Here’s the Dream Team behind Wise Men Say / Cornered, meeting recently to discuss the production and put a few more details in place!
l-r: sports journalist Jeff Brown, ex-SAFC player Dave Corner, writer Paul Dunn, pictured recently
The wheels are now in motion for the tour, which is already on sale at most venues (take a look at our production page, using the link above, to see a list of venues and how you can buy tickets.)
As you can see from the photo, Dave Corner, who is the subject of Jeff Brown’s play Cornered, is firmly behind the whole production, and is planning to attend as many of the performances as possible. (Along with, we hope, many other ex-players and club staff.)
And it was during this recent meeting that Jeff – in true sports journalist style – revealed a jaw-dropping sporting exclusive to both Dave and Paul. There is video evidence of the whole revelation, and it will most certainly feature as part of the show! Make sure you get your tickets to find out what it is!
We may have been a bit quiet of late, but that’s because we’ve been beavering away on our upcoming September production of Wise Men Say / Cornered – which followers of Cranked Anvil will already know is a double-bill of one-act plays based around Sunderland AFC.
The posters and flyers have been printed and delivered, and soon you’ll see them going up around Sunderland, Washington, Durham, and South London.
We’re also planning to confirm some casting news in the very near future, which we’re very pleased about, as well as an exciting event which we’re putting together as an added extra to some of the performances. Stay tuned to this website – and keep an eye on local press – for details as they emerge.
But if all this wasn’t enough to keep us busy over the next three months, we’re also taking part in a Scratch Night next Thursday 29th June, at The Exchange in North Shields.
A recent Scratch Night at The Exchange
It’s organised by Christopher Strain, a great actor who has worked with us on projects in the past, and will feature a line up of short plays and extracts from longer plays, as well as a good dose of music. Cranked Anvil will be supplying the comedy! We’ll be performing a few sketches from our Happy Hour show, and we’re very excited to try them out in a live performance format.
As soon as there are details and information on how to get tickets, we will post them on our productions page. Hope to see you there!
A recent performance
Other performances on the bill that night:
“For Voices” by Louise Taylor A short play exploring relationships and the stories we tell ourselves.
Louise has previously had work performed at Live Theatre and ARC. She is a member of the ARCADE writers development group.
“Rainbow” by Elisabeth Thompson
An extract from Elisabeth’s new film script about a man who deliberately estranged himself from his
drug-addicted son ten years ago. Due to a Restorative Justice meeting, he has a chance to reconcile with him, but will guilt, grief and mistrust prevent this?
“Deadline Day” by John Hickman
When taxi driver Trevor has to drive Newcastle United’s new superstar striker and his hard headed agent down to London for transfer talks with another club dreams of the beautiful game collide with the big spending reality of the modern football. John has previously won the BAFTA Rocliffe competition and been commissioned by BBC Drama.
Word has started to get out about our September production – a double-bill of plays about Sunderland AFC!
‘Wise Men Say’ by Paul Dunn, and ‘Cornered’ by Jeff Brown, will tour into venues around the region later this year, and we’re anticipating it to be as popular as our 2014 production of I Left My Heart In Roker Park – so don’t delay if you want to come and see it!
It’s already booked into The Londonderry in Sunderland, The Gala Theatre Durham, Customs House South Shields, and the Arts Centre at Washington. The show has already gone on sale at some of the venues, and tickets have started to fly out the door!
For info on dates – and links to book tickets – take a look at our show page.
Also, we’re hoping to be able to announce further dates and venues soon, so keep checking back to our website here, or keep an eye on our facebook and twitter pages.
We’re delighted to confirm that, alongside Jay Sykes Media as our producer, from next week Cranked Anvil will be putting together a weekly radio show and podcast.
The first show airs on local radio station Spark Sunderland, at 3pm on Tuesday 28th July 2015. If you don’t live in Sunderland then don’t worry, you can listen to it live across the internet at sparksunderland.com.
Presented by Paul Dunn and Vanessa Karon, it’s going by the title ‘Paul and Nessa’s Happy Hour’ and, as well as featuring some great music, it will be mainly comedy based, with lively chat and banter, songs, and sketches.
And we’re looking for comedy writers to contribute to the program. We’ve already had some brilliant sketches submitted by writers from across the country, including Tim Gambrell And Matt Watson, which you will be able to hear in the show and podcast over the coming weeks. But we’re keen to receive more!
If you’re a comedy writer and you’d like to hear your sketches performed on radio and around the world online, then have a look at the details here, and send us some of your stuff.
In the meantime, tune in next Tuesday, and help us to launch the first ever Happy Hour!
First of all, we want to say a huge thank you to all of you who nominated us for the Sunderland Echo Awards earlier this year. We’re pleased to say that we have been shortlisted for Performance of the Year, and will be attending the awards bash on 26th March – fingers crossed!
Also coming up soon is The Journal Culture Awards, which aims to recognise outstanding achievements in the arts throughout last year – and we’d like your vote one last time please! Closing date is 28th February, so you haven’t got long. It will only take a few minutes, and you’ll really help to establish Cranked Anvil in the North East Arts scene, as we strive to do bigger and better things in the coming year.
There are several categories in which you could cast a vote, so if you have the time, please feel free to vote in all of them (details below).
PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR (vote for ‘Cranked Anvil – I Left My Heart In Roker Park’)
This award is for a group or company who you have seen or heard in 2014. Has a performance in the North East raised the hairs on the back of your neck, moved or inspired you? If the answer is yes we want to hear about it. Examples could include dance, music, stage/theatre or comedy productions.
PERFORMING ARTIST OF THE YEAR (vote for ‘Paul Dunn’)
This award will recognise an individual performer who has stood out during 2014. We’re welcoming nominations for actors, dancers, musicians, singers, spoken word artists and comedians. Nominations can be for one stand out performance which got your attention or for a collection of performances throughout the year.
WRITER OF THE YEAR (vote for ‘Tom Kelly’ – writer of I Left My Heart…)
This award will recognise an author, playwright, screenwriter or poet who has had some outstanding work published or performed during 2014.
After the news earlier this week that our production of ‘I Left My Heart In Roker Park’ was named Best Revival of 2014 by the British Theatre Guide’s North East editor Peter Lathan, we’re pleased to see that the Sunderland Echo are holding their What’s On Where awards again this year. Here’s what they say on their website:
Once again, we are looking for the very best in the arts, culture, hospitality and leisure sectors of Wearside. Enter your nominations here. The awards are held in association with our weekly entertainments guide, Wow 24/7, and aim to reward the elite in everything from restaurants to children’s venues, takeaways to parks and community areas, and hotels to the best shopping experience.
It’s only the second time we have held the awards and we want to build on the success of last year’s great inaugural competition.
That’s where you come in. We want you to nominate your favourites in each of the categories listed.
CLOSING DATE FOR NOMINATIONS IS THURSDAY 5 FEBRUARY.
So, if you saw ‘I Left My Heart…’ in 2014, and you think it deserves a vote under the Best Show/Performance Of The Year category, please take a few minutes to go to their website and nominate Paul and/or the show.
It’s been a quiet few months for us at Anvil HQ, as we’ve all rested and recovered from the whirlwind that was I Left My Heart In Roker Park. (Although our director Paul Dunn has been anything but resting: since leaving his heart in Roker Park for the last time he appeared in ION Production’s Xmas Laffalang and the Consett Empire panto Aladdin, as well as starting work on a huge writing project for 2015.)
Regular visitors to this website and friends of Cranked Anvil will know that the play was extremely well received, both by audiences and critics, and the icing on the cake is to have had the play declared ‘Best Revival of 2014’.
Peter Lathan, writing for the British Theatre Guide, declared our production (along with the Guild of Lillian’s Get Up And Tie Your Fingers) to be the best revivals of 2014. You can read Peter’s review of our production here.
Naturally, we’re delighted with this ‘Best Revival’ accolade, and are planning to build on our success in 2015.
We hope to see you at one of our productions.
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Wed 12 April 2017
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