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| Looking a little bit posh! What do you think?! |
Well, what a wonderful night Saturday
was!
If you were there, thank you so much
for coming along and supporting the Mars on the Rise book launch!
The launch was held in a tiny theatre
in the heart of Coalville. Once upon a time, the theatre was folded
onto the back of four trucks and drive around the country. Now it has
a permanent home at the Discovery Centre in Snibston.
However, we were hosting a book launch
with a difference.
We didn't have the print books. Despite
the best efforts of the fantastic team at Torquere, the books are
still Stateside. Yet it did nothing to dampen our spirits. Because
the show must go on!
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| On stage. Can you see the nerves?! |
As a chill began to fill the air,
people arrived, dressed in their finery. Many had taken the time to
create wonderful Steampunk costumes.
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| Tilly Maydme and Arthur Foot (the 3rd), aka The Cogkneys |
At 8pm, the curtain went up and the
show began! We started with a short session speaking about the book.
I was interviewed by the lovely Sir Nigel Mallard (who I am sure has
stepped from one of the books!). Despite the nerves, it seemed to go
well and I spoke a little about myself, how the book came about and explained a little about the utterly evil Veetu Industries. Although, as is normally the case, once I stepped off stage I
suddenly found myself coming up with a million, far better answers!
Following us were the wonderful
Cogkneys. A brilliant duo, they entertained us with music hall songs
and racy humour, a perfect fit with the theatrical shenanigans which
take place in the book.
There was a short break and it was nice
to sit for a while and chat to people. I got to see some wonderful
art work, created by someone in the audience, as well as chatting to
those who'd come. During the interval we gathered the names and
addresses of those who had placed orders for the print book.
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| Having a break! |
“I once wrote a book,” Count Rostov
began after the interval. “It was on the history of sellotape. Only
when I went to send it to the publishers I couldn't find the
beginning.” Ba-bum! Count Rostov was fantastic and had the audience
laughing and groaning in equal measures. A wonderful chap he is and
we believe he hails from somewhere in deepest Russia.
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| The great Count Rostov! |
And then it was time for the finale.
The Dark Design travelled from Brighton and were absolutely splendid!
The band included strings, a harp, brass section, a mechanical drum
kit and stories which will blow your mind! A real Steampunk infusion
of rock and folk.
As someone said, we finally made Coalville cool! Now that's a compliment!
By 1am, I was finally home, tired but
elated, only to do it all over again the next day when I was invited
to spend breakfast with some of the amazing people who had travelled
to see the show. Did I make it to breakfast? Of course I did! Because the show must go on!
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| The Dark Design |
A huge thank you to the back stage crew. They worked tirelessly to make sure everything went smoothly. Another thank you to the crew of the Century Theatre for being utterly splendid. It wouldn't have happened without all the pairs of hands which helped out on the night. Thank you!
Again, thank you to everyone who came.
We're going to do it again for Book 2. Bigger, better, faster and
definitely just as splendid!
Thanks to Rach for the photos! More photos here. Thank you Gary!
The Fabulous Cogkneys!
The Great Count Rostov!
The Splendid Dark Design!
Want to come to the next Steampunk Soiree? Get signed up at Veetu Industries
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYX7uGi1tr8
ReplyDeleteOoo fabulous! Thank you so much, you splendid people! :) xx
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