below!
Currently...
When: now through 1st December 2018
Venue: Chapel Gallery, St Helens Road, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L39 4QR (phone 01695 571 328, email chapel.gallery@westlancs.gov.uk)
Time: 10am–4.30pm Tuesdays–Saturdays (closed Monday, Sunday & all Bank Holidays)
Tickets: free admission; there is also disabled access.
https://www.paulkidby.com/event/discworld-beyond-5/
...and then...
When: 15th December 2018–February 2019 (finishing date TBC)
Venue: North Hertfordshire Museum, Via Town Hall, Brand Street, Hitchin SG5 1JE (phone 01462 474554)
Times and Tickets info still TBA
http://www.northhertsmuseum.org/contact-us/
"For further details contact Emma Mackinnon, Exhibitions & Collections Officer at St Barbe Museum, Lymington.
Emma.Mackinnon@stbarbe-museum.org.uk"
https://www.paulkidby.com/events/#upcoming-events
3.4 A PTERRY GOOD BET FOR BOOKSHOP
Red Lion Books in Colchester is turning 40, and some of their initial success depended on a certain helpful author:
"'Terry Pratchett became a good friend of the shop after we asked him along quite early in his career and I remember George Martin telling us that his books were just about to be filmed, so we got him just at the right time.' ... Terry Pratchett's regular visits to the shop over 20 years attracted ever increasing numbers of fans until the queue would stretch out of our door and up the High Street to the Town Hall..."
https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/16989295.red-lion-book-shop-will-mark-its-40th-birthday/
3.5 A CARPET PEOPLE CHARACTER WINDOW DISPLAY IN THE LAND OF FEEGLES!
From Fiona Pringle in The Scotsman:
"A life-sized imagining of a Munrung, one of the characters from a tribe created by Terry Pratchett for his children's story The Carpet People, has taken over the Herman Brown window on West Port. Costume designer Harriet Ogden and part-time sales assistant, was searching for inspiration for her costume performance degree when her dad Steve suggested she look into the mind of Pratchett. 'I was chatting to my dad and explained that I wanted to make crazy, weird little creatures and make something really creative. I was interested in transforming the human body so the focus wasn't on a facial expression but on expressing movement through textiles. He suggested Terry Pratchett and when I found The Carpet People it reminded me of The Borrowers, who I loved when I was younger. The Carpet People characters are very like The Borrowers, only tinier and I realised there were loads of fun ways that I could bring them to life.'..."
https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/entertainment/costume-designer-gets-prime-spot-in-west-port-window-with-terry-pratchett-character-1-4824073
3.6 "SOURCERY": SOME THOUGHTS
By Andy Feeney
There's a great passage in "Jingo" where Sam Vines and 71-Hour Ahmed are discussing their differing approaches to police work, and Vimes says, "Different strokes for different folks." Ahmed replies, "I generally find that for me, one at breast height is sufficient," meaning the sword stroke he generally uses to cut off miscreants' heads. The phrase comes to mind as I look through the June 2018 Wossname, and I read the review of "Sourcery" by blogger acallidryas, who writes in part: "When you're as prolific as Pratchett, you're bound to have a miss or two, and unfortunately, that was Sourcery. The book isn't as fleshed out as the others, and not just in terms of the missing call-backs to how Discworld works. I didn't quite understand why the wizards were all fighting each other, and I'm still not clear on how sorcery becomes such a problem. Or why Coin's father became so malevolent. Or how the whole thing resolved in the end? The book flowed on quickly, and never seemed to explain itself, and I'm left rather unsatisfied with the plot itself."
Different strokes and all that, but I beg acallidryas to look at "Sourcery" again and rethink what Pratchett was up to in many of the Discworld books. This is fantasy; Pratchett grew up loving fantasy and was an enthusiastic fan of the Lord of the Rings cycle; but one thing he brings to fantasy is a sometimes nearly brutal sense of realism. Death, of course, is a presence in nearly Discworld novel, and the central focus of many of them, and one way in which Discworld "works" is by making repeated, nearly constant references to everyday life on Earth – with the ever-present reality of Death being a big part of Pratchett's realistic humor. For me, maybe because I'm almost in my 70s, the best and most outrageously funny line in "Sourcery" is where Ipslore the Red, who's gone mad from a lifetime of resenting his expulsion from Unseen University and from the recent experience of having his wife killed in a freak thunderstorm, holds up his son Coin for Death's inspection and says "Children are our hope for the future." Death replies, "THERE IS NO HOPE FOR THE FUTURE." And when Ipslore pleads, "What is there, then?" Death says simply, "THERE'S ONLY ME."
For more than a century, modern writers have made a huge issue out of speaking "forbidden" truths about sex, but here Pratchett is hitting the reader with the most forbidden and scandalous truth of all – something NOBODY wants to think about. And for me, anyway, the sheer effrontery of this makes me laugh out loud ever time I reread the passage, which is often. As for the plot, which admittedly is extremely complex, everyone who's grown up with some familiarity with Christian (or for that matter, Norse) prophecies about the end of the world ought to have some appreciation for how Pratchett ends "Sourcery." What the book does is combine the idea of the Apocrypha – the books that some Christians admire and still read, but that have a disputed place at best in the official canon on which most Christian bibles are based, with the idea of the Apocalypse of the St. John, the fearsome prophecy of how all human history will come to end in a bloody disaster that only the saints will survive.
In Pratchett's fantasy, we get instead of these the "Apocralypse," an End Times that we're not sure will actually happen. And in fact, it doesn't: thanks to the fumbling struggles of a failed wizard, Rincewind, and the way that a failed hairdresser, Conina, and a ridiculous excuse for a barbarian hero, Nigel, interfere with the famous Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the whole triumph of the Ice Giants doesn't come off, and Discworld is saved. Whatever Pratchett might or might not have been saying about the deep structure of Discworld, then, in this book he's dealing with the most terrifying Christian prophecy (and also the most terrifying Norse prophecy), about the future of our own universe. And he's suggesting how with some luck, it will all come out well in the end – well, at least it'll be OK for now.
This is fabulous stuff, for those of us who read the Discworld novels not for immersion in an alternative universe, but for whatever insights and reassurances Pratchett can provide us about the often terrifying non-fantasy world that we actually inhabit. I think I remember Pratchett writing somewhere that the best thing about fantasy is that it's realistic, but my memory admittedly is imperfect these days. But if he didn't write this about his own work, he should have.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
04) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
Editor's note: as Wossname normally only comes out once every month, do check the Wossname blog for information on plays that might fall between issue dates! Go to https://wossname.dreamwidth.org/ for interim updates.
4.1 PLAYS TO COME
* HOGFATHER IN ABINGDON (NOVEMBER)
The Studio Theatre Club's next Discworld production will be Hogfather! – or as they say it, "another of our world Premiere Terry Pratchett shows, dramatised by Terry's friend, Stephen Briggs".
When: 14th–17th November 2018
Venue: the Unicorn Theatre, Medieval Abbey Buildings, Checker Walk, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 3JB
Time: 7.30pm all evening shows; 2.30pm matinee on Saturday 17th November
Tickets: £12, available by post (see _http://www.studiotheatreclub.com/ordering-tickets_) or online via http://www.wegottickets.com/StudioTheatre (note that there is a 10% booking charge). "If you're booking for one of the weekend performances (Friday or Saturday evening, Saturday matinee), please give a second and third choice, as these performances are expected to sell out really quickly."
http://www.studiotheatreclub.com/whats-next
* GOING POSTAL IN BRISTOL (DECEMBER)
The Kelvin Players will be staging Going Postal in December: "Moist von Lipwig was a con artist, a fraud and a man faced with a life choice: be hanged, or put Ankh-Morpork's ailing postal service back on its feet. It was a tough decision. With the help of a golem who has been at the bottom of hole in the ground for over two hundred years, a pin fanatic and Junior Postman Groat, he's got to see that the mail gets through. In taking on the evil chairman of the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company, and a midnight killer, he's also got to stay alive. Getting a date with Adora Bell Dearheart would be nice, too. In the mad world of the mail, can a criminal succeed where honest men have failed and died? Perhaps there's a shot at redemption for man who's prepared to push the envelope..."
When: 5th–8th and 12th–15th December 2018
Venue: Kelvin Studio, 253B Gloucester Road, Bishopston, Bristol BS7 8NY
Time: 7.30pm all shows
Tickets: £10 and £12, available online from https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/bristol/kelvin-players-theatre/going-postal-by-terry-pratchett-and-stephen-briggs
https://www.kelvinplayers.co.uk/current-production
* MASKERADE IN WEST SUSSEX (MARCH 2019)
Ifield Barn will be back with another Discworld play next March! Sounds like a wonderfully Discly setting: "The theatre was created from a group of agricultural buildings and consist of a 700 year old tithe barn which now forms the auditorium and dressing rooms, a former Granary which serves as a kitchen and stables which have been converted to an exhibition room and workshops. All three buildings have been linked by a modern addition tastefully integrated to form the foyer and theatre bar. Due to some inspired fund-raising by members many improvements have been made to the theatre."
When: 6th–9th March 2019
Venue: Ifield Barn Arts Centre, Ifield Street, Ifield, West Sussex. RH11 0NN
Time: 8pm all evening shows; matinee 9th March 3pm
Tickets: £10 (£8 for members and children), available online at http://www.ticketsource.co.uk/ifieldbarntheatre or by post or in person at the venue
http://www.ifieldbarn.co.uk/coming-soon.html
4.2 REVIEWS
ERIC IN ADELAIDE
Reviewed by Ewart Shaw in The Advertiser:
"Please note: non Pratchett lovers, and there may be a few, won't understand half of this review. Now read on. The story of Eric, pimply teen demonologist (Sam Tutty, left), and Rincewind the wizard (Chris Irving) is not one of the greatest Pratchett adventures, but Pamela Munt's adaptation to the Unseen Theatre Company's house style, has laughs and thoughts enough to satisfy fans. Director Munt turns up as Footnote to fill in the narrative gaps, and the cast, almost all of them Unseen veterans, work hard to put the story across. Hugh O'Connor stands out as the Lavaeolus, the Discworld Ulysses, and Amy Ford is an energetic Urgglefloggah. Danny Sag impresses in multiple roles and Alicia Rabig is a great parrot and creator of planets. Other demons and denizens are incarnated by Paul Messenger, and Harold Roberts. Special mention must be made of David Dyte as the carnivorous luggage. There are some great costumes and technical effects from Michelle Whichello and Stephen Dean, a bit too much furniture for smooth scene changes, some neat film bits, and enough Pratchett magic and wisdom to carry the play along..."
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/entertainment/arts/good-chemistry-on-stage/news-story/6388a3b2f70723eb35d6afaac0631b89
By Nicola Woolford for Glam Adelaide:
"The Bakehouse Theatre foyer is flooded with red lights and decorated with demonic motivational posters, such as 'The beatings will not continue until morale improves'. This perfectly sets the mood for the devilish adventures to come. Our hero of the evening is the titular Eric, portrayed by a winningly naive Sam Tutty. Eric is a 13-year-old aspiring demonologist, who makes a critical error when trying to summon an all-powerful, wish-granting demon from the depths of Hell. Instead Eric calls Rincewind, portrayed by the charismatic Chris Irving... The chemistry between Irving and Tutty is perfect, at times fostering a touching mentor and protege relationship, at others a negligent nanny and spoilt child. Their comedic timing and range is on point. As our two main characters carry the story forward, Eric boasts a talented cast of supporting players who undertake multiple roles. These include Alycia Rabig, Paul Messenger, Aimee Ford, Danny Sag, Harold Roberts, Hugh O'Connor, and David Dyte. Whether portraying a foul-mouthed Parrot familiar, the Demon King, the pacifist Captain Lavaeolus, or Death, these actors are commendable and often hilarious..."
http://www.glamadelaide.com.au/theatre-review-eric/
...and by Christine Pyman for Broadway World:
"Pamela Munt has worked hard with Sir Terry's vision, by adapting, producing, and directing his written novel into to a two-hour play for her Unseen Theatre Company. In this story, we are introduced to Eric, a very typical almost fourteen-year-old boy, one of the Billy Bunter types, who just happens to be an exceptional demonologist. His talents gain him the attention of the demon king of Hades, Astfgl, played in a funnily and frighteningly bureaucratic fashion by Paul Messenger. Astfgl has a cohort of demons at his apparent beck and call, very ably realised by Danny Sag, Aimee Ford, and Harold Roberts. The machinations of the demon host are witty and well played, in every sense... Sam Tutty plays Eric, our would-be schoolboy Ruler of the World, in an appropriately petulant manner, demanding his wishes from the unprepossessing Rincewind, Chris Irving. These two actors are on stage for almost every scene, forming a continuation of narrative, through an ongoing series of vignettes. The sheer number of set changes led to a lowness of production initially, with improved pace for the second act. The use of pre-recorded video projections shows the attention to detail, and the passion for these productions, that Unseen brings to their shows... Any theatre company that can recreate one of Pratchett's most loved characters, the Luggage, in all of its magical wooden aggression (cabinet constructed by David Dyte), has my vote of confidence..."
https://www.broadwayworld.com/adelaide/article/BWW-Review-ERIC-at-Bakehouse-Theatre-20181011
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
05) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS
The Sir Terry Pratchett Book Club at Waterstones Leeds meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 6pm in the Cafe W coffee shop (in Waterstones), to discuss a Pratchett book. "Join us for the most fabulous Book Club in Leeds. Each month we come together to discuss the splendid novels of Sir Terry Pratchett. We are a very friendly group and new people are always welcome!"
The next meeting of the Sir Terry Pratchett Book Club will be on Tuesday 6th November at 6pm at Waterstones, 93-97 Albion Street, Leeds LS1 5JS. (phone 0113 244 4588). The November book under discussion will be Diggers, "a wonderful novel, suitable for all ages, featuring the Nomes."
*
The Broken Drummers, "London's Premier Unofficially Official Discworld Group" (motto "Nil percussio est"), will be meeting tonight, Monday 5th November (remember, remember!) from 7pm at the Monkey Puzzle, 30 Southwick Street, London, W2 1JQ. "We welcome anyone and everyone who enjoys Sir Terry's works, or quite likes them or wants to find out more. We have had many visitors from overseas who have enjoyed themselves and made new friends. The discussions do not only concern the works of Sir Terry Pratchett but wander and meander through other genres and authors and also leaping to TV and Film production. We also find time for a quiz."
The Drummers' October meet report, by Helen:
"We met Monday night, which seems so long ago. Alex G. told us about his teacher training and told me off for putting too much salt on my pizza. I was indignant given that he recently had the Monkey Puzzle's chocolate pizza and once ate a pizza that was covered in chips.James came along and I had a nice a chat with him about video games. He recommends the Monster Hunter series. Then we came to the quiz. Alex G. was quizmaster and showed his enthusiasm for his new vocation by doing a quiz on Discworld schools. I suggest he practice classroom discipline by treating those who were disruptive (Edmund!) like naughty schoolchildren. He was not keen. Andrew and I technically tied but I was somehow declared winner for knowing so many alumnae of the Quirm College for Young Ladies. Towards the end, only a few of us remained when Tom appeared. He had gone to great lengths to travel to us after working late. Pete immediately bought him a drink plus a Babycham for himself, much everyone's fascination. By the end we had a situation where the gentlemen were discussing Biblical movies, while Marina and I discussed stage nudity, a conversation that rapidly degenerated. Marina does not recommend Iggy Pop. The next meeting is Monday 5th November. Also, I'm looking for ideas for things we could do outside the regular meetings. I'm less keen to do weekend meets at the Puzzle over the winter as we can't sit in the garden."
Twitter thread: https://twitter.com/BrokenDrummers/status/1048497559298351104
For more information, email BrokenDrummers@gmail.com or nicholls.helen@yahoo.co.uk or join their Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/55107511411/permalink/10156634038566412/
*
Canberra, Australia's Discworld fan group is Drumknott's Irregulars: "The group is open to all, people from interstate and overseas are welcome, and our events will not be heavily themed. Come along to dinner for a chat and good company. We welcome people from all fandoms (and none) and we would love to see you at one of our events, even if you're just passing through. Please contact us via Facebook (_https://www.facebook.com/groups/824987924250161/_) or Google Groups (_https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/drumknotts-irregulars_) or join us at our next event."
*
For Facebook users in Fourecks: The Victorian Discworld Klatch is "a social group for fans of Discworld and Terry Pratchett... run by a dedicated team who meet monthly and organise events monthly." "If you'd like to join our events please ask to join the Klatch."
https://www.facebook.com/groups/VictorianDiscworldKlatch
*
"The Gathering of the Loonies (Wincanton chapter)" is a public Facebook meeting group: "This group, by request of Jo in Bear will continue to be used for future unofficial (not run by the Emporium) fan Gatherings in Wincanton. Look here for information."
https://www.facebook.com/groups/373578522834654/
*
The Pratchett Partisans are a fan group who meet monthly at either Brisbane or Indooroopilly to "eat, drink and chat about all things Pratchett. We hold events such as Discworld dinners, games afternoons, Discworld photo scavenger hunts. We also attend opening night at Brisbane Arts Theatre's Discworld plays." The Partisans currently have about 200 members who meet at least twice a month, usually in Brisbane.
For more info about their next meetup, join up at https://www.facebook.com/groups/pratchettpartisans/ or contact Ula directly at uwilmott@yahoo.com.au
*
The City of Small Gods is a group for fans in Adelaide and South Australia: "We have an established Terry Pratchett & Discworld fan group in Adelaide called The City of Small Gods, which is open to anyone who would like to come – you don't have to live in Adelaide or even South Australia, or even be a Discworld fan, but that's mostly where our events will be held, and we do like discussing Pratchett's works. Our (semi-) regular meetings are generally held on the last Thursday of the month at a pub or restaurant in Adelaide. We have dinner at 6.30pm followed by games until 9pm. Every few months, we have a full day's worth of board games at La Scala Cafe, 169 Unley Rd, Unley in the function room starting at 10am. In addition, we will occasionally have other events to go and see plays by Unseen Theatre Company, book discussions, craft, chain maille or costuming workshops or other fun social activities."
The next CoSG events will both be on Saturday 24th November: the Hogswatch in Grune Dinner at the Astor Hotel in the Pulteney Room, 437 Pulteney Street, Adelaide, South Australia 5000 (go to https://www.trybooking.com/book/event?eid=412755& to book) followed by the Martin Pearson House Concert – The Secret Origins of Humpty Dumpty and other songs at Kochanski Mews, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095 (go to https://www.trybooking.com/book/event?eid=427177& to book).
The CoSG also have another identity. Here's the skinny:
Round World Events SA Inc is a not-for-profit incorporated association whose aim is to run fun social Pratchett-themed events for people in South Australia. Our first major event was the Unseen University Convivium held in July 2012. We have also run three successful and booked out Science Fiction and Fantasy themed quiz nights named Quiz Long And Prosper, in 2013, 2014 and 2015! The association will run some events under the City of Small Gods banner, but you do not have to be a Round World Events SA member to be part of City of Small Gods. However, we are always on the look out for new members for Round World Events SA to help us organise future events! Membership is $20 a year (for Adelaide locals) or $5 a year (for those not quite so close) and has the following benefits:
A shiny membership certificate all of your very own
Discounted entry price to some of the events we run
A warm, fuzzy feeling deep down in your chest (no, not quite that deep)
For more information, or to join as a member, please email RoundWorldEventsSA@gmail.com
www.cityofsmallgods.org.au
*
The Broken Vectis Drummers meet next on Thursday 6th December (probably) from 7.30pm at The Castle pub in Newport, Isle of Wight. For more info and any queries, contact broken_vectis_drummers@yahoo.co.uk
*
The Wincanton Omnian Temperance Society (WOTS) next meets on Friday 7th December (possibly) at Wincanton's famous Bear Inn from 7pm onwards. "Visitors and drop-ins are always welcome!"
*
The Northern Institute of the Ankh-Morpork and District Society of Flatalists, a Pratchett fangroup, has been meeting on a regular basis since 2005. The Flatalists normally meet at The Narrowboat Pub in Victoria Street, Skipton, North Yorkshire, to discuss "all things Pratchett" as well as having quizzes and raffles. Details of future meetings are posted on the Events section of the Discworld Stamps forum:
http://www.discworldstamps.co.uk/forum/
*
Sydney Drummers (formerly Drummers Downunder) meet next on Monday 3rd December (possibly) at 6.30pm in Sydney at 3 Wise Monkeys, 555 George Street, Sydney 2000. For more information, contact Sue (aka Granny Weatherwax): kenworthys@yahoo.co.uk
*
The Treacle Mining Corporation, formerly known as Perth Drummers, meet next on Monday 3rd December (possibly) from 5.30pm at Carpe Cafe, 526 Murray Street, Perth, Western Australia. For details follow Perth Drummers on Twitter @Perth_Drummers or join their Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Perth.Drummers/ – or message Alexandra Ware directly at <alexandra.ware@gmail.com>
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
06) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
Paul Kidby's concept art for The Watch telly series: http://narrativia.com/assets/img/watch-logo.jpg
The Librarian himself, carved into a seasonal pumpkin by the amazing Mediumawareness:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dqvvv_-WwAEO4uD.jpg
"Avaunt, demon!" Eric holds Rincewind at by – he thinks – in Unseen Theatre's production:
https://bit.ly/2Aih1ih
...and Astfgl, demon Duke of Hell, as iconographed by director Pamela Munt: https://bit.ly/2CqHBqV
The impressive cast of Men at Arms in Brisbane Arts Centre's recent production, as posted by Danny Sag:
https://bit.ly/2yL1Egp
A lovely still of Aziraphale and Crowley in St James' Park, from the filming of Good Omens:
https://bit.ly/2qrPgOs
...and the wonderful promo art for Good Omens at New York Comic Con, as posted by SyfyWire:
https://bit.ly/2yRff6R
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
07) CLOSE
To finish, here be a little piece of Roundworld Tales that might strike TAMAHER fans as strangely familiar: "A US wildlife centre has saved five young gray squirrels after their tails became dangerously fused together. The siblings had become entangled with the grass and plastic strips their mother used to build the family nest. They were handed in at the Wisconsin Humane Society's Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, which worked to save their tails and possibly their lives. The five were cut free with scissors while under anaesthetic..."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45545179
And finally, while Pratchett references have become commonplace around the world now, occasionally one comes across one in a very unexpected place that makes it worth sharing – such as this one, from a sport-pages review of Liverpool footballer James Milner's performance in a match: "Such was his level of concentration and the aura of absolute certainty that if he had a hypothetical staring contest with Terry Pratchett's personification of hollow-eyed Death, the latter would blink first." Sweet!
And that's it for October, er, Sektober, and also it for Your Editor who's going for yet another lie-down. Take care, and we hope to see you in a few weeks!
– Annie Mac
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The End. If you have any questions or requests, write: wossname-owner (at) pearwood (dot) info
Copyright (c) 2018 by Klatchian Foreign Legion
