Marvel Us: All The Marvel Movies. Kind Of

MARVELUS

Written & performed by The Just Us League (Gary Tro & Javier Javier)

The Waterside, Sale

Touring

Reviewed 11^th May 2018

Review by Brian Gorman

'Every Marvel movie in an hour. Kind Of.' Well, if this doesn't sell, nothing will. Marvel seem to have conquered the movie world over the last decade, and with the recent release of the hugely successful 'Avengers: Infinity War' (which has smashed records all over the world, in no time at all), this is perfect timing.

This is theatre stripped to the bone; just two guys in onesies, on a tiny, empty stage (save for a hand-written A3 notepad, handily displaying each film's title in multi-coloured felt tip). A pretty mixed audience ranged from fifty-somethings to teen-agers, with a near equal mix of male and female, which is surely something every producer dreams of. Black Sabbath's classic 'Iron Man' created a suitably tense and dramatic atmosphere, as the lights dimmed, and we waited for our heroes to take the stage. To lighten things up a little, we also had the contrast of Guardians of The Galaxy's breezy, feelgood number, 'Hooked On A Feeling' to get us in the right mood. The 'Just Us League' are composed of New Zealander Javier Javier, and Bristolian Gary Tro; two stand-up comedians (and self-confessed nerds). They make a great team, and like all good double acts, present very different stage personas – Javier is dressed in blue, and is the shorter, more sardonic one. Gary, in red, is the tall, bald, and slighty goofier one. A good natured preamble had the guys bondng with their audience as fellow nerds, and explaining just how they'd decided which Marvel movies to cover, and which to ignore. Taking on the guise of a P.E. teacher, Javier divided the movies into teams A and B. Unsurprisingly (at least to us afficiandos), Team A comprised of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor:Ragnarok, etc. Whilst Team B had Elektra, Blade, and Thor: The Dark World. Special mention was given to the execrable Fantastic Four movies, who Javier neglected to include in either team.

Only 2 people in the audience hadn't seen 'Avengers: Infinity War', which resulted in a short, spoiler-free, sketch “to get it out of the way”, depicting a frustrated Hawkeye sitting at home and desperately trying to imagine his team-mates managing to save the universe without him. Then, on to the show proper, with 2008's Iron Man. I had expected a potted version of each movie, but instead we were presented with self-contained, often seemingly improvised on the spot, sketches that attempted to sum up each film's plot. This threw up some surprising choices (at least to me), focussing on many characters' often unexplored motives and emotions. Iron Man had Tony Stark's best buddy Jim Rhodes/War Machine obsessing over why his calls were not being returned, and WW2's Captain America's Steve Rogers awakening in modern day New York, with all the non PC attitudes that character would likely retain. Each sketch was played with energy and obvious enthusiasm, with many audience members reacting with undisguised delight at many subtle (and some not-so-subtle) comics in-jokes. Javier and Gary seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely, bringing their heroes and villains to life, and high-fiving one front row punter who was the only one to get an obscure joke about Thor!

The God of Thunder sketch was absolutely inspired, with Asgard's favourite son played as a cocky, rich boy describing his 'gap year' on Earth (whilst slying commenting on the movie's shaky plotting). Gary's impression of Chris Hemsworth's cod Shakespearean delivery was hilarious. The popular Hulk/Loki scene in 2012's Avengers had an angry, bellowing Gary throwing around a spare blue onesie, followed by the guys arguing over the cost of this extra costume/prop only being used for one sketch. There followed a comically tearful description of the life of poverty-stricken actors on tour, having to manage with a near zero budget, and the fact that they couldn't even afford to stay over in Sale that night (and were, instead, a taxi drive away in a downbeat area of nearby Altrincham).

The flow of Marvel movies was interrupted by Gary revealing that he never really wanted to do this show, and would much rather be performing a version of Disney's Beauty and The Beast, while Javier looked on, aghast at his friend's love of such obviously unworthy material. The payoff to this sketch came right at the end of the show, when an offstage Gary, on microphone, did a simply beautiful impression of Marvel head honcho Stan Lee, enlightening Javier to the fact that Disney now owned Marvel, and he was lucky they weren't “sueing the ass off you guys!”

This was full-bloodied, breathless, and infectious stuff. Two guys, and their audience, having a simply 'Marvel Us' time!

In Conversation: Christopher Eccleston

In Conversation: Christopher Eccleston

Home, Manchester Sunday 6^th May 2018

Review by Brian Gorman

“It's Manchester; I thought it was gonna be raining!” says Christopher Eccleston, in that famous, gruff, Salfordian accent. On one of the hottest days of the year, the star of some of TV's grittiest, uncompromising, and groundbreaking drama (Cracker, Hillsborough, and Our Friends In The North among them) took a seat, and effortlessly entertained his attentive and appreciative audience. In conversation with Dr Kirsty Fairclough of The University of Salford, the 54 year old actor was in town as a guest of The Pilot Light TV Festival, and fresh from a highly-acclaimed RSC production of MacBeth currently running in Stratford-Upon-Avon. Looking every inch Shakespeare's sinewy, coiled spring of a warrior, Eccleston was a pretty fearsome presence, with that famous chiselled profile, boxer's physique, and awesome Roman nose. Admitting he had always been a bundle of restless energy, you could certainly imagine him in the great classical roles, and it was good to hear that he wants to do more live theatre, following a hugely successful career in television and film.

In conversation with Kirsty Fairclough   (photo: HOME)

Eccleston is very proud of his roots, and credited his family with providing him with a secure upbringing, and a solid set of values. Raised on a poor housing estate, the youngest of three children, he remembered the huge impact that television had on him. His parents regarded the box as an educational tool, and watched many a quality drama, and documentary. Soaps were ignored, as were the everyday lowest-common-denominator fodder. Though not particularly academic, Eccleston was always curious, and determined to question the world around him. Reflecting on his drama school years, he was obviously very concerned that he would probably have never had the opportunity of an acting career if he was starting out today. After graduating from the Central School of Speech and Drama, he initially struggled to find acting work for some years, until his big break came as Derek Bentley in the 1991 film 'Let Him Have It'. He remembered being inspired by fellow cast member Tom Bell, who was impressed at the young man's levels of concentration. Eccleston went on to star in Danny Boyle's low budget thriller 'Shallow Grave', and a regular role in TV's 'Cracker' raised his profile even further. Eccleston credits writer Jimmy McGovern for much of his success, and felt very strongly that an actor should seek to do good work, and not just go after the money. The actor was very candid about some of his more recent roles, and regretted going against his instincts to star in 'G.I. Joe' and 'Thor: The Dark World'. He jokingly blamed his agent for persuading him to do the high-paying, blockbuster films, and enjoying their percentage of his fee, while he would always know that the DVDs were out there.

Asked by an audience member about working with the notoriously volatile Nicholas Cage, Eccleston was very complimentary about his co-star of 'Gone In Sixty Seconds'. He told of one instance when Cage turned up on a hugely expensive motorbike, having bought it on the spur of the moment on his way to the set.

Signing for a young fan   (photo: Simon Ibison)

There were a number of obvious Doctor Who fans in the audience (judging from the TARDIS dresses, Tom Baker t-shirts, etc.), and he seemed happy and relaxed to talk about his time on the show (which he left, after only one series, back in 2005). Never having been a fan, he'd been intrigued to hear that the show was coming back, and was to be written by Russell T Davies, whom he admired after they'd worked together on the epic religious TV fantasy 'The Second Coming'. Trying to get a handle on the character, he'd been out running when he realised that The Doctor would be a pretty lonely character after becoming the last of his race (The Time Lords). With a huge grin on his face, Eccleston proudly stated “And, I can do lonely!”. He regretted his overall performance, though, admitting that he never felt comfortable with the comedy elements, and that he'd played the part “too broad”. No mention was made of the circumstances under which he left the show, but he did remark that he considered every actor to play The Doctor as having been stronger in their second season (apart from the great Tom Baker, who hit the ground running). He'd taken the role as he felt he needed to broaden his range, and prove that an actor should be able to play all kinds of characters. Taking his life in his hands, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, he said “We all know Doctor Who is for kids, don't we?” Following a low murmur of good-natured discontent, he pushed his luck further by saying “Come on, it is, isn't it?”

Eccleston wears his heart on his sleeve, and has often been criticised for being outspoken, prickly, and rather straight-laced. However, he was on excellent form here, and genuinely seemed to be enjoying himself. He indulged one young fan (Richard Lloyd), when demonstrating a laser engraved portrait of himself as The Doctor, by shining the light from his mobile phone through the piece, and delighting the audience when his face appeared on the white surface of his chair.

The Doctor appears!   (photo: Matthew Rimmer)

Eccleston as MacBeth    (photo: RSC)

 A discussion about his current role as MacBeth saw the actor energetically striding about the stage to describe the RSC set, and the fact that a huge clock, counting down to zero (and the end of his character's life), was visible at all times. This necessitated the actors getting their timing spot on, but Eccleston said he was never aware of the countdown during the performance, and it was up to MacDuff to kill him either slowly or quickly at the end.

This was a passionate, charismatic, yet relaxed and immensely good humoured Christopher Eccleston. A man with his feet firmly on the ground, and an undiminished energy and desire to do good work. “I don't want to do rubbish. But, sometimes, I've ended up doing rubbish when I've gone against my instincts”. He insisted that an actor should look for good writing, and that it would always show them in a good light. His nightmare, he joked, would be for him to be forced to watch a DVD double bill of 'Thor: The Dark World' and 'G.I. Joe'!