Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 467

You've Got To Love London Fringe

This is posted on the toilet door of the Union Theatre Southwark – the stage and the lavs are very, very close! The venue is built in a dripping railway arch and has a funky bar. The trains tend to thunder through the performance.

My Favourite Forgotten Fact About London

Until 1916, Harrods used to sell customers cocaine over the counter.

My pal Mike Jay is currently curating 'High Society: Mind-Altering Drugs In History & Culture' at the Wellcome Institute Gallery, Euston Rd.

The 12 London Nights Of Christmas

The problem at this time of the year is how to survive London's social scene without flagging. The Happiness Project London lists 99 awesome things about the capital here, and isn't even exhaustive, so you have to ration yourself.

One trick is to make Saturday night your night off for a home-cooked meal and a [...]

Re:View – The All-Male Iolanthe

Taking a young woman with me who loves words but who has never seen a good London fringe production of Gilbert & Sullivan was a revelation; she laughed throughout and was enchanted. This idea really shouldn't work; G&S's paradoxical tale of the banished Iolanthe, her mortal-from-the-waist-down son and his tangled parliamentary career is one of [...]

First Rule Of Book Club: Look It Up

Want to face a really tough book challenge? How about a pub quiz at the British Library?

The annual Christmas quiz is part of the institution's TalkScience series, six audiovisual rounds on science trivia, bookable in advance (£2 per person for teams of up to five). The fun starts at 6pm.

That's the tip of the [...]

Ink Never Fades

But writers do.

I found this plaque on a corner of Fleet Street (click to enlarge), and loved the sentiments expressed on it. There's a pub bearing his name a little further on (no greater english accolade!) but who even remembers Edgar Wallace now?

Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (April 1, 1875 – February 10, 1932) was [...]

All Aboard For Dark Thrills!

Next year, apart from my new Bryant & May novel 'The Memory Of Blood', 'Hell Train' will be calling at a station near you. Imagine the Hammer never made, with monsters, satanism, a period European setting and a bizarre mystery, and you'll get something of the flavour of my new project. Click on images to [...]

Tron @ Tate Modern

After the Disney movie 'Tron: Legacy' premiered in London last night, the great turbine hall of the Tate Modern was converted into The Grid for the film's after-party. This was one of the best uses I've seen for the vast space with its immense concrete ramp and agoraphobia-inducing height, with Tron players wearing video monitors [...]

What Was That Music?

A lot of audiences asked what the music clips were in the show 'Celebrity'. Here's the tracklist.
It's My Life – Paul Anka
The In Crowd – Dobie Gray
Just Help Yourself – Tom Jones
Fly Me To The Moon – Julie London
Doing It Right – The Go! Team
Scooter – Camille Bazbaz (from "Hors De Prix')
Help! – The Beatles
Street [...]

What I Learned About Playwriting

1. If you write a scene in which you put 'Helena grabs Billy in a private place' you have to be prepared to see it happen onstage.

2. If you put a character onstage in a deliberately terrible wig, the wig will upstage everyone.

3. A drunk girl in a corset and stockings stops the audience from [...]