October Live

It's a busy time here in Brighton. The students are back in town and of course October sees the return of the annual Paramount Comedy Festival to our city. So let's get on with it...

02/10 - Not actually in Brighton this one, but it gets a mention anyway since I'm going - The Dandy Warhols are in London for a gig at Camden Electric Ballroom.

04/10 - Our first bit of comedy although not technically part of the Comedy festival - it's Billy Connolly at Brighton Centre for the first of two sold out shows.

05/10 - Always a safe bet for a good comedy show, Aussie Adam Hills is at the Corn Exchange.

06/10 - Another good bet for the Comedy Festival if you're not sure who to see are the Best Of The Fest nights which showcase five different comedians on the same bill. Tonight's show in the Dome is hosted by Russell Howard with Lucy Porter, Adam Hills, Jason Manford and Michael McIntyre making up the rest of the line up. The other two dates are the 12th (hosted by Frankie Boyle) and the 19th (hosted by Ed Byrne).

08/10 - The first of two FREE shows, we have Comedy Blue taking place in the Corn Exchange hosted by Jason Byrne which will be recorded for broadcast on the Paramount Channel.

10/10 - A quick return to Sussex for Richard Herring and his Oh F*** I'm 40! show coming to the Pavilion Theatre.

12/10 - Not long since she played at The Hope, Amy MacDonald is back in Brighton performing at the Pressure Point this time around.

13/10 - Lots of good comedy on tonight - my pick of the day would be Sean Lock at the Corn Exchange (he's also there on the 15th) but you've also got Frankie Boyle (doing the earlier show in the venue) and Ross Noble at the Dome for the first of two nights. If you'd prefer some music then Mercury-nominated Maps are playing at The Barfly.

14/10 - Bit of music tonight perhaps, with We Start Fires playing at Audio or The Mooney Suzuki playing at The Barfly.

15/10 - Fresh from her recent support slot with Aimee Mann, Jenny Owens Young comes to Brighton supporting Jim White at The Barfly. Meanwhile in the Comedy Festival there's Marcus Brigstocke performing in the Corn Exchange.

17/10 - More Comedy Festival stuff with the excellent Stewart Lee playing at the Corn Exchange.

20/10 - Jimmy Carr returns to the Dome for his annual visit, rounding off the Comedy Festival with two more shows.

22/10 - Yet another band joining the myriad of reformed groups this year, it's welcome back to Flowered Up who play at the Concorde. Not quite sure what to expect from them in 2007, but they've got to be worth a look just to hear them play Weekender. Alternatively there's Stephanie Dosen on at The Albert.

24/10 - Gig of the month (for me at least!) should be Kate Nash at the Concorde, hitting the big league since the success of Foundations and her debut album Made Of Bricks.

25/10 - A new one day festival comes to town - this one is called Brighton City Festival and showcases the best in dance music across 10 local venues. 2 Many DJs / Soulwax headline.

26/10 - Another one I'm looking forward to, Asobi Seksu play at The Barfly supporting the release of their excellent current album Citrus.

30/10 - Finally, this month's big gig at the Dome is latest indie-faves The Twang.

July Live

Hello July! A quiet month ahead I'm thinking, with the traditional festival season dominating the live scene for the Summer. Maybe it's time I did another music festival, it's been 11 years since Phoenix, so I reckon I might go for Latitude next year. Anyways, here's a few bits 'n' bobs coming up this month in and around the city:

01/07 - Guitar Wolf, stars of the cult Asian movie Wild Zero take to the stage at the Engine Rooms. I'm not sure quite what to make of this Japanese metal/punk band but my mate Alex loves them!

02/07 - I was toying with the idea of another trip up to London to see The Hold Steady play at Shepherds Bush Empire, but instead I'm going to remain within the familiar confines of the Dome where I should be seeing Suzanne Vega instead.

03/07 - A tiny warm-up show for Athlete over at the Komedia - last time they were in Brighton they played at Brighton Centre, so this will be a very intimate setting to hear some new material ahead of a full tour in the Autumn.

17/07 - I'm away in Newcastle at this time which is a shame as I'd like to check out Reverend & The Makers who are performing at the Concorde - current single Heavyweight Champion Of The World seems a cut above the usual yob-rock doing the rounds at the moment.

22/07 - Looking for a bit of comedy this weekend perhaps, so the Krater Comedy night at the Komedia seems ideal with a line up including both Will Smith and Mark Watson.

25/07 - It seems a long time ago that An Honest Mistake was hogging the airwaves... since then The Bravery have rather dropped off the radar, but now they're back with a new album and a reportedly new sound. Hmmmm... whatever, I'll go and have a peek when they play at the Concorde.

27/07 - Steve, if you're reading this you're going to spoil your birthday surprise! I'm going to be in London to see Aimee Mann which will also give me the opportunity to check out a new venue, the Indigo2 which is part of the huge 02 arena in Docklands.

28/07 - Another newcomer to the singer/songwriter bandwagon, Scottish youngster Amy MacDonald will be playing at The Hope promoting her new album This Is The Life which gets released this month.

If we were all South Park characters...

Mr Phil

Wiggy

Gingerbloke

Dawid

Fruity G

Khun Sean

You can create your very own South Park characters here!

June Live

Back to normal this month after the madness of May and the Brighton Festival. So let's take a look at what live delights we can expect in the city in June...

01/06 - The first ever Tiger Festival begins tonight at the Duke Of York's cinema with a late night screening of Paprika. Other films showing this weekend in a celebration of the finest Asian cinema include Thai horror Shutter, HK police drama PTU, lavish drama The Banquet and action-adventure in the shape of Dragon Tiger Gate.

05/06 - Shoreham-by-Sea gets its own festival this month with the annual Adur Festival bigger and better than ever; highlights include comedian Richard Herring who will be performing his Menage A Un show at the new Ropetackle Centre.

06/06 - Celebrating the critical and commercial success of their latest album Send Away The Tigers - a real return to form by all accounts - Brighton welcomes back the Manic Street Preachers for a date at the Dome. No word as to whether Nina Persson will appear to duet on Your Love Is Not Enough, but I can always hope...

08/06 - I was originally planning to see Ricky Gervais at the Dome with his current one-man show Fame, but I've now opted to see New Young Pony Club at the Concorde instead. Their last single The Bomb is currently a firm favourite of mine and their forthcoming disco-punk album Fantastic Playroom is supposed to be equally loveable.

15/06 - Fresh from their performances soundtracking Run Lola Run during Brighton Festival last month, The Bays will be at Audio for another of their unique improvised live shows.

20/06 - A bit of an unknown this one, but I like what I've seen on their MySpace page, so I reckon I'm going to give Slow Club a look at the Komedia Studio Bar.

21/06 - Squeezed in between an American tour and their Glastonbury appearance, Brighton favourites Brakes play a UNISON benefit gig at the Concorde. Meanwhile over at the Komedia there's the chance to check out indie up-and-comers Air Traffic.

22/06 - Hot on the heels of Devo, there's another 80s band on the comeback trail this month as the Dome welcomes Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark for a greatest hits package.

24/06 - Dome regular Rufus Wainwright is back for another show - this must be his fourth appearance at the venue in as many years!

28/06 - One band I used to love back in the nineties was Transglobal Underground. Playing live at the Komedia in support of a new album Moonshout I reckon the time might be right to give them another look and see what they're up to in 2007.

More Festival and Fringe action

Catherine Anne Davies - Brighton Komedia

It's been a very busy week of Brighton Festival and Fringe shows for me so I thought I'd give you a quick round up of what I've been getting up to. Prior to the previously mentioned Great Escape gig headlined by Nouvelle Vague at the Corn Exchange last Thursday I attended the Vic Reeves talk on Wednesday night at the Theatre Royal where he read excerpts from his book Me: Moir and took questions from the audience. A very funny man (he walked on with a funnel and a paintbrush which he'd found backstage) it was just a shame that he wasn't allowed to talk for longer. Then on Sunday evening I was lucky enough to catch the final performance of C-90 by Daniel Kitson, his one man show about a chap's last day of work in a basement full of discarded cassette tapes. Different from his usual rambling stand up show, this was a tightly scripted piece which was full of warmth, hope and laughter and demonstrated that Kitson really has flair with the English language. My final main festival show was yesterday evening at the Corn Exchange where legendary actor Leslie Phillips was in conversation with broadcaster Simon Fanshawe. As sharp as a tack, and full of affectionate anecdotes, Phillips proved himself to be the perfect gentleman. Click here to see more of Matthew Andrews' festival photographs.

The Mummers - Joogleberry Playhouse, Brighton

Moving on to some music shows which all featured in the Fringe programme, on Monday night Dave and I went to the Komedia to see Tina Dico. Sadly without her full band it was just a solo set, so was very similar to the gig we attended last October, but was an accomplished performance nevertheless. There was a very quiet, respectful atmosphere inside the venue which was very welcome after some of the noisy audiences I've had to suffer recently, and Tina seemed very relaxed, experimenting with some of her songs and taking requests. Once again she came out to meet her fans at the end and we managed to get her A Beginning tour EP signed. I was back in the Komedia with Andy the following night to see Catherine Anne Davies who I'd helped book to support Scout Niblett. A highly impressive debut, inviting comparisons to Regina Spektor, we both agreed that she has a very powerful voice and plenty of potential. And anyone who throws in a Bowie cover (Wild Is The Wind) gets extra brownie points from me! Definitely a name to watch. Then it was a mad dash across Brighton to the Joogleberry just in time to see The Mummers. Again, their set was similar to that of their last gig at Sussex Arts Club but again it was different class, Raissa's soaring vocals and those lush orchestrations casting a spell over the audience. Newcomers Justin and Dave were equally impressed. A band that deserves - and demands - your attention.

Separated at birth...

Look what I found today as I was tidying up my image files - thanks to Justin for creating this and sending it my way!

Festival Fever

Gordon Brown at the Dome (photo © Matthew Andrews)

It's been all go at the Brighton Festival this month, hence my lack of updates until today. On Sunday we made the national news as Gordon Brown appeared at the Dome Concert Hall for an interview conducted by Anthony Minghella as part of the Books & Debate strand. Security was tight, protesters roamed outside the building, and there were television cameras everywhere. The only event that I've been able to attend this week was Victoria Wood, also at the Dome Concert Hall, where she talked about the Mass Observation Project and her role in Housewife 49, and generally about her life and work in comedy. A very entertaining interview, well chaired, and followed by a lively and amusing Q&A afterwards. You can keep up to date with all the latest pictures from the festival by checking out photographer Matthew Andrews' official festival blog here.

Meanwhile in the Festival Fringe I managed to catch The loveGods at the Komedia on Thursday night. Now relocated to France, they don't play so many gigs in Brighton these days so it was good to catch up with Deah and Artie and see what they're up to. They played a semi-acoustic set downstairs which suited them well, their sound bolstered by new cello player Eloise. A few new songs were previewed (Sunshowers a stand out track) whilst old songs sounded fresh and revitalised and Deah seemed mellower, her occasional arrogant streak kept firmly in check. Perhaps towards the end it all got a bit cabaret, but on the evidence of the first half of the show alone, the band still have a lot to offer.

May Live

May is here which means one thing for arts and live entertainment in the city this month - it's Brighton Festival time. From the 5th - 27th our city plays host to a wide range of events in the Festival, not forgetting the all the hundreds of extra events taking place in the Festival Fringe. And then there's the 2nd Great Escape festival in the middle of the month and all the usual gigs and comedy... it's going to be a hectic month! Here's some highlights to look out for:

05/05 - This year's Brighton Festival kicks off with an inticing show mixing film and music; Run Lola Run screens at the Dome with a live improvised soundtrack by The Bays. A second performance on the 6th has now been added due to popular demand.

08/05 - The wonderfully funny Daniel Kitson is performing his Edinburgh Festival story show C-90 at The Basement until 20th May.

09/05 - The new Oasis or just another bunch of overrated arseholes? You decide. The Twang play at the Concorde tonight.

10/05 - After a couple of years in exile in France, Brighton's (ex-) finest The loveGods return to their former adopted home for a date at the Komedia. Deah and Art have a new line up and hopefully a slew of new songs too.

11/05 - One of the more intriguing site-specific theatre pieces of the Festival, The Maids begins its run (until 26th May) at the Old Ship Hotel.

13/05 - Still fondly remembered from their time as members of The Mary Whitehouse Experience, comedy duo Punt & Dennis bring their latest stand up show to the Komedia. Everyone says they do some great work on the radio these days.

16/05 - Vic Reeves is at the Theatre Royal as part of the Festival's literature & debate section - he'll be talking about his autobiography Me: Moir and taking questions from the audience.

17/05 - The Great Escape festival begins its 3 day residence in Brighton with gigs taking place at all the major venues in the city, entry via wristband subject to capacity. Nouvelle Vague headline at the Corn Exchange whilst CSS return to the Concorde after their triumphant show there in February. There's also talk that Transmission with T-Mobile will be filming at the Udderbelly with performances from Gossip, Bat For Lashes and Cold War Kids. What do I choose to see?

18/05 - More Great Escape gigs including The Rakes headlining at the Concorde and Air Traffic appearing at Audio. Meanwhile in the Fringe, Ralph Brown leads the Brighton Beach Boys through the first of two nights of Pet Sounds vs. Sgt. Pepper at St George's Church.

19/05 - The Great Escape festival comes to a close with the final night of shows including The Magic Numbers at the Brighton Centre East Wing, British Sea Power at the Udderbelly, Kate Nash at the Pressure Point and I Say Marvin at The Hope.

21/05 - The first of two singer/songwriter shows at the Komedia, Tina Dico returns after her excellent show there last Autumn. Over at the Udderbelly tent they welcome the "41st best stnd up ever" Stewart Lee for two nights of comedy.

22/05 - More female singer/songwriter action at the Komedia with Scout Niblett playing after her recent Brighton show supporting Bonnie Prince Billy. Catherine Ann Davies supports thanks to my recommendation, but I have split loyalites as my new favourite Brighton band The Mummers are also playing over at the Joogleberry. Maybe I can fit both in somehow?

23/05 - Another Festival show, this time a talk from the legendary British actor Leslie Phillips at the Corn Exchange. Rather annoyed this clashes with the Champions League final!

29/05 - Are they really splitting up next year? Nooooooooo... Well, until that's confirmed Girls Aloud are still alive and well and touring their Greatest Hits album with a date at the Brighton Centre. They were fab at the Radio One event at the Dome last year!

30/05 - The NME New Music Tour rolls into the Concorde with four bright new bands to take your fancy; The Rumble Strips and Pull Tiger Tail head the bill but I rather prefer the sounds of The Little Ones and Blood Red Shoes. Meanwhile back at the Brighton Centre the Pet Shop Boys are in action.

An Evening With Kevin Smith

Kevin Smith - Prince Charles Cinema

If I had to name the two filmmakers who've most influenced my addiction to modern cinema then I'd have to say Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith, so it was a rare privilege to get to listen to the latter on Thursday evening. Kevin was in London with his family for a few days so had arranged a couple of his legendary Q&A sessions at the Prince Charles Cinema. I went along with Rich, Lauren, Rick and Rob and despite joining the mammoth queue late it played to our advantage and we ended up getting front row seats in the balcony. Kevin talked for nearly four hours and was joined by Jen and Harley at one point which was sweet. It's impossible to remember everything that was talked about, but here's some of what I remember:

• He was annoyed that the PCC named the bar after Tarantino, so the PCC have now named one of the gents cubicles in his honour.
• He's desperate to watch some British porn so that he can hear people having sex with an English accent. Someone shouted that he should just, "Phone the speaking clock and watch your ass in the mirror," which Kevin misheard as, "Take your cock and wipe my ass with it."
  
• He didn't have anyone respond to the disabled jokes in Clerks 2 because it would have been a repeat of the scene where Wanda & Earthquake respond to the "porch-monkey" quote.
• He had to have a growth surgically removed from the back of his neck after Ben Affleck kept resting his "dirty balls" on his neck when they were making Jersey Girl.
  
• Apparently Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon split up because Ryan is a "sloppy party bottom."
• He's never watched Buffy or Firefly. Or Heroes. But he loves the new Battlestar Galactica series.
• He's got three dogs and described their sex life in minute detail.
• His favourite dinosaur is a raptor because they can open closet doors.
  
• His daughter Harley is best friends with Johnny Depp's kid. Johnny will entertain them by going into his Willy Wonka character. The best they can hope for with Kevin is Silent Bob.
• He was never asked to make a fake trailer for Grindhouse but if asked he would have liked to have done a sexploitation film like H.O.T.S.
  
• His next film will be a horror flick (Red State) which will be in the same vein as Ride With The Devil. It's all in his head at the moment and will be more suspenseful that it will be gory.
• He still wants to make a Clerks animated movie, but the rights are tied up with Miramax at the moment.
  
• He hated Superman Returns and said it could have been improved by having a giant spider in the third act. Also Superman was a rapist (cue long explanation as to why...)
  
• Everyone (rightly) told him that he couldn't let Dante get shot at the end of Clerks, as he had in his original cut.
• He'd sit through any film if Jen promises sex afterwards.
  
• He was asked to write a Daredevil sequel but refused as he would have had to compromise his work to satisfy so many other people.
• His favourite scene from his own films would be something with Jeff Anderson from Clerks 2, but prior to that it was Joey Lauren Adams' "You had cable" line from Mallrats.
  
• Hayden Christensen was really pissed off at the online Clerks 2 trailer (which poked fun at his acting in the Star Wars films) and wanted to have it taken down.

One thing he wasn't asked about was the new Live Free Or Die Hard film which he has a small role in. You can see the brand new trailer here - and watch out for Kevin right at the end!

Kevin Smith - Louder Than Bombs?

www.jayandsilentbob.com

Oh yes, Kevin Smith is coming to the UK!

As most of you will already be aware, I am a HUGE Kevin Smith fan; I have all his films on DVD (yes, even Jersey Girl), I own a piece of Chasing Amy and have three signed and framed Kevin Smith film posters hanging up around my flat. So the chance to see the man in person is not to be missed! Thank heavens then that he's added a second date at the Prince Charles Cinema in London on 5th April, as I was gutted to see that tickets for the first night had already sold out. Kevin's legendary Q&A session will run for a whole four hours from 7-11pm and tickets are on sale via the website above.

Matt Berry at the Komedia

Matt Berry with Rich Fulcher - Brighton Komedia

I'd love to give you an incisive review of Matt Berry at the Komedia on Wednesday evening, but truth be told I was very, very drunk. I do know that he sang One Track Lover as featured in the hit TV series Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, but that's about as much as I can remember. I'd even forgotten that Rich Fulcher (aka Bob Fossil) his co-star in The Mighty Boosh! had joined Matt on stage for a few numbers until I saw my photos the next morning!

Let's just call it "The McEvoy Effect" (© Lauren) shall we? Yes, Paul was down from London with Louise, Michael & Laura in tow and we made the mistake of being on a liquid diet all evening... needless to say the end of the night is somewhat hazy (or indeed missing) and I was rather worried to hear my boss tell me that I was "a mess" in the Waggon sometime after 11pm as I have no recollection of going in there at all on my way home.

Paul, Matt and me... with more pints!

Oh yes, and Paul knows Matt fairly well so we got to meet him after the show. I have absolutely no idea what I said to him and just pray that I didn't make a total tit of myself.

The resulting hangover was an absolute killer... never again!

Brighton Festival 2007 launches!

www.brightonfestival.org

Can it really be that time of year already? Yes, Wednesday evening was launch night for this year's Brighton Festival, a busy night for us taking over *a lot* in advance bookings in just two hours. So what can we look forward to in this year's programme of music, dance, theatre and books & debate? Here's a few of my personal highlights:

• 5th May @ Dome Concert Hall - Run Lola Run featuring a live soundtrack by The Bays
• 7th May @ Dome Concert Hall - BAFTA: A life in Pictures (interviewee tbc)
  
• From 8th May @ The Basement - Daniel Kitson - C-90
• 11th May @ Dome Concert Hall - Victoria Wood in conversation
  
• From 11th May @ Old Ship Hotel - The Maids
• 16th May @ Theatre Royal - Vic Reeves - Me: Moir
  
• 17th May @ Corn Exchange - Great Escape featuring Nouvelle Vague
• 21st May @ Dome Concert Hall - Laurence Olivier's Henry V with live score by William Wallace
• 23rd May @ Corn Exchange - Leslie Phillips

Priority booking for Festival Friends is now open, with general public sales starting from Friday 2nd March at the Dome Box Office. See you there!

February Live

Right, that's January out of the way, let's get back to the gigging life! As much as it was nice to have a break after the madness of the previous three months, I have missed not having any live music to go to in the last few weeks. So, onwards into February and here's some of the highlights on offer this month:

01/02 - Now you'd be forgiven for thinking I'd be seeing Nerina Pallot at the Komedia tonight, but since I've seen her twice recently I'm blowing her out in favour of CSS at the Concorde. Their Cansei De Ser Sexy album was one of my favourites of 2006 and their reputation for crazy live shows makes me think this could be one of the gigs of the year. Expect my report to be posted here at the weekend.

05/02 - Ricky Gervais is at Brighton Centre for two nights performing his new live comedy show Fame - both nights are sold out but he's now added a third date in March.

09/02 - Taking a break from Brakes (no pun intended) Tom & Alex return to their other band Electric Soft Parade for a date at the Pressure Point.

10/02 - The Long Blondes are at The Old Market, on tour supporting the release of their fab new single Giddy Stratospheres.

11/02 - Following on from her show at the Concorde last year, Regina Spektor returns to Brighton for a gig at the Corn Exchange. Meanwhile at the Concorde, fresh from supporting The Kooks at the Dome in December, Larrikin Love have their own headline show.

17/02 - I'm going to be up in bonnie Scotland for the FrightFest event taking place at the Glasgow Film Theatre as part of the Glasgow Film Festival. Five scary movies (four new previews and one retro screening) and the usual banter - should be great fun!

20/02 - Tipped by everyone in the industry as the man to watch in 2007, and already boasting a number one single in the shape of Grace Kelly, Mika takes a bow at the Concorde. Catch him now before he hits the arena circuit next year...

24/02 - Another good looking Concorde gig, this time it's the turn of Howling Bells for some good old fashioned Aussie indie rock 'n' roll.

25/02 - Sarah Nixey, Luke Haines cohort from Black Box Recorder plays a solo show at Po Na Na.

27/02 - He's back again for two more nights of comic ramblings at the Pavilion Theatre - yes, it's our favourite, Daniel Kitson. Watch out for his story show C90 being performed at the Brighton Festival in May.

28/02 - A treat in store at the Komedia as Matt Berry performs a selection of music and songs from his repertoire. Matt of course is better known as Todd Rivers (aka Dr Lucien Sanchez) from Garth Marenghi's Darkplace and Dixon Bainbridge from The Mighty Boosh!

Non-interview with Garth Marenghi

I got given the perfect belated Christmas present yesterday from my good friends Troy & Rom (superb taste) in the shape of Garth Marenghi's Darkplace on DVD. I've been championing this wonderful eighties horror series for ages, and it reminded me that I was supposed to have been conducting an interview with the man himself for Eat My Brains to tie in with the DVD release. I did my research, submitted my questions... and nothing happened; we drew a complete blank from the PR company and they didn't even bother to send out a copy of the DVD for us to review. Instead Garth ended up doing articles for all the 'quality' press like Empire magazine.

So, since I'm sitting here with nothing better to do, I thought I'd share my intended questions to Garth Marenghi with you all. Maybe one day when he's sat at his typewriter suffering with writer's block he'll go online, Google his name and end up here where he can finally supply some answers. (Unlikely, I admit, but then again I did bump into his publicist Dean Learner in a London bar just before Christmas, so you never know...) Here's my 'lost' interview with the master dream-weaver then:

Hi Garth, you've been a writer of horror stories for over three decades now. What keeps you interested in the genre?

You tend to use present day settings and faceless urban locations such as Luton and Leytonstone in your books. Do you feel this helps your readers to identify more with the terrors that you describe?

Horror fiction is often perceived as a rather worthless literary genre, yet many of your tales have an underlying subtext dealing with major global issues, for example, water pollution (The Ooze), the AIDS epidemic (Juggers) or the impact of the internet (Mindgrid). Do these issues represent your own real-life fears?

Can you tell us a little about your latest novel, Retch?

Your publisher Dean Learner comes from a background of high-class erotica. Is it true that the two of you are thinking of collaborating on a series of erotic-horror novels?

Let's talk about your television series Darkplace which you wrote, directed and starred in during the early eighties. It's attracted quite a cult following, despite its rare broadcast. Are you aware of the influence that the show has had on other contemporary programmes? I'm thinking of Lars Von Trier's Kingdom series and Stephen King's adaptation Kingdom Hospital in particular, but also several episodes of Holby City.

Your friend Dean [who also co-stars as hospital boss Thornton Reed in Darkplace] was quoted as saying, "Not since Orson Welles had one man so many fingers in so many pies, and been the chef as well. And then looked like he went and ate them all. The guy was out of control." Looking back now at the making of the series now, was it a tough shoot for you?

Madeleine Wool who played Dr. Liz Asher in the show famously vanished after the production and is still missing, presumed dead. What do you think really happened to her?

Your other main co-star was of course cult horror actor Todd Rivers who played Dr. Lucien Sanchez. What was he able to bring to the project?

You've described the show as "subversive" and I believe you've had a number of battles with censorship, notably being forced to pixilate an erection in the episode Skipper The Eyechild. Does it annoy you that so-called 'art' films like Nine Songs or Baise-Moi can get away with showing graphic sexual images, yet you can't show a giant mutated eyeball sporting a hard-on?

Now that Darkplace has finally secured a DVD release, what surprises and extras can fans look forward to seeing?

You filmed around fifty episodes of Darkplace yet only six have been screened. Are there any plans to restore further episodes from your vaults?

After the disastrous attempt to film your classic novel Black Fang (rats learn to drive), has this dissuaded you from further big screen adaptations of your work? I've heard rumours of you perhaps making a film about giant mutated wasps in the near future?

Finally, Dean's new chat show Man To Man With Dean Learner begins this month on Channel 4. Can we expect to see you as a guest on the programme?

(Interview prepared October 2006 © soulmining)

You can discover more about the genuis of Garth Marenghi at his official website here.

As a footnote to this post, actor Matt Berry who plays Todd Rivers (Sanchez in Darkplace) will be performing at the Komedia in Brighton on Wednesday 28th February. I'm there!