Before we get to re-jig this site, here's a link to the new Untied Artists site which is a bit more current.

www.theuntiedartists.co.uk

Cheers, J

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Here's a preview of our latest show in development. Very excited about this project, a collaboration with old friends JC and Angelina, AKA The Gramophone Party.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tEIiLN1U6w

It's in 4 parts for youtube so get searching

Continue reading "Al Bowlly's Croon Manifesto on YouTube" »

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See below or click on the link for this nicely written short piece from our Kinsale Arts Week 2008 visit.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2008/0715/1215940928809.html

Continue reading "Irish Times Intimate History Review" »

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Unfortunately this site is very outdated now. I'm currently looking into getting it spruced up. Having a link to the 60 million pound debacle that is The Public in West Brom might not be how i should be selling myself! No disrespect to all the people who have tried to make it work but i think there has to be a stage where someone says it was a bit of a mistake.

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Here's a link to another review from our recent trip to Moscow

http://www.stengazeta.net/article.html?article=5547

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Here's a link to a nice review in Russia's biggest daily!

http://www.mk.ru/blogs/idmk/2008/11/17/mk-daily/381320/

Quite a funny translation if Babelfished...

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It's been a wonderful week so far here in Moscow. Here's a link to a youtube from NTV - part of our lavish press attention on thursday!

http://ru.youtube.com/watch?v=r0NbtaRGXEY&feature=channel

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A date for the diary. 'Pilot' 18th December at The Custard Factory, Digbeth Birmingham

Our newly formed company 'Untied Artists' will be presenting extracts from Ivar Waldemarson's 'The Glassworks' at the mince pie special Pilot event cuarted by Talking Birds

Be there!

Continue reading "The Glassworks at Pilot in Birmingham" »

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We're currently in Moscow with the show. It's part of the New European Theatre Festival, performed at the Ermolova Museum in the city centre. More details can be found here - http://netfest.ru/about_eng.shtm

Times 2-9.30pm, 13-16 November

Great to be here!

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Just been back to the Isle of Wight for family parties and early summer sun. The more time i spend there the more i want to go back. The island's started to really get things moving again with the festivals attracting the young and beautiful, even to come down and live. Talking with family who were around for, and quite involved with the original 68-70 festivals, has revealed how quickly public opinion changes.

Continue reading "How Quickly Things Change" »

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Just a quick one to say look out for the repeated series 'Dr Pfeffer's Lonely Hearts Club coming up on Radio 4. Playing every wednesday in April at 11.15pm (and on listen again) ,this is the radio version of Intimate History that was commissioned last year.

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It's been some time since the last entry. A two month stint of 'the rice show' has in the states was, in the appropriate vernacular, awesome. Since then more outings to Cornwall and Zurich have been similarly successful. The show was brought down by Kneehigh whose dedication, friendliness and connection with local audience was inspirational.

Continue reading "Still Here" »

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Just nestled outside the wonder that is Paradise Forum (see Nov 2006 blog) , The Yardbird is really getting itself together as a great place for a night out. Last night we went to see Israeli 8 piece band, 'The Apples' that were funky as dogshit. The name isn't all that good but the combination of tight-assed brass-led funk and hilarious scratch antics nearly took the roof off.

Continue reading "I Got Bitten By The Apples" »

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In a few other pages I've moaned on about some aspects of Birmingham's cultural identity and I'm afraid this will be no different. Read em and weep.

Continue reading "Feel The Heat - Why Brum Tries Too Hard In All The Wrong Places" »

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Coming to the end of the 'Of All The People...' run for Metropolis Bienalle in Copenhagen. It's been great to be here but at times a bit frustrating. When the show has poor attendance (which is rare these days) it can feel like a strange Beckettian experiment, wheeling 12 tons of rice around for hours on end for no-one to see. A bit of detective work and it's discovered the press officer has quit - if nobody knows the show is on how is anyone supposed to come?

Continue reading "Bike Bezerk" »

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Just been reminiscing about the project 'One Last Look' i made with Talking Birds last year. Click here for a full film of the 20 minute tour as we took people around the Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital to mark its' closure.

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/chm/hospitalproject/events/onelastlook/3docs/film/

Highly emotional and a right laugh, the perfect combination. It was a joy to perform, something like 16 times in 2 days?

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See here for a taster of 'To Be King' from Intimate History that features Derek's sublime cello arrangement played brilliantly by Matt Sharpe.

http://www.dereknisbet.info/pages/mediaplayer.asp?filename=To_Be_King.mp3

To see a couple of songs performed live in a cabaret setting come to Taylor Johns House in Coventry, Weds 8th August

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Overheard conversation walking to the mainstage on saturday night in a crowd with a few fancy dressed types -

Oi! Fucking Al Qaeda! How come you hate christians so much?...Oh sorry mate you're not Al Qaeda, you're a ninja.

I could go on but i'm too chilled to bother - man.

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I'm very excited to announce that my show for one audience member at a time is showing as part of the British Council Showcase in Edinburgh this year. Aready half the tickets have been booked by international promoters and we're hoping there will be more take up over the week. So the rest of the 10 minute slots are extremely limited and we're hatching plans for how to distribute them. Read on for details.

Continue reading "Intimate History at Edinburgh 2007" »

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It seems like a week ago that we were last in Cork with 'Of all the people...' in 2006. Coming back to the Midsummer festival has confirmed my suspicions that people here are some of the friendliest, funniest people you'll meet. The town seems on the edge of a massive development, which i desperately hope doesn't ruin the relaxed non-commercialist spirit that still lingers in the streets.

Continue reading "Back With The Bells Of Shandon" »

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