Blog: Return To Camden

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I arrived bright and early at The Camden Head to attend a TECH RUN for that evening's REVIVAL of Dinosaur Planet. As I believe I MAY HAVE MENTIONED we're doing it at the Green Man Festival on Friday (2.45pm in Einstein's Garden, do come along if you're about) so SENSIBLY decided to book ourselves a WARM-UP show at The Camden Fringe.

The venue Tech Guy was VERY insistent on us attending a tech run - I told him we only needed to turn a light on and off, but he was determined that things be done CORRECTLY, even RINGING me on Sunday to remind me, and so I dutifully trooped off to attend the instruction session. I had snobbishly been saying "It's just turning a light on and off" but WHAT A FOOL i had been for LO! you don't switch it on and off: It's a SLIDER.

Duly chastened I sat downstairs while Mr S Hewitt went to get himself a Festival Phone for the weekend, then we went over the road to one of my FAVOURITE Indian Restaurants, The Maharani. Which was closed... so we popped down the road for a Quick Beer in The Wheelbarrow and got back to find it open and providing DELICIOUS food. OOOH, it really is good, tho it did lead to some BURPING later on in the show. BURPING.

There was a gently flow of DELIGHTFUL people into the pub when we got back, even including some people we didn't KNOW, and soon it was time to LEAP into action. The odd thing about doing this show again after 18 months is that it didn't feel odd AT ALL. I guess Dinosaur Planet has remained SUCH a large part of my life in Other Media since then that it felt like we'd never really stopped. This version is slightly TRIMMED, with some characters and dialogue removed to make it flow better, and by golly it seemed to work. When I sat down to write Moon Horse i was determined NOT to have the occasional LULLS which the original version of Dinosaur Planet had had, and this NEW version felt very much in the same VEIN. It felt, strangely enough, like a continuation of the adventures of Mr G Livingstone and friends, in many ways.

There were a couple of STUMBLES, and it could be argued that, of the NEW GAGS, The Van Morrison Interlude MAY have been unwise, but apart from that it seemed to go pretty well. We've already had THE REVIEWS in, from the Camden New Journal, who said:

A very silly but charming & fun musical from @MJHibbett that questions just where dinosaurs disappeared to. Could giant robots be involved?

It's a TWEET review, hence the @, and one I am very happy with!

Afterwards we had another pint and a chat, then as I was about to head off Steve suggested that, as we were launching ourselves into Pretend Edinburgh (we'd been FLYERED before and after the gig, had got REVIEWS, and were off to spend a weekend watching comedy and drinking BEER) that REALLY we should end the evening with a WHISKY. He was ENTIRELY correct, and so we did.

Next stop is CROYDON, tonight at The Green Dragon, where we're doing A Song Selection, and then - EEK! - we're off to WALES on Thursday evening ready for the BIG GIG. I hope GLANUSK is ready for DINOSAURS!

posted 14/8/2012 by MJ Hibbett

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