Archives
Within these archives you will find, appropriately enough, old news
updates from times of yore. You may notice a few inaccuracies in
our projected dates and plans but don’t worry, you don’t
need to tell us, just laugh and point at us like a school kid who’s
just called his teacher “mum”.
How’s your pint?
14th August 2007
As promised here
are the thoughts of not one, but TWO members of KOBAL’s Management
Team on our recent delivery of “Beer!” to Buxton Fringe
Festival. The company’s Creative Director (Stephen Michael
Lowe) and Technical Manager (Matt Lever) give their opinion on the
happenings both leading up to and during the production, with a
photo or two for good measure.
The big changes on the site are that we now have a forum section.
It’s still in the experimental stages as we’re not sure
how much use this will be and as such it’s a freebie one with
loads of adverts from the evil internet overlords.
In other news, we’ve performed at Oldham Coliseum in their
“Wordsmith ‘07” writing festival and “Blue
5” at Manchester’s Royal Exchange. The cast did brilliantly,
in fact the Manchester Evening News said “Paul Bowles,
Marcus McMillan and Catherine Murphy…gave fine performances”
and they’re not wrong. We’ll bring you further details
on these as soon as we can, including recollections on the performances
and some pictures of the latter’s production.
For those of you hoping to find out what we’re up to next,
unfortunately that’s a trade secret; for the minute at least.
Our management are back in the development and proposal stages for
future productions but rest assured we’ll give you news as
soon as we can. In the meantime we’ll try to keep you satisfied
with yet more feedback on our recent crazy time!
What a week!
23rd July 2007
Did you see it?
It felt like last week went by in the blink of an eye but it’s
done, after six months of preparation KOBAL performed their “Half
Pint” edition of “Beer!” as part
of Buxton Fringe Festival. If you’re curious to know how it
went, have a read of the review taken from the Fringe’s official
website here.
Any spelling errors are direct from their site so don’t blame
us (Stephen will cry if you do). The over-riding feeling of the
company is that it was a great experience with the only major downside
being the bloody awful weather.
As well as Buxton, KOBAL took part in “Platform” last
Thursday as part of Oldham Coliseum’s Wordsmith Writing Festival.
Performing an in utero version of “Little Tin Rock
God” in order to garner opinion on the piece before
its full premiere this Thursday at the Royal Exchange, the evening
served as a great introduction to some and a “hello again”
to others. Feedback was very positive and the actors are straight
back in rehearsals this week so they’re fully prepared for
the 26th; not that they need much polishing, everyone involved did
us proud and if you miss them in “Blue 5” the loss is
yours.
Look out for more updates over the coming weeks, including cast
and crew’s thoughts on Buxton, a lowdown on “Blue
5” and also a barrage of photos from “Beer!”
including a few of the cast in various states of undress –
oo-er!
Stay tuned and stay lucky!
The Month Ahead
30th June 2007
It appears that July will be a very busy month for KOBAL, what with
"Beer!" at the Buxton Fringe Festival between 15th and
18th July, taking part in Oldham Coliseum's "Wordsmith '07"
on the 19th and now...Blue!
Yes, we'll be taking a turn for the dramatic in "Blue 5"
at Manchester's Royal Exchange with "Little Tin Rock God",
Distin & Lowe's dark tale of death and celebrity. Thursday 26th
July, Royal Exchange Theatre, St. Ann's Square, Manchester. Tickets
cost £5 and are selling fast. To book ring 0161 833 9833 or
visit www.royalexchange.co.uk for details.
Also, if you follow this
link here you'll find the poster for "Beer!" at Buxton.
The eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that it's a variation
on the poster for December's production at Contact, but when the
original was so good why start over!
"Are you not entertained?"
13th June 2007
Howdy folks. This week has been a biggy for KOBAL as rehearsals
for the Buxton Fringe version of "Beer!" started - very
well they went as well. It was great to have the cast together again
and breathing life into the updated script.
We also received this from the powers that be at Oldham Coliseum
about the Wordsmith Writing Festival - or "Wordsmith '07"
as it is now known. They have a great selection of events planned
including the premiere of this year's winning Alfred Bradley Bursary
Award play, a masterclass with legendary playwright John Godber
and, well, us. Here's the snippet of their press release that refers
to our performance...
Thu 19 July 7.30pm
Platform
Human Pyramid Theatre Company
Second Nature Theatre Company
KOBAL Theatre Company
"Introducing Platform, which offers small scale theatre companies
from across the region a chance to experiment with studio work and
get feedback from industry professionals. Three companies will present
extracts of their developmental projects. It's also an opportunity
for you, the audience, to have your say and contribute towards the
future direction of the pieces and the North West's exciting fringe
theatre scene."
Performances & discussion £4
Bookings through Box Office on 0161 624 2829.
For more info visit www.coliseum.org.uk
KOBAL becomes a Gladiator
8th May 2007
No, our mascot isn't doing a Russell Crowe and (allegedly) going
toe-to-toe with the paparazzi; nor will we be hitting Wolf with
a giant cotton bud. The (rather misleading) title actually refers
to the news that KOBAL will be participating in the Oldham
Coliseum's (geddit?) Wordsmith Writing Festival
in July. It appears all those proposals we've being writing were
worth it. More details to follow soon.
High Praise Indeed
2nd May 2007
It's a busy time here at KOBAL Central - we're preparing proposals
for future shows, writing draft scripts and prepping for Buxton
Fringe Festival - and there are times in all this madness when we
lose perspective. Thankfully Kismet tends to throw something at
us which makes us realise what all the effort is for and today we
received this sound bite about December's production from none other
than award winning stand-up comedian and Xfm Breakfast Host Jason
Manford:
"Beer!" is funnier than someone farting and sneezing
at the same time."
Which we take as a good thing.
More news soon folks!
Happy Easter
20th April 2007
Did you enjoy Easter? Get many eggs? Presents? Lincoln
logs in your sock drawer? If you did then well done you, if not
then don’t worry because we’ve got plenty of goodies
for you right here. That’s goodies as in gifts, not the seventies
comedy trio.
Let’s kick off with the changes to the site. The more astute
of you will have noticed that the news articles for 2006 recently
found their way into the archives – it’s the best place
for them, they’ve got plenty of room to run around and play
with their archived friends.
The other biggie is that in order to avoid any confusion the “Beer!”
sub-site has been split to differentiate the last production at
Contact with our up-coming presentation at the Buxton Fringe. We’ll
be updating the new section with exciting tid-bits and goings on
as and when we have chance.
Now on to the new stuff which, ironically enough, is all to do with
the old production of “Beer!” at Contact. Firstly there’s
the biographies for the veritable man-mountains that are our sound
and lighting designers, David Wimpenny and Tom “Dexter”
Scott; then there’s the long overdue second half of Stephen
Michael Lowe’s recollections on the production and finally
a few image captures for the show itself.
As well as the changes and additions there is also the news that
KOBAL has finally got its act together and joined MySpace. You can
find us here
so why not have a look, add a comment, maybe even be our friend.
Finally there’s the fact that we will soon be organising auditions
for a couple of (as yet secret) future productions. So if you are
a) talented and b) interested then please feel free to email your
CV's and head shots to kobaltheatre@hotmail.co.uk
So there you have it. Hopefully there’s enough here to keep
you occupied until our next update. Have fun and don’t forget
to book your tickets for Buxton soon!
After our success bringing "Beer!" to Contact in Manchester,
KOBAL are taking our special brew to the Buxton Fringe Festival.
We'll be performing a new "half pint" version of the script
- shorter measure, sharper jokes, bigger laughs - at "Nice
One" in the Old Clubhouse from 15th to 18th July. the performances
will start at 9.30pm and finish in plenty of time to get to the
bar for last orders.
So there it is, the big news we've been promising. In other news,
Peter Lord throws his two-penneth in about his experiences with
"Beer!" here, originally written at Christmas before he
got himself an agent (oo-er). Click here
to read them.
Keep coming back as there'll be more news to follow soon, including
details of Stephen's cack-handed attempt to set up KOBAL's MySpace.
Greetings!
9th February 2007
Hello and hi. It's all go here at KOBAL, which is why we've
been a little lax on the updates front. There was even an unfortunate
mishap with Steve's new laptop which meant part two of his reminiscences
has gone the way of the Dodo! However he plans to pick up an amber-tipped
cane, adopt a cruddy Scottish accent and do his best Dickie Attenborough
impression to bring it back from extinction as soon as he can.
In the meantime if you travel to our "Beer!" section you'll
find the biographies
of our lovely cast as well as notes
from our director and producer. We'll even throw in the thoughts
of our production manager Matt
Lever on the production for good measure. Hopefully all that
will keep you busy till our big announcement next week (oo-er)!
Happy New Year
19th January 2007
A Happy belated New Year to all you lovely people out there. We've
been snowed under with meetings, submissions, conversations and
the like which is why we're (fashionably) late. We'll have news
for you about what KOBAL are doing next soon but in the meantime
follow this
link for some photos taken backstage on "Beer!"
'Tis the season...
22nd December 2006
The decorations are up, the mince pies are out and the festivities
are beginning. Christmas is upon us friends and KOBAL would like to
wish a very Happy holiday season to everyone!
Please have a great time and be sure to visit us in the New Year for
(amongst other things) the second part of Stephen's "Beer!"
round-up, Mark and Marcus' thoughts on our most recent production
and, of course, big news on our plans for 2007! Have fun, take care
and above all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
BEER! Taste Test arrives
21st December 2006
In an unprecedented turn of events the first member of KOBAL's management
to complete a retrospective look at "Beer!" isn't the director
or even the producer, it's co-writer and turn Stephen Michael Lowe.
However like everything he writes it is quite rambling, so please
click here for
Part One of his take on things.
BEER!
18th December 2006
That's it! "Beer!" is done and dusted, a little
over two years after Distin & Lowe first scribbled the title
on the page. The show went incredibly well, thanks in no small part
to the great audience we had; if you were one of the many may we
say a great big thank you!
If you want to offer some feedback on the show or the website, ask
a question or just rant about something in particular then email
us, we're always keen to talk to strangers, despite what our
parents warned us. If you're more a voyeur however then keep popping
by the site, as updates from the director and producer will be posted
later this week, along with news on what KOBAL plans to do next.
Radio
Gaga
10th December 2006
Marconi's little box of tricks seems to be going mad for KOBAL.
After Friday's shout-out by Jason Manford on Xfm's breakfast show,
Distin and Lowe are appearing on 96.9 All fm's Artbeat
Show, presented by Andrew Edwards, between 1-2pm today and on Radio
Manchester tomorrow at 3:30pm. Listen in for fun and frolics!
The
Beer! is Fermenting
23rd November 2006
KOBAL's producer Marcus updates his blog... a little late. Click
here to read it.
Beer!
and the Big Issue
22nd November 2006
Hey there guys and gals. The homeless - not just a topic for Phil
Collins to write about but real people, some of them standing out
in the cold clutching shiny new issues of The Big Issue in
the North. So help them out and buy a copy, Hell buy two,
then open them up and enjoy the interview with our co-writer and director,
Mark Distin, about "Beer!" and all things KOBAL.
Beer!
Progress Report 3
14th November 2006
"Something people don’t tell you when you embark on putting
on a show is the amount of phone calls and e-mails you will be subjected
to..." but at least Sparky Bebe is prepared to spill the beans
on this, and more, in the ever-changing world-o-Beer! Click here
to read it.
Beer!
Update
8th November 2006
It is our pleasure and privilege to announce that Arts Council
England are joining us in bringing you "Beer!"
That's right, they've offered out their wizened and kindly hand of
friendship to KOBAL and we've grabbed hold tight. So special thanks
to Arts Council's Manchester office for putting your faith (and funding)
in us, we won't prove you wrong.
Beer!
Progress Report 2
5th November 2006
For those of you hungry for "Beer!" news I'm afraid you'll
have to wait a little longer for Marcus' update. Until then here
are a few photos taken during rehearsals at Oldham's Walkabout on
22nd October, including the first sighting of the full cast!
Beer!
Progress Report 1
21st October 2006
Sparky Bebe (aka Mark Distin) presents an update on the world-o-Beer!
Click here to
read it.
Marcus'
Blog
Meet KOBAL's new producer, Marcus, and hear more about the ongoing
saga to bring KOBAL's peculiar genius to the stage... Click here
to read it.
16th November 2005
The calm before the storm
26th February 2005
Beer! Tasting
23rd February 2005
Introducing
Mistah Samuel Lowe!
9th February 2005
Beer! Still Fermenting
31st January 2005
Female Fancies Revisited
6th December 2004
The
results are in...
17th November 2004
KOBAL Needs YOU!
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