The Face For Radio
This is maybe not the place to write this but what the hey.Yesturday I did some of my semi regular work for BBC Asian Networks radio soap 'Silver Street'. The show started a couple of years ago now and I've had bit parts on and off since then.
My characters have ranged from deranged security men, irate landlords, bank managers, drunkards, I even played a young George Harrison. (Hopefully the evidence of that has long since been erased). At one stage I had to hold a conversation with myself as a different character - like the guy who used to play Zippy and George in Rainbow.
Yesturday on paper was a simple enough job - A school headteacher telling a pupil he needs to resit a year. 2 pages - in -out- easy money. Unfortunately a couple of fairly direct comments from the director and it all went to shit! I'm still trying to work out whether i was genuinely shit or whether the part was so boring it came out in my delivery. Still that's not the point is it - Do the bloody job!
Adding insult to ego-injury Saeed Jaffrey OBE was in the studio to record. He looked bored, I knew he'd have some stories to tell about the old days so I piped up tried to get him chatting. Trouble was I'm crap at remembering actors in films and couldn't place what he'd been in. 'What have I seen you in Saeed?' was all i could muster for an opener. This got open mouthed silence in response. 'Your famous roles that is', I added realising i should never have started. 'Gandhi, Passage to India, My Beautiful Laundrette'. Oh shit, where do you go from there?
Mondays, who needs em?
Check out Silver Street here http://www.bbc.co.uk/asiannetwork/silverstreet/
It's normally very good!
Let's hope the radio version of Intimate History for Radio 4 goes a little better