An interview with Eleanor McEvoy

It was a distinct pleasure to sit with Eleanor McEvoy recently to discuss her career, her adoption to the internet, the start of her career and her change from classical music to becoming one of the most popular singer-songwriters in the country.

We also discussed the Irish music industry, the labels and media and her involvement in IMRO. We talked about the upcoming Tradfest in Temple Bar (on this coming weekend) and her upcoming Australian tour.

We also discussed her charity work - the background of her "Oh Uganda" video with Oxfam Unwrapped, her massively popular online, but commercially poor single "Sophie" and her anger at society and where she finds her inspiration.

The video is 35 mins long - you can minimise and listen if that's easier. It was, genuinely one of the most interesting and candid interviews I've had the pleasure to do, and it's Eleanor's only media engagement before her trip to Australia.



It was a genuine pleasure and I'd like to thank Eleanor for her time and honesty and Good Seed PR for helping arrange it.

Eleanor is doing one more gig in Ireland before Australia, according to her website - the New Music Club in Brazil’s Cafe Clonmel, Co. Tipperary on Wednesday 17 February and then her Australia dates kick off on Feb 26 with the Nannup Folk Festival.

You can follow Eleanor on twitter here, find her new YouTube channel her and visit her website here.

She'll be appearing at the Temple Bar Tradfest 2010 this coming Saturday giving an IMRO masterclass. Tickets are selling quickly so I'd suggest you be quick!

Interview with Donal Skehan, author, musician and blogger

It's not that I forget. Honestly, it's not. It's that I promise myself I'll do things tomorrow and then, of course, there's something else to do. I need to be more organised!

Anyhow, I'm slowly but surely catching up with things here and so I finally get around to publishing this interview with Donal Skehan, the Good Mood Food blog blogger and recently published author.

It's actually quite scary to think I filmed this on Wednesday, October 21, the day of his book launch in Dubray Books on Grafton St but am only publishing it now.

It was great though to sit down with Donal, whose blog I read and who I follow on twitter and find out more about the new book - Good Mood Food - where the inspiration came from and how he manages to fit in Industry, due to release their new single "My Mistake" on Ruth Scott's 2FM show tonight.



I've been reading Donal's book since I bought it and have promised myself to set aside time in the new year to learn how to cook properly!

In case you're interested in the launch, Donal's speech and brilliant introduction by Eoin Purcell and by Niamh Hatton of Mercier Press, are below:



Thanks Donal for your time - hope it's all going well and good luck with the new single!!

Interview for the Visually Impaired Computer Society of Ireland

I was delighted to be asked by Digital Darragh to contribute to a podcast for the Visually Impaired Computer Society of Ireland recently. We sat down in the Westbury and had a good chat. It's just gone live and can be heard below.

We discussed what exactly social networking is, what I get from the whole thing (that was a long segment), what people should be scared of, if anything, about blogging and about Boards.ie.

I quite like that you can hear the buzz of people, the chatter of the place, the clatter of the cups and so on around us. I wish I'd been a better speaker but it had been a long day.

The interview starts at around 30:52.


(You'll need to let it (down)load)

I'm particularly impressed to see organisations like VICs Ireland using tools like podcasts to communicate with their members. I hope those listening learned something small at least!

It costs €20m to build 1 km of road in modern Ireland

I interviewed Fergus Finlay, the CEO of Barnardos Ireland on Friday about their current YES/NO campaign and how cuts in the upcoming budget would affect their work and the people that they work with.

Some shocking (to me) statistics emerged in our chat, including how Thornton Hall, the new prison currently being built will cost €1,000 million in the first 10 years of operation and how it costs €20 million to build 1km of road in "modern" Ireland.

Via the Boards.ie blog:



You can read more about the campaign in this PDF download and sign the petition here.

You might also like to see what exactly Barnardos are recommending to the Government - that presentation is below:
Barnardos Key Recommendations for Budget 2010

I've arranged advertising for Barnardos on Boards.ie to help them reach their target of signatures. I hope it has an impact. Given that interview, if it doesn't, we're all in a lot of trouble. Preventing that is worth at least a signature.

The day I interviewed Dustin the Turkey

From the Boards.ie blog:



Given the fact I talk to people a lot professionally, it's rare that I'm completely speechless in someone's presence. In fact, it's happened only twice recently - one when Terry Pratchett joined us for soup in Clare and the other was yesterday when Dustin started talking to me.

One of the cool things about my job with Boards.ie is what it allows me to do interviews like this. I find other people's questions are always much better than what I could come up with - especially if they have an emotional connection to the subject - it's how the soccer forum members came up with such great questions for John O' Shea and Damien Duff.

Setting up an interview with someone as busy as Dustin is a difficult one. Not content with everything he's done on TV, on the Eurovision, musically or politically, he's also just completed a trip to South Africa with UNICEF to entertain children affected by HIV/AIDS, unemployment and poverty and been in the recent RTÉ show "Dustin: Twenty Years A-Pluckin'" celebrating his own 20 years on Television. So, yes, it was a bit of an ordeal.

However I got to meet Dustin in Kite Entertainment's offices yesterday. I was nervous - I knew he'd go for me but it wasn't until he popped up from under the desk and started talking that I was completely awestruck.

There's me, as part of my job, getting to sit in an office, to look at Dustin, to see his beak, his eyes, to hear the click of his lower beak on his upper beak, the Louis Copeland suit, to just be in the presence of someone who has been on my screen on in my ears so much - magical.



The interview itself went as well as any of mine do - I'm trying hard not to laugh, I'm reading the next question to make sure I neither stammer nor stutter and I'm trying to act professional, rather than just laughing along. Poor Niamh had to hold the camera and put up with his amorous advances. It was a brilliant experience.



You know, there's times that I feel very very lucky. As does the lovely Niamho.



You can follow Dustin on Twitter here.

You can see what Boards.ie members are saying about the interview here.

You can hear Dustin's entire back catalogue of albums (and buy them) here.

A huge thanks to all the Boards.ie members, to Darren in Kite Entertainment and of course to Dustin. You legend :)

Interviewed by Cian and Liz from ViewFromTheQuad.com

Cian and Liz have had me on the brilliant podcast that is View From the Quad - a podcast about technology, sci-fi and life. I think I fall into the latter category, though listening to it, I'm not sure where it sits.

The 30 minute interview is about the skydive, about Boards.ie, about twitter, about Star Trek, downloading files in 1997, bloggers, newspapers vs blogs and twitter, about Irish politics and politicians online, about Schwarzenegger, about the 4DayMovie project, about English muggings, about being from Kilkenny, about a manga messiah, Wallace and Gromit, Neil Gaiman, bad jokes and loads of stuff. We talked lots.

You can hear the podcast over on View from the Quad.

There's a lot of me rambling, a lot of me sucking air through my teeth (sorry!), of Cian and Liz waiting politely for me to stop talking (bless you) and random chatter. We recorded it in a city centre studio on Friday afternoon after a long day of work so excuse the waffle. It was a great chat though, so thanks to them both for the plug :)

Chat with John Spillane plus live performance at Tower Records

I've just published my Culch.ie interview with John Spillane in Tower Records this morning. It was a brilliant chat - over 20 minutes! Spoke about everything from Cork to accents to Óró se do bheatha abhaile to Senegal to RnaG to ballet to more!



He was in Dublin to promote his new album So Far So Good, Like - The best of. It's a fantastic Irish album - I hadn't really known much about his music before I bought it yesterday (HMV, €14.99) but the authentic sound from the songs and the lyrics is quite something.

Some of the videos I shot of his performances today are songs from the album:

The Dunnes Stores Girl:



Passage West:



The Dance of the Cherry Trees:



Johnny don't go to Ballincollig:



There was a Man:



Will we be brilliant or what?





John's album is available in all good record stores now. The track listing is as follows: 1. Passage West, 2. The Dance of the Cherry Trees, 3. Lovers Leap, 4. All the Ways you Wander, 5. Johnny don't go to Ballincollig, 6. Everything’s Turning to Gold Cathy, 7. Will We Be Brilliant or What?, 8. Magic Nights in the Lobby Bar, 9. Hey Dreamer, 10. The Dunnes Stores Girl, 11. Buile mo Chroí (Beat of my Heart), 12. The Wounded Hero (Iníon Deichtine), 13. There was a Man, 14. Rise up Lovely Molly, 15. Beidh Aonach Amárach 16. Óró Sé do Bheatha Abhaile

The full, unedited interview can be seen on Vimeo here.

A huge thank you to Paula from EMI Music and Lorcan, John's manager, for helping arrange the interview, to Tower Records for the space and of course to John himself for being so great to talk with and listen to.

Talking gadgets with Gadgetrepublic

The wonderful Marie Boran recently quizzed me on my gadgetary tastes for gadget news and reviews site Gadgetrepublic.com - here's a link to what I had to say:

http://www.gadgetrepublic.com/news/item/233/digital-life/gadget-talk/

The photo of me was taken by my friend and three-categories-in-the-blog-awards-longlisted Naomi. Congratulations!

While you're over there, check out their competitions and the first Gadget Talk interview with Pat Phelan.

If someone could tell me if the dream gadget exists, I'd appreciate it!

Want to help the homeless? 'Get real' says John Bird, founder of Big Issue

In November 2008 I interviewed John Bird, founder and editor in chief of The Big Issue magazine.

It seems in Ireland some people are happy to let the government take a stand on homelessness (as evidenced by this survey on LeCraic.com) and some believe they should figure it out for themselves. Although in a recession and donations are dropping, people are still giving money to homeless people to help them.

John Bird says in order to help the homeless you should "Get real. Go and help the homeless to help themselves to get out of homelessness. If you give something away for nothing you enslave the recipient because you give them a reason to come back again and again.

One of the major problems with people in need is that they are kept in this constant state of living on pocket money that we hand out as and when we see fit. Get real - go and help the organisations. Petition the government to create the kind of support that is necessary to get people out of homelessness."


There are few people who can talk the talk as well as John Bird, because he has walked the walk. Born to poor London Irish parents, homeless when he was five, in a reform school at 15, expelled from college, spent time on the run from the police and social security, was a revolutionary in Paris and became a businessman all in the first part of his life.

17 years later, in September 1991, the first issue of the Big Issue magazine was launched. He was 45, had never managed anyone and his sales team was made up of homeless people who he describes as "the most unreliable workforce on God's earth".


Photo from bigissue.com

When I found out that John was speaking at Chain Reaction, a conference in London for social entrepreneurs, business leaders, community activists and more, I put him on my "would love to meet" list.

I'd read about John, followed his story, admired the uncompromising way he achieved things. He gave a talk during a busy lunch, interrupting people with a loud shout into the microphone to "Shut up. We are talking here, trying to change the world in a lunchtime." The room fell silent as he continued to speak on his ideas on business, his experiences with the homeless and the work that Big Issue does.

After the talk he was immediately swamped with admirers and business people wanting his advice. In the end I had to grab him during his lunch for a quick, off the cuff and slightly less formal interview than I had planned.

Background information:

John's first involvement with helping the homeless came through being homeless. When he went to present to the establishment homeless charities, their reaction was:

'What do you know about homeless people? Who are you? Have you got a degree in it? You haven't worked at a shelter through the night, been on a helpline, been on a sleep out, rattled cans in the street, or wiped a homeless person's arse.' I replied: 'I've been homeless, I've been a rough sleeper, and I've had drink, drug and violence problems. Maybe it's time that someone who's had the problem of homelessness was able to get involved in making the decisions'. They were completely bollocksed by that.

Homeless charities vs work:

When we started out there were literally hundreds of charities just in London alone for the benefit of the homeless. I didn't want to do a charity because charities piss me off. The ones I met were full of 'nice' people who were totally sentimental about homelessness and I wasn't interested in sentimentalism because I thought the world was a shit hole.

I thought homeless people were treated abysmally, especially by themselves, and that charities were not tough enough to say to homeless people 'Look you're causing these problems yourself. The world screws you over but you've got to sort yourself out'.

The charities we met were all about giving homeless people another handout rather than giving them the one thing they needed: opportunity. Opportunity to a homeless person is a job; in fact what keeps most of us from falling to pieces.

Work gives you social association, friendships, a sense of responsibility and the chance of making your own money so that you don't need to ponce off the state and ponce off your parents.

As a charity you can't give work to the disposessed; you can only be nice to them, and give them some soup and a roll as they sit in their doorway. This isn't opportunity, it isn't even respect: it's a kind of unconditional love normally reserved for little children. It seemed utterly logical to me to give people that have fallen to pieces the thing that keeps you and I sane, and that is work.

Photo from here

Don't give cash to homeless people, give it to the charities:

Far harder than retraining the homeless is persuading the public not to throw cash at homeless people: nothing has done more to create a dependency culture amongst the dispossessed than the indulgent attitude people have to giving. It's almost as if they're walking around with cash in their pockets saying: 'I'm really upset with this pound. But hang on, look there's someone over there who looks sad and they've got dirt on their face. Here you go...'

Even now, with the paper out there making sure homeless people are selling rather than begging, we haven't managed to control that impulse; people want to pay £5 for a magazine that costs £1.40. No homeless person is going to say 'hang on, I don't need your money', it's going to make them think that being dirty and living on the street is a sustainable way to make money.

What people don't realise is that if you give something away for nothing you enslave the recipient because you give them a reason to come back again and again. I was homeless, I was living on the streets. I hated the people who gave me money and I loathed the people who didn't. It changes your mind. It screws your life.

If you indulge homeless people and give them no barriers or limitations they demand more and more attention like a high maintenance lover.

Still a way to go:

I still think we haven't come within a mile of our potential and that's my biggest concern. The very idea that you take people who are in crisis and instead of saying 'this is what we're going to do for you' you say 'what are you going to do for yourself?' is really revolutionary and of course could go way beyond homeless people.

If you took the Big Issue concept and used it in a doctor's surgery, a school, in nutrition... actually getting people to take responsibility for their issue, that's the potential of The Big Issue and it's huge.

We also need to be a bit honest: our intervention into the lives of homeless people is not without its issues. A third of the people we help will use the money to stick stuff down their throats and unto their arms. This is life, let's not kid ourselves that we can achieve 100%.

Another third of our vendors will say: 'ah, I've got a job for life. I can sell 200 papers a week, and I can live off that'. Like all interventions our solution has created a new dependency, and yes, it's better than begging, but it's still dependency. We have to find new methods of moving people on.

What people can do:

Get real - go and help the organisations, the charities that work in the hostels. Go and help the homeless to help themselves to get out of homelessness. Petition the government to create the kind of support that is necessary to get people out of homelessness. Now that is around drink, drugs, psychological help.

We need to make a very heavy investment in the lives of single people, single homeless people. We need to give them a Rolls Royce service, the kind of service that the posh can give their children in order to get them out. The thing is, the homeless cost more money than the posh spend on their own families. It's like that.

One thing you can do right now, if you haven't already, is click here to buy a copy of Homepages, a collection of stories from Irish bloggers. it will cost you €14 and is a great read. Proceeds go to Focus Ireland, a charity which people out-of-home.

To read more about John Bird, including his thoughts on social entrepreneurship and business, you could buy Everyday Legends, the stories of 20 great social entrepreneurs, on which this interview and post was heavily based.



Featuring John, Jamie Oliver, Bob Geldof, Trevor Baylis, Siobhan Freegard and more, the book is a fascinating insight into how ordinary people can play a part in changing the world.

----

[I am aware at the end of the video, I say "and now, over to you" - over to who I'm not sure, it was just to the lovely person holding the video camera. It was very, very funny at the time.]

Having a coffee and interview with Messiah J

They've just been nominated for The Choice Music Prize, Irish Album Of The Year, for the second record in a row. In the video interview we've done, Messiah J describes the group as "a two piece music making machine, influenced by hip hop, psychedelia, reggae and classical sources; hip hop but not as we know it. Left of centre and then left of centre again. Accessible music that people can dance to, can think to - people who are as flawed, confused and ordinary as us." They're successful, they're Irish and they love what they do.


Photos from MJEX

I hadn't heard of MJEX until I got their latest album, From the Word Go. Actually, that's not entirely accurate - I'd heard of them but never listened to their music, wouldn't have considered going to a gig, didn't know what they were about and, to be honest, didn't try to find out. Hip Hop for me was that dancy stuff; gangsta rap, Beyonce, Eminem and Nelly all lumped together in my mental file. I think the term became too broad and multi-discipline encompassing to understand so I just left it. To hear of a Dublin group doing it seemed a bit Commitment-esque - I mean, it's just Irish guys trying to be black, right?



But I stuck the CD on. Pretty quickly my foot tapping turned into dancing. As part of the research before this interview, I went to check out the reviews online - RTÉ called it "an assured and catchy release... the album overall has an uplifting effect as it is mostly fast-paced and melodic." Hotpress called it a 'classic' while Sputnik Music said it was "every bit the record it threatened to be: challenging yet accessible; diverse yet coherent; serious yet playful; pop but not pop."

State consider it their "finest album to date" while Jim Carroll called it the sweetest thing they've ever done going on to name their new single, Turn the Magic On, with lead vocals by Leda Egri as "a tune which every DJ at every music station in the land should be playing off the air."

I read the reviews, read some interviews, saw this video for their first single from the album, Megaphone Man and wondered just who I'd end up meeting. What was evident from the interviews I've read is that they're passionate in their beliefs about what music can do and the responsibility they feel they have. Their CD "questions the state of the world we live in today. The songs are about every day things, good and bad, all set against the backdrop of a pretty confused world and its people."

"The stance we're taking is that we don't know it all or even pretend to know it all, but we're trying to make people aware that this is stuff they should get to know about. We're as confused as everyone else." they said in a brilliant Irish Times interview:

"I think there has to be more talk about political issues from people our own age, not some fiftysomething career politician coming out with loads of jargon. Bands, though, are afraid to speak about political issues because they feel they have to have all the answers or be on a podium, but that's not the case. You can take an interest and be flawed. You can't be a hypocrite, but you can be flawed."

The first thing to note about John Fitzgerald - Messiah J - is that he's remarkably polite. When we meet at the Central Hotel, he greets Darren and me with effusive thanks for the opportunity, thanks for the time, thanks for the nice words. There's no "call me Messiah" or any of that. Darren's here to take photos but more than that - his familiarity with MJEX through the Choice Music Prize is a welcome addition to the conversation.

We bounce through topics at a rate of knots - conversation flows easily because John is a comfortable guy to be around - he knows his stuff without making that part of any persona. As I scribble what becomes a 9 A5 page interview, I start building a real picture of who Messiah J is.

How would Messiah J change Dublin, his home town?

"Well, I wish... Hmmm. I wish people were nicer. More polite. More civil to each other. That's important. I also wish everything wasn't so drink based.

Dublin is for me a strange one - it's sometimes a hiding place and sometimes a thing to hide behind. We have some under the carpet racism that I'd love to see gone. I despise the word foreigners. Foreigners is an exclusionary term, a way of dividing people, so yes, I wish the phrase "the foreigners" wasn't used so much, particularly towards Polish people.

I also with there were less promises that can't be kept - services, metro lines, infrastructure all promised and then not happening. The things that really matter - healthcare, welfare, people - that's what matters. Focus on that."

How he became Messiah J:

"I was about 15. I was always listening to hip hop and thinking "I like this and I don't care about anything else." I think to get your identity you have to say "I'm into this" and mean it. So, I listened to the music, wore the gear and obsessed about the subculture.

Writing it then, well that started quietly. It was all very hush hush - writing was like masturbating in my bedroom, a guilty secret. I kept it to myself so I wouldn't get laughed at.

I never tried the whole mimicking America thing. I never felt that I had to be anyone else or do it in any style but my own. I was expressing myself and that was it.

I started wondering then, Is anyone else doing this? This is the mid to late 90's and Hip Hop was kind of coming into a phase of its own. If you followed it people asked you which style, which person you were - Ice T, Ice Cube or Snoop. I didn't identify with that.

I met The Expert (Cian Galvin) who was a pirate DJ doing a show on DLR called Hip Hop Saturday. Then a friend called Dylan Collins introduced a lot of us and we'd get together at the City Arts Centre and just jam. That then became the Stonecutters and then we had Creative Controle for three years. It was good fun."

Getting on with The Expert:

"Well we know each other for what - ten years now? So at this stage we almost have a telepathy between us. We just keep on trying to get better at what we do. When we're in the studio together working on stuff, we can almost spontaneously sing the same melody line as we both create it.

We don't fight. We argue for the greater good and we reject each other's work far more than we accept it, but it makes us better.

I remember Friday nights before we'd meet to record stuff. I'd be in my dressing gown - it's my writing robe - pacing, feeling it was like the night before an exam, wondering if he'd like it. From the very start I could tell that this guy knows his shit. I respect him. The Expert is a genius. We maintain a healthy competition between us. It's a good song writing partnership.

We record in our own studio called Labbey Road. It's pretty basic but it works for us. Since we decided to release on our own label, Inaudible records, it's given us a freedom to have our own style, to do it the way we want. As I say, we don't have to be anyone but ourselves I don't pretend to be American when I rap, I rap in my own accent. We support each other on that - it's the way we've always been."

Playing live:

"Playing live is warts and all. You fuck up and everyone sees. There's no hiding place. When something's written we'll get it while it's raw. It's very exciting and tiring, it's like you're fighting for perfectionism.

I mean, videos are fun, yeah? There's a theatrical element to them, you're on a set, there's a different environment, it's a different discipline. You shoot, you have ideas, you try them out and when you're happy with it, it's done.

Live though, well, in some ways when we go on stage it's a kind of a release. We can take over the place. To put it one way, it's the exact opposite of someone at a party having a think. Everything releases. For me, it's a amplified version of everything I am. I'm completely different off stage then."

Critics and feedback:

"Yes, I listen to critics, be they bloggers, journalists or fans. Ultimately critics will help you sell records. There's a perception sometimes that music critics are all dickheads - they're certainly not. A bad review can point you in a good direction, a good review does no harm at all.

We're making independent music, so people writing about us and talking about us is massively important and really complimentary.

We don't get as much mainstream radio play as we like. Rick O Shea and Colm and Jim Jim are two presenters who have been great to us. I suppose it's to do with the music too. I mean, when I first heard Megaphone Man fully, I thought it might be too edgy, a bit too bizarre. But it's out there and it works.

Messiah J and the Expert are hip hop. It's not a definable sound, it's not that we feel the need to justify the type of hip hop we are, but we are more than loops and stupid rhyming lyrics. Genres can case you in - we like to think the new album is more than a Hip Hop album, it's something for people who like everything."

On their song topics:

"Am I trying to make a difference as a songwriter? Yes. It's an enviable position to be in. I don't do it as a "it's for the kids, man" but people should be talking about the issues around them. It's not just politicians - it's people that are listened to, whether they're teachers, entertainers or writers, bloggers - people should take responsibility. I'm not saying I have any answers or my way is the right way, but I'll ask the questions and I'll look around me and I'll talk about things.

Songwriters have changed my life with some of the things I've heard and listened to. We've seen it with people like Dylan and Lennon where you can have a massive influence, once it's not contrived, it's not fake or for the sake of it. Too much music is bland and without substance. It doesn't have to be. It's quite a powerful thing to be able to talk about the world around you and not be seen to be on a lofty pedestal. it's as I said earlier, it's for people as flawed, confused and ordinary as us.

Discussion is what it's about - it's part of what music is. Opera was political music. What we do is political, but only in the people sense. There's a time and place for escapist music, but there's also a place where people can ask questions and think about things too."

On the future:

"We're just going to keep doing what we love, pushing ourselves to get better, making it great. We want to be a great band, not just in Irish Hip Hop but by any standards. I mean, if we wanted to leave a legacy it would be that we made a difference, that we tried to musically and lyrically chart new territory. We made people dance."

Messiah J and the Expert are playing support to The Streets on Jan 25 in Dublin's Olympia Theatre. They'll then be in Vicar Street for the Choice Music Prize on March 4. You'll find their blog here, their website here and MySpace here.

Big thanks to John for taking the time out to talk to me, Darren for the photos and Emma for helping to arrange the interview.

Messiah J and the Expert for beginners

I interviewed Messiah J from 2008 Choice Music Prize nominated group Messiah J and the Expert. If you haven't heard of them, here's an introduction for you:



A fuller detailed interview for fans will be available later.

The day I met Bosco's mammy for coffee

His red hair is now quite scraggy. The wool, glued on, was never going to last major wear and tear. He's missing one eye, the missing felt one a casualty of being thrown, dragged and hugged too much. I have no idea why he's wearing a yellow jumpsuit or where his original white and green striped shirt, jeans and boots are. He was my Bosco teddy and I've had him a long time. My sister had a matching one. We called them Biddy and Miley.

Fast forward some 24 years later and I'm sitting in Coffee Republic, hot chocolate in front of me waiting for the door to open and a lady I've wanted to meet for a long time to walk in. It started with twitter; I'd written a post about children's TV shows, someone had seen it and said the magic words "My mammy's Bosco" and now I'm waiting for Paula Lambert to join me for coffee.



Before I go further, for those not in the know, Bosco was an Irish children's television programme which ran during the late 1970s and 80s. Bosco, a small puppet of indeterminate gender (or so people thought) lived in a box, or his bosca, which was decorated with the number 5, because that's how old he was. You had to knock 5 times on the lid for Bosco.

Bosco's favourite colour was green (though Niamh says yellow), he was curious about everything. He was normally joined by two adults who would sing songs, read stories and make-and-do things with him. Songs included 'This is where I live', 'I'm painting', 'The Shadow song' and 'Poor old Michael Finnegan'. This was children's television back then - half two, just before Dempsey's Den - and we loved it.



There's a lot on the Irish web about Bosco. There are loads of unofficial Bosco Bebo pages, he pops up over on Boards.ie threads a lot and Donncha O'Caoimh's 2005 post on Bring back Bosco is up to over 80 comments. When researching the interview I felt I had to find out a few things. What gender is Bosco? Was he really kidnapped? Did Zig and Zag really throw him around? Where did he come from? Did the magic door really work? Come on, boys and girls of all ages, let's find out together!


Paula and Emily arrive. Coffee ordered, the first question I ask is the most obvious. "Yes," she says "I was in the box underneath for all of them". It was something I'd always wondered, once schoolyard conversations became old enough for someone to show their hand and say "What's this? Bosco naked!" - who was the person behind/underneath Bosco?

The history:

"Well Bosco was designed first as a doll, in the very early days. It relied on having the presenters work him which wasn't very practical so he became a puppet. I based the character on Emily, who was herself a red head, and quite bold and cheeky." Paula laughs while Emily goes a bit red, but seems used to it. "I think that's what Bosco is. Just an ordinary child. What gender is Bosco? I think of him as a boy but it's up to children what they decide themselves."


(Image from here)

Paula is from a - if not the - quintessential showbusiness family. Her father Eugene and mother Mai are behind the much loved Lambert Puppet Theatre and such TV shows as Wanderly Wagon and Murphy agus a Cairde.



"Dad was always making puppets" says Paula, "He started his ventriloquism act with Frankie, a predecessor to his famous Finnegan character. Him and mam moved to Dublin in 1950, when they were both 22. Mam entered him into a talent show, he won and that was the start of it." (There's a great interview with Eugene on Fústar's blog here)

"From there were the theatres, the musical halls, the tours and Jury's Cabaret. Dad was starring in the Olympia with people like Laurel and Hardy, Maureen Potter and Jimmy O' Dea. He then started with Telefís Éireann as it was at the time with Murphy agus a Cairde and then on to Wanderly Wagon. I played the squirrels on that show. I started with Bosco in 1980, and did around 360 programmes in all."

Why do Bosco?

"Well I suppose in those days I was just really grateful to have a job. The money was terrible but I've always loved children and found I could communicate well with them. A lot of people seem to use children's TV as a stepping stone, but it was where I wanted to be. I wanted to be a children's entertainer."

Bosco's voice?

"The voice just came very naturally to me. I could always do it, and really don't remember not doing it. I did have a lot of input into who Bosco was - he was 5 because my daughter was 5. I was given free rein really, allowed to do what I wanted."

The magic door:


The magic door was Bosco outside - sometimes in a playground (Oh Mr Sun, Sun, Mr Golden Sun, please shine down on me...) and other times to a creamery or to the zoo, where, for me anyhow, it was my first look at a lot of the animals. I didn't get to visit Dublin zoo for the first time until I was about ten.

"Ah, we were treated like royalty when we went to the zoo. My children would come with me. We'd be allowed to handle the animals, to go into their cages and everything. I remember being put in with the tigers - the keeper standing with a sweeping brush saying "Ah you'll be grand". Another time, I got a big fright with a snow leopard who leapt pawing at its glass wall when a woman in a leopardskin coat walked by."

"Most embarrassingly was the time I introduced a bird in the Aviary as a fukken cockaburra, the keeper, Mr Stone, having told me that's what it was called and me not copping on. That didn't go out on air, I can tell you."



The UCD kidnapping:

"Yes, Bosco was kidnapped from UCD. I was out there having finished a show and was loading the gear into the van afterwards. There's a lot of stuff in putting the shows together. I had just put the suitcase with Bosco down and it was whipped. They took the Bosco puppet and dumped the suitcase in the lake. That stuff was unfortunately ruined. I rang the police. The kidnappers brought Bosco on holidays to San Francisco, sent a photo to the Star newspaper.

It was big news at the time. We had reporters on the doorstep and Emily, only a young girl, dealing with them all. Because Bosco was gone, I was out of work, but there was rumours that I'd set the whole thing up! Coronation Street was running the Reg Holsworth gnome storyline at the same time and I think that might have been the inspiration. Anyway, they sent Bosco, fairly unharmed back to the Star offices.

Zig and Zag:

"Yes, I've heard the rumour and no, it's not true. Any professional puppeteer takes very good care of their puppets - after all, this is your livelihood. The guys behind Zig and Zag know this and would simply have more respect. So no, Zag was not throwing the Bosco puppet around."

Gift Grub and Dustin:

"Yes, that is Bosco with Bertie on Gift Grub. Quite simply Mario Rosenstock got in touch and asked me to do it. He also has appeared with Dustin - himself and the Turkey have a fraught but funny relationship, and they seem to like working together."

Growing up with Bosco:

"We were annihilated," says Emily. "We went to school in Cabinteely and my brother and me got it all the time. Don Conroy's son was in the same school and got hassle as well. I guess it just comes with the territory. Ronan used to be called Bosco. He dyed his hair black and they started calling him Sooty. There was no escape.

But we got to do loads of cool things, to hang around RTÉ, to see the shows being made and to meet loads of people. So the good far outweighed the bad."



Bosco's return:

"Well, he never really went away, you know." Paula admonishes me, "Just off the TV screens. Bosco had a record that beat U2 in the charts in 1983, you know. The first Bosco DVD came out around 3 years ago and has gone seven times platinum. We did an AIDS benefit cabaret in the Tivoli with Lily Savage and Phil Coulter, which was great fun. We did Electric Picnic in 2005 and the crowd reaction was amazing. All they wanted were to hear the old songs and phrases and sing along. Vodafone ran a Bring Bosco Back campaign a couple of years ago. He's been part of the seasons I did in the Gaiety and comes on tour. But it's more about entertaining children these days."

Paula runs The Paula Lambert Puppet Theatre, now widely recognised as the Premier Touring Puppet Theatre Company in Ireland. She presents a choice of four productions on tour: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel and Sleeping Beauty. Bosco travels with the show too, making the odd cameo appearance.

"Children now don't know that Bosco was on the telly, they don't know about the magic door or Seamus Spud or the plonksters or any of that. But they react to him almost exactly the same. We do shows in St Marks in Tallaght, a school with 400 junior infants. You'd imagine they'd be a tough audience but they love him."



"At one birthday party I put Bosco's legs and feet over the side of the box and one child shouted "Now mummy, I told you he was real!" At a school in Killiney where we were doing a show for GOAL, the principal made all the children sit and be quiet as they waited for Bosco to come back. "Don't let me down, children," she said to them when one little boy put up his hand and said "But miss, Bosco needs us to shout." Every reaction is magical and makes it worth it."

"I have a lot of puppets," says Paula, "but Bosco is my favourite. He's been with me now for almost 30 years. He is one of the family." "He even" Emily confides, "has his own little bed with covers and a hot water bottle."



"I suppose it's in the blood", says Paula when I ask her why she keeps doing it. "You can lose your inhibitions behind the puppets, no one can see you. I enjoy it. I consider myself very lucky to have a job that I love. So many people don't. I get to hear children laughing, singing and clapping. There's nothing glamorous about it, it's hard work. There's a lot of travelling, set-up and carrying gear, but that's part and parcel of what I do. I reckon Bosco goes to bed at night a very happy little boy altogether."

I wish there was a more apt word to describe her, but Paula herself is a lovely woman - genuinely warm, funny and easy to be around. Though shyer than I expected (hence no photos), her eyes positively glow when talking about Bosco, about the children's reactions and with the memories of the show and her experiences.

She seems a bit surprised by the reaction she still gets from adults - she'd been interviewed on i105-107 that morning, but takes it all in her stride. She's fiercely protective of Bosco - won't let a bad word be said, but has a great sense of humour that kept Niamh and me in stitches over the hour or so we had with them.

Emily is of course the person behind EmilyTully.com, a new Public Relations and online communications service for smaller budgets and start ups. You can find her blog here. There's also rumour that Bosco may be getting his own offical website soon...


A huge thanks to Paula and Emily for taking the time to indulge this big child. Of course I haven't met Bosco himself yet, but that's no reason not to leave you with this. It certainly brought back some memories for me.

"Time to go, goodbye, goodbye, put everything back in its box,
See you soon, goodbye goodbye,
And remember now, you're the tops!"

How many miles to Basra: interview with Colin Teevan

A stage empty but for ten chairs. Actors walk out, taking their seats. No costumes, no props, just scripts and water. The audience is here for a play reading of Colin Teevan's play "How Many Miles to Basra?", one of the Abbey Theatre's series of talks and readings in their Bearing Witness season, a celebration of 60 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The play, about "Four soldiers take a chance to redeem themselves after an accidental killing, while their journalist companion learns that the nature of truth is always distorted by the media" deals with the Iraq war and the uneven relationship between the media, politicians and the armed forces. At times comedic, at others poignant and disturbing, we are treated in two acts to a provoking look at the reality of today.



Can ten actors do a play with such important undertones and aspirations justice through just a reading? Yes, yes they can. Director Conall Morrison and his cast took the audience from the offices of BBC radio to Iraq and back again through convincing passion, accents, emotions and a storyline that resonates with all of us. It's hardly surprising, given the prevalent question - did the British government lie about Iraq? Was the weapons dossier sexed up? What was it like in Iraq for the soldiers there?

Through the eyes of Freddie, Stewart, Geordie and Dangermouse, four soldiers based in Iraq, completely bored by their station, the answer is "boring". We're introduced to them through reporter Ursula Gunn, there to find a story, a woman racked with guilt over her brother's death in a RUC shooting years before. When action happens, it happens in a big way, disturbing the routine of all involved and creating a situation none of them could envisage and a reality the audience cannot ignore.









"That's not how it happened" "What are we doing here?" "Why does this Iraqi have so much money? Why shouldn't an Iraqi have 400 dollars?" "I don't feel anything for him, I hate him". "That's what we're doing here, trying to liberate them from living like this. It's what we're here to do, leave the country a better place" "The war is over, according to my editor" "Tell your editor I would gladly swap houses with him. "I wish the world would stop trying to help Iraqis" "To remove this monster Saddam who you made to keep us in our place, you have bombed us, destroyed us. You have reduced this country to rags, then you call us ragheads".

The script is harsh and unforgiving, brutal in its assault on the lies perpetrated, constantly seeking the truth of the situation and inviting us to do the same.

I sat with playwright Colin Teevan after the performance to find out more about him and this play. Colin, from Dublin, is a playwright and translator, whose work has been produced by theatres including the National Theatre, London, the Young Vic, the National Theatre of Scotland, The Abbey Theatre and off Broadway. He has lectured widely in Britain, Europe and the US on theatre and writing for the stage and is currently Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of London.


(Please excuse the sound and lighting - still practising on the N95!)

Reading and acting in How Many Miles to Basra? were Roisín Coyle, Fiona Bell, John Cronin, Anthony Brophy, Ronan Leahy, Barry John O' Connor, Raad Rawi, Christopher Simpson, Janice Byrne and Ali White.

The Bearing Witness series continues this week with talks and readings address how Irish people bear witness to international events through art, debate, and politics.

Wednesday 17 and Friday 19 December sees two more readings. Returns by Joshua Casteel tells of Torture, guilt and post traumatic stress are explored through the memories of James and his companions, who have returned from Iraq only to find they cannot escape their past. Zero Hour by Tea Alagic is a biographical piece of how the playwright is just another student – until the cracks in her society are exposed by civil war. Zero Hour parallels her journey into adulthood with the transition of Bosnia from war to peace.

All readings take place at the Peacock Theatre at 2pm. Tickets €4/€2 concession each, and booking is on 01 87 87 222. The Abbey Website is here, and you can become a fan on Facebook here.

One Day International: interview with Matt and Ross

Matt Lunson is reading Neil Gaiman's Stardust. It's a good way for us to start our conversation, me a Gaiman fan, him being recently introduced by a friend. "I'm really liking it" he says, something that doesn't surprise me, having read Matt's own writing for the past few weeks.

It's been a busy morning - the guys are in the middle of shooting interviews about blogging down one end of Le Cirk, I'm up at the other arranging tea for Matt and Ross who have come to tell me more about One Day International. Ross barely has time to sit down before I invite/send him to be part of the filming, leaving Matt and me to talk.



I've been constantly listening to their debut album, Blackbird, since I got it. There are eleven beautiful, carefully crafted songs here that have accompanied me for the past while. Heavy on piano, accompanied by cello, the lyrics drew me in conjuring images of torrid love affairs, sweet kisses and a girl I knew a long time ago. Powerful stuff. Indeed, as their website says

"A deep and passionate respect for language resonates through each and every track. Words are not wasted, each turn of phrase demands attention. The collected musicianship of the group affords the listener a hoard of minds-eye treasures to call upon."

I ask Matt as I about the band's emerging profile "We have been very fortunate so far. We've been careful about what we've done, with whom and when and even though it's not a route all bands take, it's worked out for us". Indeed, the five piece band, together since 2007, Matt on vocals, Ross (Turner) on drums, Cormac Curran on piano, Danny Snow on bass and Eimear O’Grady on cello have been building up a steady following and respect from fans and within the industry, something reviews of their album on RTE.ie and State bear testimony to.

"We've spent 18 months creating this album" says Matt. "Our first batch of songs were quite delicate. Fragile. We didn't want to expose them to a situation where they wouldn't be comfortable. We want to take care of the music we play. The only real thing of value a band has is the songs that it writes."

I found that strange to hear, but listening to lyrics from Closed Doors: "For the first time in your life you stopped tearing yourself apart and it was beautiful", Miss Your Mouth "I know you like that I am a mess that I'll do my best so you'll believe that my aim is good", Not Over You "Do you remember the way that we made the best of a bad situation always seem worse" and Black is the Bird "Black is the bird that can't sing and black is the bird that loses it's wing" that I began to understand how personal this album is not only to Matt, but to the band.

"It's the same reason why we're not out on the road seven days a week. We've been guarded about doing any gigs until there was an album we were happy with. We could have gone and played to 15 people in gigs, but that doesn't benefit anyone. It needs to benefit the music that I write rather than the band." says Matt. "This record has been quite carefully arranged and constructed over time. We've worked on it for a year and a half and it's the best that we could have done it. We're very proud of it."

Their gig in The Button Factory on Thursday promises to be a good one. "We're looking forward to it" Ross grins, having rejoined us. "We concentrated on making the record first - the live shows take care of themselves. However we work hard on creating an atmosphere for an hour or so where our songs can be played. It's almost making a grandeur out of vulnerability. We worked hard to strike the balance between too literal, too obvious and too obscure. If we can bring out the soulful and emotional aspects of our songs in our performance, we'll be happy" says Matt.


Photo by Dara Munnis

"The live show has superseded the record", he says, "it's more dramatic. The songs are written to be performed and the show allows us to flesh out the crescendos built into the music". "The structure and arrangements don't change that much", Ross adds, "but there's more power and energy in the live show".

"I find it better" interrupts Matt "to see what I can do with the music rather than just show what I can do. It can be dangerous territory - if you force a change in the music just for a show, it comes out contrived. For us it's about the balance".

They spent some time this year supporting Lisa Hannigan. "It was wonderful" says Matt, "We became really good friends with her and the band. She is just so beautiful and relaxed in her performances that playing with her was a pleasure." They've also toured with Cathy Davey and were widely regarded as one of the best acts of this year's Hard Working Class Heroes.



Matt, a respected singer/songwriter far from his native Tasmania, released his first album Miss Vaughan, named after his first music teacher in 2005 and has toured with many artists - Mundy, Mary Coughlan, The Walls, Ollie Cole, Tim Freedman (The Whitlams) and Liam O Maonlaí to name a few. The others are no less accomplished - Ross plays with Cathy Davey, Jape and David Kitt while Eimear plays sessions and orchestra with equal fervour.

"We had three songs when we started", says Matt, "songs that required a band to share them". In a recent State interview, Eimear had commented how they were "definitely learning the trick of the five of us being in a room and somebody bringing something in and being able to spark it off the next person."

"Our personal relationship is important" says Matt "Everyone likes each other, respects each other and contributes. We were good friends when we started this and that has continued. Everyone had their place. Ross, who duals as the band's main blogger, knows such an incredible amount of music that he's often our finder of new things."



The band have a huge respect for music bloggers and are one of the rare few that update their own blog when they have news, giving equal coverage to artists they like as well as their own news. "People consume so much Irish music now that isn't just from 2FM or Hot Press. They're seeking out the tunes, talking about the bands and reviewing the gigs. It's a good thing" says Matt "Intelligent criticism of their music will make the bands work harder, be better informed."



The album cover too is a thing of beauty. Designed by Sarah Brownlee, a designer and illustrator, its apparent simplicity, like the music, doesn't show the amount of work that's gone into it. "We love it" says Ross, "Sarah understood us, understood what we wanted and gave us something wonderful." The album itself is produced by Brian Crosby (BellX1 and The Cake Sale) with whom Matt has been friends for a long time.

The band is looking international next year. "It's about ambition", says Matt, "We're not just limiting ourselves to Ireland. Don't get me wrong, there's been a seismic shift in Irish music in the last two years - a huge shift in scope and eclepticism. Where before, to fit in, you were either a singer songwriter or a skinny angular guitar band, you now have events like HWCH and bands like The Vinny Club that show that musicians are prepared to take genuine risks. And out of that will come stuff that is genuinely great."

"We will however bring our songs and music on the road. We're going to South by South West (a legendary festival showcasing more than 1,800 musical acts of all genres from around the globe on over eighty stages in Austin, Texas) in March and have been invited to the Canadian Music week too. The album is due for release in the UK in April."



When I ask for their advice for anyone starting out in music, their advice was simple. "Really work at it and don't try to be anything you're not. There's no need to sound like someone else or try fit into a certain scene. Your music will drive your success. Play often and together as much as you can" advises Ross. "Unless you're die hard there's not much point" says Matt. "If the band is weak, if the performance is weak or the music is weak, the band will fall apart. You need to hone it constantly and really work at it."

When asked for favourite songs from the album, they both hesitate. "All of them" says Ross. Matt believes that Darken Your Door is perfectly sung and written, while Ross favours Black is the Bird as a song that has benefited from live performance and the vocal expression of it. Matt says he remembers a 1940s quote that reads "If you burn the midnight oil on revision, you'll often leave the smell of the lamp" - not something they want to do. "Buy our album, come to our gigs, find out for yourself" they invite you. You can see all that information and more on their Facebook page, their MySpace page here and their website and blog here.

I'm looking forward to Thursday's gig. "There'll be no Christmas songs" grins Matt, when I ask "though we were thinking of "The River" by Joni Mitchell." Whatever they play, it's bound to be a musical treat and a great experience. Here's their current single, Closed Doors.


A big thanks to Matt and Ross for the interview, to Emma for her help, to Le Cirk for the venue and the wonderful Mr Byrne for the photos. You can read his review of One Day International's Blackbird here and buy the album here.

Interview with Mark Goldthorp and Daniel Boys from Avenue Q

(If you're already familiar with what Avenue Q is about, you'll find the interview here.)

We had a somewhat serendipitous visit to London's West End this year. Having left the conference post champagne but pre potential embarrassment (trust me on this), we meandered over Waterloo Bridge towards theatre land, passing a beleaguered Paul O' Grady, aka Lily Savage being swamped outside the ITV studios by fans from his home town - "I shop with your mother in Sainsbury's, Paul!" one woman exclaims.


(Yes, it's a terrible photo.)

It wasn't celebrity spotting we were doing though, and we didn't stop for an autograph. That night I was introducing Niamh to one of my favourite boroughs of New York, a "real life" neighbourhood populated by a variety of characters, celebrity, human and not so human. Yes, we were heading towards the Noel Coward Theatre for the evening show of AVENUE Q. And, almost needless to say, I was excited.



This was to be the third time I'd seen the show in London. Since being introduced to it over a year before, the appeal of the characters, the music and above all the songs has drawn me back like a familiar favourite film, where you know the script but watch anyway. Indeed, how could I not like it, this remarkable adult homage to Sesame Street with its premise of

"Life may suck on AVENUE Q but being jobless, homeless, politically incorrect, having sex (whether hetero, homo or porno... and that’s just the puppets) are just some of the topics featured in the terrific songs of this show."

Puppets you say? Yep. From Wikipedia:

The show is largely inspired by (and is in the style of) Sesame Street: Most of the characters in the show are puppets (operated by actors onstage), the set depicts several tenements on a rundown street in an Outer Borough of New York City, both the live characters and puppet characters sing, and short animated video clips are played as part of the story.

However the focus on this street is not on education, but on sheer entertainment. We follow Princeton, a bright-eyed enthusiastic college graduate who discovers Avenue Q as he tries to follow his dreams and discover his ever-elusive purpose in life.

It's no fairy tale though - he has to deal with failed celebrities, closeted and porn addicted puppets, inter-racial marriages, the distraction of a busty blonde, homelessness, racism, an ever decreasing bank balance and all the problems faced by people in their twenties and thirties, "thus making the show more suited for the adults who grew up with Sesame Street."


(Photos from Avenue Q)

We take our seats at the back - only restricted view available, we're told. I'm consoled by the fact I've seen it before - poor Niamh though won't get the full effect. However, just as the theme starts and the curtains part, an usher directs us to empty aisle seats a few rows from the stage, a lot better than those we had. Characters appear on stage, voices are raised in song:

"You work real hard and the pay's real low, and ev'ry hour goes oh, so slow. And at the end of the day there's no where to go but home to Avenue Q!"

and I relax for the first time that day, indulging in the sheer enjoyment of knowing the show and amusement at the reaction of those who don't. Familar faces - Christmas Eve, the Japanese therapist, Kate Monster, the Bad Idea bears, Lucy the Slut and TV's Gary Coleman - who has ended up as the superintendent on Avenue Q - fill the theatre with laughter, song and smart ass dialogue.

It's almost a pity I'd played the soundtrack so much in the house - Niamh was very used to the songs, thereby losing the surprise of the lyrics. From "What do you do with a B.A in English?" through "It sucks to be me", "If you were gay (that'd be okay)", "Everyone's a little bit racist", "The Internet is for Porn" and the incredibly poignant "There's a fine, fine line" it's all I can do not to sing along but instead distract myself with the gasps of shock, laughter and appreciation from a new-to-the-show audience who thoroughly enjoy themselves.

No mere puppet or muppet show this - it's a show that goes right for the funny bone and refuses to let go.



Now in its third year of the London production, the show has had over 1,000 performances and outstanding reviews. "It's not every show that manages to be tongue-in-cheek and hand-on-heart" says The Independent; "A hip, happening, adult puppet musical with a difference" says the Sunday Express, while the New Statesman rates it as "Riotous. A night bursting with invention, bawdiness and dollops of stage chutzpah".

Since its New York opening in 2003, its won several Tony Awards, including the award for best musical, and the soundtrack was nominated for a Grammy in 2004.



The challenge for the audience is to try take it all in. The live action mix of human and puppet can prove an intentional distraction as the puppeteers act as much in character as the figure they hold in their hands.

In the big cast scenes, where most of the characters are on stage, you'll find yourself watching the puppet more than the human, almost believing that it's the foam-and-wire ensemble singing with Gary Coleman about Schadenfreude: "The world needs people like you and me who've been knocked around by fate. 'Cause when people see us, they don't want to be us, and that makes them feel great." or giving the racial acceptance message "If we all could just admit that we are racist a little bit, even though we all know that it's wrong... maybe it would help us get along".

For any West End actor, going out night after night delivering the same lines and lyrics must be quite an endeavour. Add to that the pressure of puppeteering, of making the audience believe that puppets can have sex or be gay or be addicted to porn or fall in love and the commitment and talent of the actors comes to the fore. With this in mind, I went to meet Daniel Boys and Mark Goldthorp, two of the show's main puppeteers and actors to ask a few questions and find out more about what they do.



Mark plays three of the puppet characters on stage - internet favourite Trekkie Monster, Nicky, the well intentioned but lazy flatmate and one of the Bad Idea Bears. A wonderful actor, voice over artist and singer, his theatrical pedigree includes such high profile west end shows as Les Misérables, Beauty and the Beast, Me and My Girl and Whistle down the Wind.

Daniel, who plays main character Princeton and Rod, the closet gay liberal, is possibly best known this side of the water for his participation in Any Dream Will Do (BBC1’s search for Joseph) and When Joseph met Maria has an equally impressive portfolio including Sweeney Todd, West Side Story, Grease and Rent.



When I meet the guys, after an unexpected but hugely appreciated tour of the set - the bed the puppets have sex on has a real fitted sheet and pillowcases, the money they collect during the "Give me your Money" scene goes to charity and only certain cast members or the puppet master (yes there is one) can touch the puppets - they're warmly welcoming, polite and bizarrely, in character.

As I shake hands with Princeton, I repress the childish urge to giggle - it's like meeting Kermit. Equally, as much as I want to hug Trekkie Monster, the presence of the puppet master reminds me we have a job to do here. Photos taken, we talk about the show.

So, over 1,000 shows in, multiple audiences, cast changes, the same songs and characters now for over a year – obviously it’s a good experience but is Avenue Q as much fun for you both as it was at the beginning?

Mark (MG): Yes!

Daniel (DB): Absolutely, I love the show and have done since I first saw it so getting to go on every night with a cast and crew who are all such good fun and to see an audience having such a great time is a real joy.

Was the puppeteering element of the role (which can be quite physical at times) a difficult thing to get used to?

MG: Yes, it was at the beginning. You can never stop learning – I love that with both puppetry and acting.

DB: There is no doubt that the puppetry is one of the hardest things about the job. Puppetry is/was a new skill to learn and a very difficult one too. It hurt my arm a lot in puppet school and rehearsals but I’m used to it now and have become quite attached to the puppets.

You both have very varied musical and television backgrounds. Does Avenue Q allow you to bring as much of you that you’d like to the stage?

MG: I find there’s a lot of me in the show, both good things and bad!

DB: Obviously the show is about the puppets, but I’m loving showing a comic character role side to me which I’ve never been able to show before.

If you each have a favourite scene or song to perform from the show as any of your characters, what is it?

MG: The obvious ones I’m afraid, 'If You Were Gay', 'The Internet is for Porn', and I love 'I wish I could go back to College'.

DB: My favourite scene and song to perform is 'Fantasy'. We get to see Rod in his true colours and get to see his vulnerability. It's also a great song to sing.

If you could be another character (human or puppet) or choose a song to sing from the show, what would it be?

MG: The song would be “I’m Not Wearing Underwear Today” and the character of Gary Coleman but that would never happen!

DB: Well I do love singing along to “The More You Ruv Someone” in the dressing room!

Who do you think is the best character in the musical?

MG: The most well written is Kate Monster as she has the biggest journey but its all relative

DB: I think Kate goes through the most emotionally but of course I’m biased – I love Rod!

How much does the audience reaction influence how you’ll play a show on a night?

MG: We try not to let it affect us but it does have some affect, especially if they’re quite a quiet audience.

DB: It can be tough sometimes if it’s a small or quiet audience but you have to treat every show like a first night.

You’re in the middle of cast changes – does that affect the dynamic of your performances much?

MG: Not for me, no

DB: A lot! Julie [Atherton - the original Kate Monster/Lucy the Slut for over a year] is very different to Rebecca [Lock, who left the show in November]. They’re both fantastic but obviously it’s hard after a year of doing it to suddenly have to change. It’s fun exploring the characters again.

On a personal level, what would be a West End/Broadway role that you’d love to make your own?

MG: One that has not been performed yet.

DB: Either Marius in Les Misérables or possibly Fiyero in Wicked. I’d also really like the opportunity to create a new role in a musical – a challenge I’ve not yet tried.

With the news that the show will close next year, what, if any, are your plans? Do you think you’ll miss playing your characters?

MG: No plans, and I will miss the everything about the show very much.

DB: I will miss it so much. As for my plans, I just hope to keep working. I love singing and musical theatre but would really like to do some TV or film. I’d also like to do an album at some point.

Finally, would you join Avenue Q on tour and play in Dublin? (Especially if we were buying the Guinness?)

MG: Yes to the Guinness! The other question, talk to my agent!!

DB: I love the show , but unfortunately I think a year and a half is long enough in a show (although the Guinness is tempting!)

As we leave the Noel Coward Theatre, I resolve to return before the show ends its run on March 28 next year. I've had a brilliant evening - Niamh too, though she thinks she'd have preferred not to know the songs beforehand - Darren and Lottie, you're warned - but it was great fun. Highly recommended for laughs and one of my favourite shows, ever.

Outside we pass Joanna Ampil, who has put in a storming performance as Christmas Eve. She's delighted by my praise and practically skips up the road. I'm half tempted to join her, singing my own favourite, For Now.

"For now we're healthy. For now we're employed. For now we're happy, If not overjoyed. And we'll accept the things we cannot avoid, for now... Don't stress, relax, let life roll off your backs... everything in life is only for now"

You can catch Avenue Q at the Noel Coward Theatre, at Covent Lane in London WC2 (very close to Leicester Square). Tickets start at £10, the performance lasts approximately 2hrs 15 mins (including a 15 min interval) and show times are 8pm Monday to Thursday, Friday at 5.30pm and 8.30pm and Saturday at 5pm and 8.30pm. You'll find out more information on the official website here.

You can also find some of the show's songs on my Blip channel here:



A big thank you to Niamh, Kasey, Marion, Mark and Daniel for making this happen. Brilliant night, great experience :)