Other Projects
Occasionally KOBAL will branch out from theatre into other media, if only to stretch their legs and brains. Here are a couple of such occasions:

Dave & Jeff Versus… TV script

Everyone's favourite lazy-arsed and less-than-diligent Delia Smith-loving pathologists are the main characters in a series of scripts being developed as the basis of a potential TV sitcom.

In October 2003 Messrs. Distin & Lowe wrote a pilot television script for the BBC “Two Timing” competition featuring Dave and Jeff called “…The Marauding Demonic Hordes From Beyond The Grave”. Although nothing came of the competition the writers were (and still are) enthusiastic about both the premise and the series of plot ideas that arose from the endeavour, and hope to pursue the venture in the near future.

First seen mistreating a cadaver in the Proteus Production Death In Small Doses, Dave Ash and Jeff Hicks have become recurring characters in KOBAL's plays - whether it's the characters' versatility, popularity, or just plain old lazy writing, we may never know - and this marks their move out into the wide world of the multimedia franchise. Watch this space...

48-Hour Film Challenge 2003

16th August 2003. Several members of KOBAL* participated in Guerrilla film making’s 48 Hour Film Challenge. The remit was to write, shoot and edit a five minute film in just over two days, and the members of KOBAL being who they are, decided that on their first film challenge that they would not do just one film, but two. How little they knew.

There were few rules to follow on the challenge, but teams had to use the title and genre they were given. As KOBAL (or “Fearless, Tactless, Clueless” as they were called for the project) were convinced that they could do two films, they received two titles and two genres: Chilled to the Bone – a thriller; and Soft to the Touch – a documentary.

Immediately ideas were forthcoming, and by the time the group had met up (some picked up the titles, some sat brainstorming by a PC) they had a clear idea for the thriller: A amnesiac man suffering from harrowing flashbacks and a crippling cold, runs from a crime scene only to be followed by a malevolent stranger.



With time pressing on and a story for the second film proving more elusive the group decided to concentrate their efforts on Chilled to the Bone. The rest of the day was taken up with filming in Mark’s new (conveniently empty) house, and the Grange Arts Centre, while a second group went location scouting for the chase section. Most of the group eventually called the first day to a close at around 2am, with Mark and Stephen setting about the script for Soft to the Touch (featuring Stacy Brown and James Kilgour, pictured).



After a quick chat and a cup of strong coffee Mark and Stephen wrote the script: Television presenter Livingstone Shepherd (yes that same Shepherd) is impotent, and shares his problem with the world by presenting a documentary on the subject. And with what they thought was a funny script (which it is) done, so was the end of the first day.

The second day started approximately four hours after the last one ended and involved location filming for both films. The day was set aside for continuing Chilled to the Bone, which had been prioritised as the main project as James (who had played Livingstone in Dave & Jeff…) was unavailable till the evening.

While everyone was running about a disused factory complex in Oldham obtaining some stunning footage, Stephen sat down in front of a computer to edit the film together. As the footage was shot it was brought to Stephen to edit, and with only a small respite for food provided by Stephen’s parents (it was their PC that was hijacked) the two groups worked tirelessly late in the night.


With time pressing on and the editing process being more complicated than anticipated due to a lack of computer memory and problems with the sound, it was decided that Chilled to the Bone would take precedence over the second project. With the filming done everyone went home as Stephen continued editing, all hoping that the film would be completed for the Monday deadline. At midday on the Monday Adam and John arrived at Stephen’s parents’ house to pick up the tape, but there was a problem – it wasn’t finished.

With the exception of bathroom breaks and a chat with his fellow team-mates the night before, Stephen had been editing non-stop for 28 hours and was rushing to put the final touches to the film. He’d been fighting against technical difficulties all night (which unfortunately impaired the quality of the playback) but finally finished the film just before 12.30, leaving Adam and John with the mad rush to get from Rochdale to Manchester before the 1pm deadline. Which they did, by reaching some vaguely illegal speeds on the various byways and highways of Greater Manchester they got the film to the AMC Cinema with a whole eight minutes to spare.

The whole experience was gruelling but immensely rewarding for everyone involved and, although “Fearless, Tactless, Clueless” didn’t win, it galvanised everyone’s belief that KOBAL could feasibly attempt the filming of a low budget film in the future. Who knows, they may well try it one day as well.



*In alphabetical order: Paul Bowles, Stacy Brown, Mark Distin, Adam Gent, James Kilgour, Matt Lever, Stephen Michael Lowe, Danny McKenzie, Andy Meyers, Rob Starksfield, Daniel Stewart, John Wildridge with sometime collaborators Robbie Hardy and Hannah Kettleton

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