Further showings are planned.

New play: To Sponsor or to Pledge?

I am writing a new play. This piece is an exploration of meat, the world of meat production, with an anti-war flavour also. If you would like to sponsor the production of this play, please get in touch to find out more about it and how to do so, or if you would like to Pledge some support for it's creation, please visit http://www.pledgebank.com/ProduceVeganPlay

26th May 2010

• The Brighton Fringe, A Retrospective
  
• This weeks performance of Licence in Lewes (and other performances).
  
• Larmer Tree Festival showing of Licence.
• When and Where you can see "The Well."

The Brighton Fringe, A Retrospective.

Well the Brighton Fringe is over, and was finished off for me by a brilliant performance of a one-person show that I take my hat off to, and that is Memoirs of a Hermaphrodite. This beautiful piece (played at The Marlborough, Brighton) written and performed by Sarah Leaver (also directed by Denise Evans, who directed Licence) was quite wonderful, and deserved the raucous reception it got at the end of the showing that I managed to JUST get myself a seat for. I also managed to get along to see Richard II by the Nomadic Academy of Fools (directed by Jonathan Kay) and fab children songster, Al Start.

My own showings of Licence, spread over 6 nights, had some very warm responses too, and several lovely reviews from audiences and reviewers alike.

It was also fun to make so many new friends, see old friends and meet for the first time people I had met months previously online. T'was also a place where some synchronicitous meetings and happenings occured, some of which were brought about by, for example, what had seemed like disasters only weeks before. E.g. the (yet again) sudden unavailability  of the prior-arranged technician, leading to a whole shuffling around of roles, that led to people coming, meeting old acquaintances, making new ones and developing new connections that wouldn't have happened otherwise.

These spontaneous happenings always move me, despite the fact of their initiation by a seeming crisis. Each time, I am encouraged by "the Gods" to trust, trust... and trust some more, and it always reminds me of the phrase in "Shakespeare in Love", whereby when on yet another occasion, everything looks like it's going to shit, and Philip Henslowe the proprietor of the Rose Theatre, says to Fennyman his "financier"....

Henslowe: Let me explain something to you, Mr Fennyman, about the theatre business.  The Natural Condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster. Believe me, to be closed by the plague is a bagatelle in the ups and downs of owning a theatre.

Fennyman: So What do we do?

Henslowe: Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out well.

Fennyman: How?

Henslowe: I don't know. It's a mystery

Lambert (Fennyman's Henchman): Should I kill him Mr Fennyman?

This theme returns again in the film and seems a truism in my experience.

Anyway...A big thanks to all involved this year, from most excellent director, Denise Evans; to Laura Merryweather our technician who suddenly stepped so admirably into the shoes of Fiona; to the ever helpful and wise Tamsin Fraser, who plied me with lashings of free publicity advice; to Strat Mastoris who went out of his way to take photos of Bernie, and then photoshop them,. (or was that Tamsin... theyr'e both computer whizzes and live very close together, on the same mouse sometimes); to the wonderfully patient Keith who kept the Town Hall venue secure for us  whilst we played away upstairs, and never grumbled if we took a little while longer to get out at the end; to Jeanette Nundy at the Town Hall who made it possible for us to use it; to all the spirits around the Town Hall who kept us safe, kept the banner safe, kept the kit safe; to all the shops and cafes that allowed me to put up posters or fliers; to all those people who told their friends to come along or spread the word via FAcebook or other means; to Threeweeks for a free ad; to the people at the Fringe Office for all their support; to all the people at Fringe city for their support and for fitting me in; to all the ushers, Hannah, Steve, Eve, Annika, Philip; to all the reviewers who made such kind comments; and all the publications, Jackie at Radio Free Brighton and websites that featured something about the play. To my family for their support and patience. To Jo and Jeremy for enthusiasm and childcare support. To Tam for selling it to all your friends.  It has all been VERY much appreciated. And if I have left you out... OH NO!

This weeks performance of Licence in Lewes (and other performances).

Come again to see Bernie in all his colours, at Zu Studios, Thursday 29th May, 7.30pm doors. Donation on door. (suggested: 8 or 5 conc).

The next showings after that of Licence are in Bridgwater on June 17th and in Glastonbury on 18th June. More info here.

Before that, I will be playing with Touch and Go Theatre (Spontaneous theatre Influenced by the Archetype of the Fool) at Bridies Yard, Glastonbury on 11th June and at The United Reform Church, Bath, as part of Bath fringe, on the 12th June. More info about these gigs at: http://www.touchandgotheatre.co.uk/page5.htm

(And it's NOT TOO LATE to sign our pledge!!! 5 days to go and only 7 more signatures needed!!   Go to http://www.pledgebank.com/HelpTouchGoPerf )

I also have further performances in the pipeline for London, Brighton, and West Sussex, and will be plugging away to get further performances organised for areas that I hope are close to you.

Larmer Tree Festival showing of Licence.

You can now, if you go to the Larmer Tree Festival this year, catch a showing of "Licence" in the space called "Club Larmer" at 3pm on Thursday 15th July. Confirmed.

When and Where you can see "The Well."

Exciting news. It looks like "The Well" is going to have it's first airing at the NVT theatre in the Spring of 2011. The very kind administration team at NVT have accepted my proposal and are backing a production of the play, based in Victorian Brighton, and on the digging of the World's Deepest Hand Dug Well in Woodingdean. We are aiming to have a read through of the play within the next couple of months, and start workshopping the piece imminently. If you are interested in being involved in workshops or auditions, please get in touch. You need to be a member of NVT to be involved.

So... that's about it for now.  Thanks for reading this far. Assuming you did.

 11th May 2010:

The Brighton Fringe is underway, and I've had three showings of Licence (under its new name) so far.

Audiences have been very good for a Fringe, and we were so packed on Saturday night, to the point where we had to re-consider the seating arrangements.

Reviews

Licence has had some lovely reviews, including a 5 / 5 rating from Rachel at Latest 7  who wrote a lovely piece.

Here it is at:   http://thelatest.co.uk/7/review-licence

A perfect piece of fringe theatre. Writer/actor Jonathan Brown takes you on a complex, funny and harrowing journey through disparate and depressed lives brought together by a local boozer. Landlord Bernie is selfish and ignorant - and, like most of his punters, worships alcohol like a god. He is portrayed brilliantly by Brown, who plays with equal plausibility and pathos his neglected son, brash wife, lust interest and various drunken regulars. Brown has a terrific eye for social observation and his one man show is a profoundly moving piece of theatre. If you're only going to see one play this festival, you'd be hard pressed to beat this.
Brighton Town Hall, 10 May (until 15 May)
5/5
Rachel Pegg

Licence clocked up two 4/5's also from the erudite writers at Threeweeks and from FringeReview

But amongst the feedback I respect the most is this from Anita, who has been mentoring my writing for "The Well"

"We were both really impressed with both the script and the performance. You are a wonderful, wonderful storyteller and totally captivated us. I thought you managed the multiple characters with elegance and the physical and vocal characterisation was very strong. I loved the humour, the darkness, the dangerous territories and the power of the message. I felt in that intimate space we were seeing you unravel a part of your soul.
 Hope all's good in your world and wish you every success for the rest of the run. I hope many people come to see it, for their benefit as well as yours." Anita Sullivan, Award-winning playwright.

A very big thank you also to all of you who have been spreading the word, plugging the play, Twittering, writing reviews on websites (http://www.allthefestivals.com/show/-Licence/) and facebooking. I so very much appreciate your support and enthusiasm. I am going nowhere without it! THANKYOU!  You know who you are.

1st April:

• Tickets for the May Brighton Fringe performance of Licence are doing the "Hot Cakes" thang

• Touch and Go's Pledge is Up and Running. Just 60 Days to go. Please Help us out!

• New Performance Dates
  

• Catch up on Facebook.

• Volunteers sought.

Tickets for the May Brighton Fringe performance of Licence are doing the "Hot Cakes" thang.

Thanks to some lovely marketing help from the likes of Tamsin Fraser, da Fringe management, and other kind "word of mouthers" (sounds flattering), ticket sales for Licence are well underway already. If you would like to buy tickets to this fab show, please click here. You can get 2 for 1 discounts and you could even win free tickets if you enter the "Licence Competition". The play is on the 6th, 7th, 8th, 13th, 14th, and 15th May at the Brighton Town Hall.      

Do come, and tell your friends.

Touch and Go's Pledge is Up and Running. Just 60 Days to go. Please Help us out!

Touch and Go Theatre (of which I'm a member) have decided to play at Bath Fringe this year. We perform remarkable spontaneous theatre, and the original group was instigated from a project with Jonathan Kay about 15 years ago, which resembled his current project (see below).

We need to fundraise to make this and future events possible, and although you may not be local to Bath and may not get to see the event, if our fundraising strategy goes well this time, we will aim to repeat more locally to you.

We are asking you to pledge 10 pounds and in return get two tickets to the performance (or any thereafter if you can't make Bath, 12th June) and your name on our website.
We are also putting 2 pounds of every 10 pledged to a Trust that is being created to  support Ethnic Minority Women Artists (working title : The Ali Chapman Trust, in honour of our former member and friend who died in 2006).

To help us, please click on this  link, and you will find more details of the pledge.

 http://www.en-gb.pledgebank.com/HelpTouchGoPerf

More details of Touch and Go at   http://www.touchandgotheatre.co.uk/

and More details of Jonathan Kay and his work at http://www.jonathankay.co.uk/

A little more about Ali Chapman at http://www.jonathan-brown.co.uk/page33.htm

Thank you.

New Performance Dates:

Two more showings of Licence coming up:

• Thurs 27th May at Zu Studios, Lewes. Times (7.30pm ish) and ticket prices to be confirmed.

• Sat 29th May at The Cowley Club, London Road, Brighton. 7.30pm (Entry by donation)  (To Be Confirmed)

• Fri 18th June at Bridie's Yard, Glastonbury 7.30pm (Entry by donation)

The Well.

The progress of "The Well" plods along, just as the digging of it did 150 years ago. Hopefully we won't have to dig for 4 years to get it produced, but as an 8-hander, it is slightly more cumbersome to manifest. Deep thanks for lots of support to Anita Sullivan for feedback and advice. Anita's adaptation of The Beacon (Susan Hill) has been on Radio 4 this week. You can still download and listen.

As for The Well....  Well..... Watch this space for more information.

Catch up on Facebook.

You can, um.... find me on Facebook these days.

Ugh.... I know...... I succumbed. I'm weak... but... they've been good to me. Honest.  They haven't taken down any of my breast-feeding pictures, like they do some.

Just click here and say hello, "become a fan", see what events are on, or check out some writing.

("Fresh Baked" is a chance to see daily fresh-baked short pieces of writing, and ask for more of any piece that you like.)

It's just one big, face-ridden..... party?

Volunteers sought.

• I have a large box of A6 fliers for the Brighton Fringe, for Bridgewater on 17th June and for Glastonbury on the 18th June. Can you give some out? Friends, family, colleagues, your own customers, people at the bus stop, the people in the next row of cells, the person on the next pew, the people under you on the London Eye?? The taker (and giver-outer) of the most fliers gets a coupla free tickets!  Tamsin's winning at the moment, but she doesn't count for free tickets, as she's already "crew". So it might be you, Nadia. 
  

• Would you like free tickets to see Licence this May. I need some "Front of House" and some "Getting out" help at each of the 6 showings. Please get in touch.
  

11th March 2010

Latest:

Hello.

Thursday 25th February: As part of The Open Arts Cafe season of showcasing upcoming performers. 'The Y Chromosome: Masculinity in the 21^st Century' ,  The Father Monologues, Part 1, Danny. A 15 minute snippet. Doors Open 7:15 pm, show starts 8 pm.   34 Upper Berkeley Street London, W1H 5AU. Donation on the door.    

Hello and Happy New Decade.

For those of you that have not got snow covered computers, here's a few snippets of news from the world of Mr J. Brown. One of the main bits of action has included lots of scurrying around to try to get a funding bid in to support a new play. A huge amount of this work toward this bid has been done by Denise Evans, so a very special thanks to her.
Meanwhile:

 The Free Beer new title debacle...

continues, and may (at last!) have drawn to a close!

Free Beer has had its name changed again. My personal favourite title for Free Beer was always Free Beer, as to me it sums up the play perfectly, but as a way of enticing audiences, sadly it was more of a hinderance in that regard.
I went on to want to call it The Silent Room. I thought it a very powerful title, full of emotional weight. But later I sensed that it betrayed the grubbier, less sophisticated, more down-at-heel existence of the protagonist.
I then over-compensated and went for Desperate Dog. I won't go into why, although if you'd like to know more, do email. You'll possibly remember an email (sent by some strange person in a previous life) even announcing that decision, which I have to now retract. Oh dear!
Finally, after feedback and discussions with those close to the play (Denise Evans shuddered in Horror at the DD idea!), I've plumped for a title which has always been very high on the list of possibilities. Hence Free Beer is now re-titled, officially...

And you'll find more about it by clicking on the word above.

The Play

 Licence starts as the gripping tale of a pub's last days. Told by landlord Bernie whose drive, to shift units, and to be popular severely undermines his intimacy with his son and his own inner world. Indeed, it's the perfect distraction, enabling him to submerge forgotten and forbidden feelings. Through an emerging subplot, carrying subtle undertones of unrealised sexuality, we see how a terror of emotionality can drive a man away from his feelings, and into whatever "industry"  that will happily help him… to bury them.

Upcoming Performances

 Licence is now set to play at the next Brighton Fringe in May.
It will be played at the very address where such licences have for many years been issued, The Brighton Town Hall!
The dates are May 6, 7, 8 and 13, 14, 15. All shows at 7.30 pm.  More information nearer the time, but if you still haven't seen Licence, do bear in mind some of the lovely things that have been said. e.g.    

"I have never seen an actor work so hard and so effectively as you did in bringing your characters to life and subjecting them and us to the ensuing mayhem.   To create grotesques like Ronnie and Brenda, and to bring us to the edge of tears with Teddy's need for affection, was a wonderful achievement.  Thanks"   Strat Mastoris, (Photographer, Director  and Lighting Designer)

 Licence is now set to play at Bridgwater Arts Centre, Somerset on 17th June. 

One to watch:

 Shakespeare's Richard II - A Foolish Performance of

@ Bridies Yard, Glastonbury
Fri 19th - Sun 21st, Doors open 7.30pm
Payment by donation. See donations page on www.nomadicacademyoffools.com

Using the Fooling Structure, created by Jonathan Kay, last year's academy of fools have been working on a production of Shakespeare's Richard II, creating a dream like performance without props or set and with all of the performers learning all of the script and playing all of the parts.

 Another Opportunity to see a snippet of The Well

The new play for a cast (working title The Well ) about, among other things, the world's deepest hand-dug well, in East Brighton, continues in its own slow dig to the bottom of its own springing forth.

There's plenty of underground action in a bid to bring this play to the surface, but I'll keep the lid on most of that for now, until there's more certainty in the waters.
But meanwhile, there is, for those of you who live in or near LONDON, a chance to see a couple of Scenes from the play, performed by me during something called
PHYSICAL
A scratch night on
Saturday 16th of January at
7.30 pm
at
Space Arts Centre, on the Isle of Dogs. http://space.org.uk/?cat=3
run by
Theatre of Inspirations
0208 530 0452
http://www.theatreofinspirations.co.uk
If you're a facebooky, you can go to ....http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=238957073683&ref=mf

And there's even more info to be had at these links:

http://www.myspace.com/theatreofinspirations
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=13101809191&ref=ts
http://www.theatreofinspirations.co.uk/blog
http://www.twitter.com/t0i

 
The night includes about 5 acts such as mine, and
IF you would like to attend at a discounted rate (which I believe is 7 pounds and 5 pounds concessions), you can go on a list of such personages, by emailing me, and I will pass your names on to the organisers. I will anyway be placing on that list the names of some of you whom I know live in London, and so if you do come spontaneously, just mention your name to the door person, and see if you're there, but don't worry if you think that means you and you're feeling unlikely you'll come. It won't be a problem.
Otherwise, you can book
tickets at
 http://space.org.uk/?cat=3
Well. I think that's about it for now.
 
More news when it happens.
 
This mailing's recommended link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFb26u9g8

Award-winning playwright to offer JB Help and Advice

The very generous multi award-winning playwright Anita Sullivan has agreed to work with me as a sounding board / mentor / advisor on my new play, The Well. 

I look forward very much to working with her.

Hello again!

Aha!

There's an exciting opportunity to see a snippet of the first outing of Jonathan's new story, written for a cast, (yes, NOT a one-person show).

It's called The Well (working title), and is based on the digging in 1858 (ish) of the world's deepest hand-dug well, situated in Woodingdean.

This well is around 1300 ft deep (deeper than the Empire State Building is high), was only 4ft wide in the lower shaft, and was dug, and lined with bricks all the way down, entirely by hand, by men including workhouse labour, in foul conditions.

This snippet piece will be performed just by Jonathan at this stage, accompanied by Annika Brown, who'll also be singing some of her own songs during the evening, and all this alongside several other acts.

All in Brighton at the beginning of the month of December. Full info below.

 

Tuesday 1st December, Coachwerks, Brighton, The Well (working title) 15 min snippet, with musical accompaniment from Annika Brown as Part of Stray Signals.        7.30pm    £3   (You can buy these tickets in person on the door, not online through this website  )    

6th November 2009:

•  Performance: We have just completed ten nights of Free Beer shows at the Open House in Brighton.  Lots of publicity, with articles in the Argus, in the Fiveways Directory, in the (online) Brighton Magazine, with a Radio interview on Radio Reverb, lots of other online listings and websites. The shows went very well, despite lots of very bizarre events that seemed to surround the run.
  
• However, it has become clear that the publicity, the title of the play and the images do need changing to help attract a larger following.
  
• If YOU have seen Free Beer and have a new title idea, then please do, let me know. Latest contenders are
  "Lover Failure" or "St Bernard". Any thoughts or feedback very welcome
  
• We DID have plenty of VERY positive feedback about the play, some of which can be seen on the Feedback page of the website.
•  Bridgwater Arts Somerset: The Arts centre has been very kind to include me in their Associated Artists webpage, within an article (that I penned for them). They also helped me to gain a place at the Made in Somerset showcase in Frome in Sept, with 30 mins of Free Beer (working title)
• Writing continues on an exciting new play, for a cast, set in Victorian Brighton, and co-produced and directed by Denise Evans. We are seeking a suitable venue to rehearse and develop the play, and we are in the process of seeking funding for the development of the play also. More on this very exciting project soon.
• Once we have re-developed the publicity of "Free Beer" we will re-launch it. this may take a while, and false starts, it seems, are all part of the learning curve for a relative newcomer like me! Watch this space.

• Saturday 20th June,  Woodingdean Youth Centre,  Woodingdean Brighton. Free Beer 

A quiet night!, but Oswalde seemed to enjoy it!

An extract of a Review of Free Beer.

It is not easy to keep someone with arthritis and narcolepsy awake and pain-free for nigh on ninety minutes, let alone persuade (an audience) to sit and be talked at by one man for that length of time---but Jonathan Brown managed both last night (20th June), when he performed his latest play, `Free Beer'.

He is 1000% more entertaining than most `celebrities' on television, and he not only writes his own material, but brings to life a varied cast of characters, and makes you believe in them. One of the most memorable scenes for me was when the publican, Bernie, is trying to read the paper, and his son Teddy is asking for help with his homework. To see [yes, see] this boy, who loves and fears his father, doggedly and desperately asking his questions in the face of Bernie's contemptuous impatience, stirred up some uncomfortable memories for this viewer, both of childhood and parenthood. I came away feeling I needed to do some apologising and hugging of my own, and if we all did more of that, how bad would it be?

                              Oswalde.

 

• Sunday 28th June  National Childbirth Trust Annual Conference at the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea. FM Part 1 - Danny

A standing ovation! Playing to about 400 delegates. Not bad.

• Friday 3rd July 2009. Tor Leisure Centre, Glastonbury. Free Beer.

• 
  

See the reviews!

Thank you so much for a brilliant performance. I was part of the young audience, yet I was constantly engaged and hope to see you again. Issues you have raised have been brought to my attention. Tom

So f...... accurate! You know how good your abilities are.  Carry on! Thankyou. I want the father of my child to see it. Blessings. Amanda.

 

What a great evening. Engaging. Challenging. You held my son's attention the whole time. Well done. Great writing, great characters. Seamless.  Michael.

Brilliant, deep and dextrous all in one breath.  Thankyou.  Amanda.

 

Amazing, Brilliant, Clever, Deep, Spot on, touching, absorbing, beautifully written, super-intelligent, f SUPERB writing = excellent, subtle changes indicating characters very cleverly done. Amanda.

Totally Amazing! Especially on 3 levels: Story itself, weaving of deep issues, method of delivery.  Nick

Really worth seeing. Very moving ending. Kyle

• Sunday 12th July. 11pm. Hesfes. Free Beer

A stage invasion by 20 drunken teenagers, who sabotaged the show for the entire first act, but the show went on!  What an advert for Home education..

Once again, on 15th May 2009, Danny told it like it is, and although the rain poured, the doors opened and welcomed a quality audience of discerning theatre-goers to explore the question,

"How does our birth experience affect our lives?"

Tired but happy, the select audience mulled the story and its influences together before wondering off into the lush dripping night, the rain having satisfied its lust for wetting the many surfaces and soils and leaves of our lives.

Thanks to Izzy for fine technical support, and to all at Peredur, Alex and Wolfgang and to Sarah. Danny plays again in Swansea on the 28th June.

This may be his last showing for quite some time.

Go to website

19th May 2009: "Free Beer" flows again at Southwark Playhouse, London

then on to London for a showing of "Free Beer" on Sat 16trh May 2009, as part of the Southwark Playhouse Secrets series of events. The audience were SO appreciative of this, the second full showing of the play, albeit technically minimalist. And even when lines seem to slip from Bernie's fingers like sand, they patiently waited for the protagonist to scoop up the lost bowels of his work-in-progress story, positively baying for more, and encouraging the very last drops of the story to be rendered to the happy ears of the night.  Big thanks to Natasha and to Jasmine and to Natasha's friend.... and VERY good to see some familiar old London faces. Thanks to the "Secrets" team. And the very kind offerer of a floor (or possibly better) upon which to kip should I miss my train. I JUST made it, Mike. But Thanks.

04/05/09     Free Beer first showing a Success!

So now it's out! The first showing of Free Beer slipped down a treat on 1st May, and although the show still has some room for improvement, tone modulation, speeding up of pace in some places, and removal of unnecessary musical cues, the  auditorium was well filled and the watchers seemed to be having a good time. The next showing comes on 16th May in London, and the adjustments will be made, and more gigs arranged. Cheers!

23/04/09   Just One Week till the Free Beer Spills Forth

Well, it's just one week now until the Premier of Jonathan's new show, Free Beer
at the  Elephant and Castle in Lewes, on Friday 1st May 8pm.
Rehearsals are reaching fever pitch (Denise's brilliant mind works like some great emotional NHS-direct mega-computer, finding the perfect way to open up the "heart" of the play, and lay it bare before you), we are very excited, and just coming to the point of placing the finishing touches of music and lighting, to enhance what we expect will be a lovely show.

• Access to new and fuller information about the progress of JB's work.
• Half-price tickets for you, to all shows.
  
• Limited Free Tickets for guests.
  
• A Ticket to ANY Premier  of a JB show for just £1. (Oh that's a spooky coincidence, there's a Premier just coming up!!)
  
• Exclusive access to the "JB Notebook", a (copyrighted) collection of writings, ideas, extracts and "deleted scenes", including 2 or 3 whole early Father Monologue plays that never (yet) made it to the stage.
  
• Other benefits.