PRODUCTION
Author: Billy Woods
Director: Mark Underwood (Tenth Planet Productions)
Producer: Alexander Holt (Tenth Planet Productions)
Designer: Mice
Production Manager: Rebecca Finlay-Hall
Publicity Designer: Brian Astbury
CAST
Lucie Barat as The AntiChrist and Flowerchild
Nancy Essery as Granny Watt and Demon with Lines
Rebecca Finlay Hall as Wendy, Julia, Demon without, Baaing Sheep
Mark Hilton as Death, Farmer O'Donald, Nicholas and Gordon
Alexander Holt as Yoko Uno Hoo and Irvin Brumplay
Euan Morton as Gabriel, Ben and Polyzaphocrates A Pixie
Mark Underwood as Jesus and Abbadon
Rainer Wiseman as God, Satan, Teddy Laylow and Soul-sheep
VENUE
Upstairs at the Gatehouse
Highgate Village
London N6
Bad Omens was played from December 1st 1999 to December 5th 1999
When God announces plans for early retirement and a fishing trip, all Hell breaks loose, quite literally. Seemingly the only people who stand in the way of total annihilation are a ragged band of amateur witches, but a chance encounter with some strangely familiar characters sees a sudden increase in the membership of the coven. Together our band of heroes set out to find God and return Him to power. If he can be persuaded that is. In 1996, a bunch of self-proclaimed actors fancied a working holiday and thought "What the hell, let's go to the Edingburgh Festival." So they did. When it turned out to be hard work, half the company quit and got proper jobs instead. Those that remain have all been around longer than they would care to admit, apart from the young ones who haven't been around at all and say so willingly with sly smiles and a strange glint in their eyes...erm...anyway, the cast proudly presented a totally new piece of theatre, devised and written by Billy Woods and directed by Mark Underwood (expect further woodenness) and this made them eligible for a Fringe first. They didn't get one. Well, we didn't want one anyway, they're rubbish and don't really mean anything really, do they? Really? Anyhow, they're back, finally, (the traffic was hell) and they're even better than before. Of course, the totally new piece of theatre isn't looking so totally new anymore, but fortunately mice have created a toupee from bits of string and you can hardly tell the difference between it and real hair. So that's good then. Anyhow, anyhow, we were going to do a big West End run, but, of course, the world is due to end on the 14th, so we just grabbed the biggest available space. We were lucky enough to chance upon the lovely Upstairs at the Gatehouse, which is a theatre that is upstairs at the Gatehouse. So that's good too then.
Reviews
"Mark Underwood's good-natured romp presents a situation in which God has retired and Jesus, the Archangel Gabriel, the Antichrist and three witches have to search him out in order to avert the end of the world. Although often silly, the show is agreeable, and those with a taste for whimsical humour will enjoy it." Colin Affleck - The Scotsman
"This is a delightful throwback to those ancient days when undergraduate shows had originality, erudition and cheeky wit. There is more good old-fashioned undergraduate invention and wit here than in the past five years of Oxford and Cambridge revues combined." Gerald Berkowitz - The Stage
Photos