London Calling: The City, the Theatre, the Workshop, the Podcast

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"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."
—Samuel Johnson, 1777

I've always loved London, having first visited there in 1968 and countless times since, and as recently as three months ago. I still fondly recall getting off the plane at Heathrow early one June morning in 1970, going straight to the National Theatre (then at the Old Vic), and getting £5 rush tickets to see Laurence Olivier play Shylock that evening in Merchant of Venice. (I have since learned that Shylock was his last Shakespearean role.) I've been going back to London ever since. I love the (affordable) theatre, the high level of acting and the British wit, I love the history, and of course I love the pubs, and in this century, the cultural diversity, which thankfully equates to better food. My favorite dog lives in London, as does my chess coach.

The Comedy School
Visiting is one thing, but I am especially excited that my next visit will be to teach there for the very first time, this May at London's esteemed The Comedy School. The school, created by Keith Palmer MBE in 1998 and still under his directorship, specializes in stand-up comedy but has also run many courses in clowning and mime and all kinds of improvisation. Which is great because I am hoping that the participants will come from a variety of comedy approaches and we can all learn from one another. Instructors from our neck of the woods have included Luke Sorba (improv), Mick Barnfather (clown), and Richard Knight (mime).

Since this is my first time teaching in London, it will only be a two-day (all-day) workshop, but if we get a crowd then next time we would aim for my usual 4-day intensive. The dates are Sunday, May 24th and Monday May 25th, that Monday being a bank holiday. You can read all the details here.

Comedians Paradise Podcast
A while after this workshop was arranged, I received an email from Marvin McCarthy asking me to appear on his London-based podcast, Comedians Paradise, to discuss physical comedy, which I was happy to accept. Marvin is a stand-up comedian but he is admirably eclectic in both his training, which includes several Philippe Gaulier workshops, and his choice of guests, many of whom come from the broader clown world, including Mark Gindick, Jeff Raz, Chand Damiani, Iva Peter, Time Eagle, Lee Delong, Jon Davison, Johnny Melville, Tiffany Riley & Dick Monday, Sue Morrison, Barnaby King, Mariko Iwasa, Rene Bazinet, and Aitor Basauri. And there are even more of them, so check it out!

I was introduced as "The Beast of Physical Comedy." Not quite sure what that means but I have to admit it sounds cool! We talked non-stop for almost two hours but thankfully Marvin edited it down to half that. I also have to admit I have not watched all of it because, frankly, I don't like listening to me talking about myself! But I do think it was a good discussion, Marvin is a knowledgeable and skilled interviewer, and I've already received excellent feedback on it. Therefore, check it out!

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• I have just learned that there was a 1973 television version of Olivier in Merchant that is streaming for as little as $2.