New upload on the Soundcloud: Crows

Happy new year and all that. It's 27th January and I think this is my first post of the year. It's been pretty busy so far. Was doing a bit of the old hosting at Battersesa Arts Centre for their New Year's party. Since then I've gigged at Hammer and Tongue Hackney, Lipped Ink, my own Beats and Elements night at Camden People's Theatre and then last night, at new night called Dry January...and speaking of which, last night, at this cosy little creative space on Old Street called Ziferblat, I had a little slot where I got to do a few of the poems that I don't normally do, like this one below. Crows. Hold tight Morden, Raynes Park, Cannon Hill Common and the wildlife.

Gigs, Festivals and that

Bonjour

Been a bust last month for me, working on summer youth projects with both Battersea Arts Centre and The Albany, which has been a lot of fun and a big learning curve. Worked with some great young people, who all put on performances from work they generated during devising sessions. I'd go as far as saying I actually prefer watching youth theatre shows as opposed to fully developed professional ones, but anyway, that's for another day..

Shambala Festival

On Sunday at 7pm, I'm going to be in the Story Telling Yurt doing an exert from The Bedsit show, there's gonna be 11 other story tellers in there, all speaking on the theme of My First Time. Should be a laugh!

In The Woods Festival

Sat 30th, I'm doing a super extended 40 minute set, don't get that long very often so I'm looking foreword to it! Did this festival last year  and it's in a very nice setting, also, in the bit I'll be performing in, it's all done on them silent disco headphones, which is nuts, but works very well!

Bang Said The Gun

Sept 18th, not only is Bang back for their summer break but I'm back! It's been a while since I've done a gig there, always love Bang, easily one of the best nights in London, if not the world!

A Tale From The Bedsit / 3 Mile Radius @ Richmix

Speaking of the Bedsit show, I'm mad excited about this, it's gonna be a little different from the shows I've done before and it's also double bill with Talia Randall and her 3 Mile Radius show but more about this very shortly...

March 2014 (nuts!)

Greetings...

So, March was a pretty busy Month. I've been enjoying spending some time at home of late, working on some new bits and having a bit of a rest after all the activities of the last month...

A Tale From The Bedsit

It all worked out well. I really enjoyed the run at BAC, had some great audiences in and lots of new faces which was really nice, managed to pick up a couple more reviews as well, got another one from EVERYTHING THEATRE and POEJAZZI which I was chuffed about. The British Library came and filmed it for their archives, which is nuts! The show they came for, was probably the best one as well, it never works that way!.. I'm waiting to see what happens next with the show, hopefully more..err shows! In the meantime, here's some pictures Stef took from the rehearsals..

No Milk For The Foxes

So straight after I finished the Bedsit show, I went straight into rehearsals the next day, with Conrad Murray, for the Foxes show. We were performing a work-in-progress, kind of like a first draft really, at the Camden people's Theatre. We had no idea what to expect, I think what Conrad and I are doing is quite different, in the way we perform and how we've developed it but it went really well. So much so, were hopefully going into full development..fingers crossed

This was pretty much our set for the show

Play Festival

The Young Producer program at Battersea Arts Centre I have been working with as artist, since the beginning of the year had their 3 day festival in March and it all went off pretty damn well! they had programmed several artists and installations and fun rooms, all around the theme of childhood and play. It went off a treat, really proud of the team!

The team, minus Charlie

A Tale From The Bedsit - Photos

These were some pictures that were taken prior to the first run at Roundhouse, in the Camden Lock Hotel, hopefully you get the gist...

All Pictures by Stuart Leech

Deep in thought, or just pretending for the cameras? 

Is this what I look like when I talk?..I look like I'm gurning.. I was probably talking about Raves again.

Me and Phil, Davies, the All star looking trainers, they're Stef's, the AirMax are mine, course they are!

No caption

Look at the Rave flyers!!!

A Tale From The Bedsit @ Battersea Arts Centre

Greetings, on this fine glorious today.

On Monday the 21st Match I'm going into to Battersea Arts Centre to begin the second run of A Tale From The Bedsit. I've been spending the last few weeks re-familiarising myself with the text again, though December wasn't that long ago, it's surprising how much I had forgotten! I'm on course though and looking forward to getting into a new space with Stef O' Driscol (director) and Phil Davies (Sound designer) and India Banks (set designer) we're doing it for a good sized crowd this time, should be a lot fun!

You can book tickets HERE

..also here's an extract from the show I recorded for Soundcloud

A TALE FROM THE BEDSIT

Paul Cree 17 - 21 Mar 9pm Running Time: 45min Price: £12, £9 concs Recommended for ages 14+ Come in, kick back, take your shoes off, or keep them on, have a cuppa and make yourselves comfy. This intimate and autobiographical coming-of-age tale by spoken word artist and writer Paul Cree set in his bedsit amongst the books, tapes and comics of his youth. Leaving the mundane monotony of his hometown for the bright lights of Brighton, a new job and his first love the world seems bigger somehow. A witty & honest tale that reminds us of our own journeys, mistakes and joys. A Roundhouse Production Written and Performed by Paul Cree Directed by Stef O’Driscoll DOUBLE BILL See A Tale from the Bedsit with John Berkavitch's Shame at 7:30pm (17-19 Mar only) for £20 (£15 concs). This offer will be applied automatically to your baske

Hello 2014

Greetings

Happy new year and all that.

It's been a wee while since I've posted anything and a fair bit has happened, what with the bedsit show and general festive shenanigans.
 

The Bedsit

 Speaking of the show, as in A Tale From The Bedsit, it all went pretty well. We did 9 shows, over the last week of November and really enjoyed it, I felt it went pretty well all in all. There were a few hiccups but that's to be expected. The whole vibe of the festival was great, saw lots of familiar faces in the bar at Roundhouse who were either performing or just as punters. The whole thing has been a massive learning curve for me and I feel pretty good after coming out of the other side.

Reviews

I was told before the show started not to expect many of the supposed big-guns in, in terms of reviewers, for various reasons but I weren't that fussed. I appreciate that at this moment in time I'm not exactly a big draw and spoken word isn't quite as big as a play happening else where etc etc, I was just glad of the opportunity and was pretty chuffed about the fact the most of the shows were sold out (even if it was just 8 people per show, that's still 8 people that have made the effort to come in and see it, too me, that's nuts!)

HOWEVER! I was made up when I saw these two reviews from Londonist via Lindsey Clarke and Sabotage Time via Lettie McKie

http://londonist.com/2013/11/have-a-cup-of-tea-with-paul-cree-in-a-tale-from-the-bedsit.php

http://sabotagereviews.com/2013/12/05/review-the-last-word-festival-the-roundhouse-16-nov-1st-dec/

And on a final bedsit note, the show will be going to Bettersea Arts Center for a week in march, which I'm delighted about, as BAC is a venue I have a lot connections with, you can purchase tickets from here

https://www.bac.org.uk/content/31456/see_whats_on/current_shows/cook_up/a_tale_from_the_bedsit

This was me in the Camden Lock Hotel where most of the shows were

This was where the final show of the run was, for a bigger audience

rODIUM

For the last year or so, I've been playing drums and precession for my friend and collaborator Conrad Murray's band, rODIUM. We've recently had a spat of gigs which I really enjoyed, most notably at legendary gig venue, The Water-rats in Kings Cross, here is a video.

The Little People Return

  Autumn is here. So is October. I guess those two together are like Millwall and the bottom half of the Championship (and possibly League 1 if they don't stop letting goals in!) I'm drinking a lot of tea, but then again, I always do. Alas, it is not all doom and gloom for me...

This half term, 30th October till the 3rd November, I'll be once again, for the 4th time, be donning the white lab coat and comedy glasses in my role as Executive for The Great Escape (A Borrowers Tale). It's almost 2 years since we did the first run at Battersea Arts Center, it's since been to Chat's Palace, The Southbank Center (Imagaine Children's Festival), and now returns to Battersea Arts again. As ever, I'm looking forward to it, it's a lot of fun and really engages children's imaginations as we lead them on on interactive adventure around the building. It's a really good team to work with, I've learned a lot from these doing shows and I'm looking forward to seeing them all again!

 In other news I confirmed a gig this week for The Wordhouse which be will next month on the 16th November at the Blueberry Bar  near Old street.The main acts that night are none other than Polabear and Indigo Willmas I've never done this gig before, but it's celebrating it's 2nd birthday and has a really good reputation. Amy Stratton, who runs it, I met a few years ago and she's really passionate about the whole spoken word thing and seems to be putting on some really good nights. 

I took this quote form the facebook event page but you get my point .. "It has become an East End institution” God is in the TV magazine

My activites: London Stories

Good morning one and all

Just a quick update to let the E-universe know what I've been up too (I could well be talking to myself here but it's fine, this is useful for 'reflection' time, that word comes up a lot in my youth work, like an error message popping up when I go to use my printer).

As part of the final previews, A Tale From The Bedsit went in it's rawest form to a little tree in the middle of Bestival, the weather weren't too bad all in all, it rained in places, and though there were the usual noise issues spilling out form other areas (on the first day there was karaoke going on in the tent next door), which generally can't be avoided at festivals, it went pretty well. Also, I was pleasantly surprised to get this review from the preview show we did at Hoxton Hall from Everything Theater which you can read HERE.
I'll be doing the final edit of A Tale From The Bedsit over the next few weeks, all in time for the full show in November at Roundhouse...

Since I've come back from Bestival, I've been back in the studio with Conrad Murray to work on the EP, The Dice That Rolled A 3, which is 70% done now so I'm getting excited about, here's a preveiw of one of the tracks weve recorded called No Frills, also a little picture of Conrad hard at work in the studio.

 I've been lucky enough to be taking part in a festival at Battersea Arts Center called London Stories, which as the title suggests is all about stories about London. Most of the storytellers involved are non-performers, bar a small handful of us, it's been great so far, almost completed the first week, as far as I know the rest of the run is almost sold out, here's a nice REVIEW from Time Out. Also have a butchers at the trailer.

I think that's about it for now.

Peas and taters

New Scratch Show and Ritzy Gig Audio

Hello. There's pollen type things flying around the air, carried on the winds and it's making my eyes itch, though, anyone that's ever seen me get nervous, on, or off stage, will notice that I'm always rubbing my eyes anyway, especially as at the moment there is a lot for me to be getting excited / nervous about!

New Scratch show No Milk For The Foxes

So...At the end of July I'll be going into the final development phase for A Tale From The Bedsit where we actually get to make the show, set an all, and we now have a brilliant set designer on board, which is great....but before then, on the 31st May as part of the Cook Up Scratch festival at Battersea Arts Centre myself and Conrad Murray will be presenting 10 minutes of a new work in progress called No Milk For The Foxes. The show is about 2 security guards and we will be exploring what a job like that means to them in the current climate, using elements of dialogue and rap. I've been working with Conrad for over 2 and a half years now both in theater and with music, as well as our work with young people for BAC Homegrown . We've had endless conversations lasting for hours about our mutual interests, swapping books, reading articles and posting each other links to video's and the like. It feels like a natural time for us to finally collaborate in a theater context and to do it at Battersea Arts Center which is somewhere that means a lot to both of us. There are over 60 artists and company's all going to be showing new work over the course of the scratch festival so naturally I'm rubbing my eyes in excitement and nerves, but trust me, nerves are good!

New Audio: Live At The Ritzy

Back in February, I performed at the Brixton Ritzy, at a night called Ritzy Platform which is an open mike night hosted by fellow spoken word artist and good friend Richard Purnell. Every month Richard will feature an act to do a full 20 minute set, and back in February it was me. It was a good gig, I had a few of my mates there and also 2 of my brothers came which is quite rare. Conrad Murray also joined me for the final piece, which was an improvised acoustic version of a track off the EP were working on called The Dice That Rolled A 3. Have a wee listen...

Paul, where have you been and what are you doing?

Well, I hear you (don't) ask...

I've been a bit slack with updating this, but I guess that means that in-between watching reruns of Peep Show and Don't Flop rap battles I have actually been doing some stuff. So before I mention what’s coming up, I think it only nice I mention a few things that I've been up too.

Since February gigs wise I've been lucky enough to feature at The Patchwork Club, Platform @ The Ritzy, Come Rhyme With Me in both Brighton and London, and also at Look Mum No Hands as a fund-raiser for the charity CALM. I also did a weeks run, for the third time, of The Great Escape (A Borrowers Tale) as part of the Imagine Children s Festival at The Southbank Centre, which of course was a lot of fun.

I've also been working on some more workshop projects with Battersea Arts Centre as part of their Homegrown young people's program for 18-25 year olds, for the Brave New World festival. I also worked with Farnham Maltings Art Centre in a spoken word project working with some Traveller children from Cranleigh Primary school which was ace, working in part of Surrey that I'd never been to before, and quite different form Horley where I grew up in.

And so to the future! It's been a very long time in my head, and in carious forms and drafts on my PC, but since January my first ever solo project A Tale From The Bedsit is now currently being made and is in it's second stage of development, which I'm very excited about. It's essentially me telling a story about a bedsit I actually lived in Brighton a few years ago, and some of the things that went on. I say it's a solo project, but in reality, it isn’t, as it firstly took the Roundhouse to commission me to do it, and produce it, and for them to bring in a director, which is Stef O'Driscoll who's quite frankly breathed a whole new lease of life into it as a project and really helped me to shape the writing. Were currently rehearsing all this week at Battersea Arts Centre, and have bought in a sound designer, Phil Davies who's a don! There's going to be 2 scratches coming up at the Roundhouse on 22^nd April.

I'm also working on a show that will be heading to the Lattitude festival with Poejazzi, called 1990BPM, so, along with, Joshua Iduhen, Chimene Sullymen and Bridget Minamore, were all busy working on pieces to do with the 90's...and to top it all off, in conjuction with the bedsit show, I'm working on a EP with Conrad Murray called The Dice That Rolled A 3.

Hopefully it won't be so long until I update this again

Until next time

Paul