'EVERYMAN: The Story Of Patrick McGoohan - The Prisoner'

I am writing, producing & directing a new short play later this year. Here's some latest news:

Albino Injun Productions & Transmission Unlimited
Present

EVERYMAN
The Story Of Patrick McGoohan - The Prisoner

Performed by Joe O’Byrne
Written & Directed by Brian Gorman

8pm Wed 11th to Fri 13th August, 2010
The Salmon Theatre, The Lass O’Gowrie, Charles Street, Manchester M1 7DB


Press Release 10.06.10



‘EVERYMAN: The Story Of Patrick McGoohan - The Prisoner’ is a new play detailing the life of the theatre, television, and film star (who sadly died last year), and is to be staged in Manchester this summer at the famous Lass O’Gowrie pub on Charles Street. Writer/Director Brian Gorman believes that a theatrical tribute to the star of such cult tv favourites as ‘DANGER MAN’ and ‘THE PRISONER’ is long overdue:

“McGoohan was a brilliant actor. In common with the great Orson Welles,
who he cited as a major influence, he was also a fiercely uncompromising
individual who took real artistic chances, and divided the critics.”

The play is produced by Gorman's company TRANSMISSION UNLIMITED and O'Byrne's ALBINO INJUN PRODUCTIONS.

Onboard as the production’s official adviser is ROBERT FAIRCLOUGH. Robert is a freelance writer, designer and producer. His work on ‘The Prisoner’ includes the book ‘The Prisoner: The Official Companion to the Classic TV Series’, editing two volumes of ‘The Original Scripts’ for the classic series and graphic design work on the recent AMC remake.He is a broadcaster who has featured on BBC radio and ITV, written for the British Film Institute and 'SFX' magazine and produced documentaries for 2 Entertain's range of ‘Doctor Who’ DVDs.

JOE O’BYRNE is the man with the unenviable task of stepping into McGoohan’s shoes, but he is more than ready for it. As Joe himself says:

"'It's not often you get the chance to play one of your idols. Patrick McGoohan is one of the reasons I took such a strong interest in acting from an early age. I loved Danger Man and The Prisoner as a kid and I always try to catch The Prisoner each time it comes around, it's timeless and still works today. It had such a surreal influence, echoed through the years in series like Twin Peaks and Lost, and on the larger screen in The Truman Show. The man was a genius, and years ahead of his time.Playing him will be a huge challenge but how many times do you get an opportunity like this? I won't let him or Brian Gorman down."

A writer, actor, and film-maker, Joe can be seen in the upcoming dvd release of the low budget crime movie ‘Diary Of A Bad Lad’, which has seen him garner rave reviews for his performance. His plays include ‘The Bench’, ‘I’m Frank Morgan’, and ‘Rank’ which have all been produced in Manchester and Salford at The Lowry, Studio Salford, and Salford Arts Theatre.

For the opening Manchester production, ‘Number Two’ will be played on stage by DAVID BICKERSTAFF. This Paisley born actor is now living in London, and trained at Queen Margaret, Edinburgh. He has just finished a successful run of Joe Orton's 'The Erpingham Camp' for TW4, and is a regular in the cult sci-fi comedy radio series 'The Scarifyers'.

Patrick McGoohan was born in New York, but spent less than a year there before his family relocated to their native Ireland. Several years later, they moved to England, where McGoohan caught the acting bug in Sheffield, and worked his way up to leading roles at the local professional repertory theatre. He was the first choice to play James Bond in 1962, but turned down the role of a lifetime due to his distaste for the depiction of gratuitous violence and casual sex. While Bond was smashing cinema box office records, McGoohan became an international television star as secret agent John Drake in ‘Danger Man’; who rarely used a gun and politely declined the numerous advances of beautiful women. After several hugely successful years, McGoohan tired of playing Drake, and persuaded legendary producer Lew Grade to back his new project, ‘The Prisoner’, and allow him full creative control. The series made McGoohan the highest paid actor on British tv, and became a massive cult hit with its flamboyant action, imaginative stories, and surreal style.
McGoohan also starred in a variety of successful films including ‘Silver Streak’, ‘Ice Station Zebra’, and Mel Gibson’s oscar-winning ‘Braveheart’.
He won two Emmy awards for acting in the ‘Columbo’ tv series, and was even immortalised in an episode of ‘The Simpsons’.

Manchester-based Brian Gorman is a writer, artist, and actor. He has designed posters and brochure illustrations for The Chester Gateway Theatre, and had work published in The Liverpool Daily Post, The Big Issue, and Green World (the magazine of The Green Party). His artwork has also been seen on television (ITV1’s ‘Martina Cole’s Lady Killers’), and he is currently working on a professional commission to produce a series of graphic novels on Manchester bands. As an actor he has played leading roles in corporate and educational dramas, music videos, and has just been cast as the notorious mass murderer Thomas Hamilton in a television reconstruction of the 1996 Dunblane massacre. He also has an arts review blog at http://fictionmaker.blogspot.com/
Gorman doesn’t rule himself out of playing McGoohan sometime in the future:

“I would love to play the man, but I’d like Joe to do it first!
It’s a dream of a role, as McGoohan was a dynamic, fiery character
with a distinct acting style. I think it’s best I see the play from the
audience point of view first, and examine what works.”

There is also a word of warning for anyone expecting a straight-forward story of McGoohan’s life:

“In keeping with McGoohan’s surreal work on ‘The Prisoner’, I
shall be playing around with time, as well as the character itself. ‘Patrick
McGoohan’ will be a mix of the real man, and ‘No.6’ (from ‘The
Prisoner’).”

Tickets will be available soon. More details can be seen on the production’s Facebook page 'JOHN DRAKE'. Production information is available from theprisonermcgoohan@yahoo.co.uk

Brian Gorman can be contacted at brianinchester@yahoo.co.uk