The build-up to any production is a constant nightmare of questions along the lines of: “Did all the leaflets go out?” “Did we have enough of them?” “Was there enough press coverage?” “How many tickets are we selling a week?”
This doesn’t detract from the excitement, satisfaction and joy of putting a show on, but it is a concern. Being a voluntary organisation, we have no bank loans to fall back on. If a show bombs, the company goes with it! However, we are quietly confident with this one. What with it being Doctor Who, still riding the crest of its unparalleled success (at time of writing the ratings for The Age of Steel are still very reassuring!) and with that magic word Daleks in the title, we should be onto a winner. Not to mention our special guest star Mr Briggs – a good draw to Whovains and Dalekites everywhere! Should that be adopted as the collective noun for Dalek nutters like ourselves? Maybe…
Evil of the Daleks publicity shot
Anyway, we gave our publicity machine a boost on the evening of Sunday May 14th. After many months of juggling cast and Dalek availability, we finally settled on this date for our first full gathering of cast and crew for a big photo shoot held in the grounds of Padnell Grange in Cowplain, near Portsmouth. This is where I work (as the butler!), running an exclusive conference centre. A large, pillar-fronted house, built in 1840, in ten acres of its own grounds. It seemed a suitable venue – almost doubling up as Maxtible’s mansion! The call time was set at 7.00 pm and I arrived an hour early to put the kettle on. Our Dalek was arriving half an hour later. I had received a contact from a terribly nice fellow called Stuart Currie, a resident of Havant, just outside Portsmouth. He had a couple of Daleks and volunteered their use. Needless to say, we accepted like a shot, knowing such an event was in the offing. Stuart dutifully arrived, with his son Ben, and unloaded his magnificent Genesis-style Dalek. A beautiful creation, made with his own fair hands. It contains a voice-modulator and the lights flash when he speaks! The inside is signed by all manner of folks (including Peter Miles, Frazer Hines and Deborah Watling) and dear Stuart climbed in with aplomb and started trundling around to greet the cast and crew as they arrived.
Then, in they came. Many stopping dead at the site of the Dalek. Rob Thrush stopped his car and wound down the window. “I think I might win this one!” he said. Stuart trundled backward, chanting, “This one is too big for me!”
Evil of the Daleks publicity shot
Excitement mounted as everyone arrived and got about their business. It was funny seeing Nick Briggs in the flesh again – having spoken recently so often on the phone and vie email. We hadn’t met face-to-face for nearly six years, when I last did a Big Finish audio! A lovely chap. Very positive, optimistic and politely theatrical. We only had one cast member who couldn’t make it and Steve Redfearn, our wonderful poster designer, had come a long way to meet everyone. Bless him! It was great to meet him after all his efforts. Lights were set-up, coffee brewed and kit-kats devoured. Nick set up his Mooger Fooger Ring Modulator so everyone could have a go. We have purchased our own for the production, but Nick showed us which settings to use, etc. What a fabulous device it is! The moment you speak into it, your voice is effortlessly transformed into that glorious metallic grate! Many of us got quite over the top, belting our favourite Dalek lines out at full power! I had particular fun with my favourite Dalek line of all: “There is only one form of life that matters – Dalek life!” Stuart (who had got out of his creation by this stage) and I engaged in some typical Dalek chanting. Some people were getting a little bemused by this, but we didn’t care! I was tempted to do the final speech from Genesis, but too many people were looking worriedly at Stuart and me for such a contemplation! Nick then recorded his lines for the website trailer and we learned something interesting. The extra booming voice of the Emperor in The Parting of the Ways required no adjustment to the modulator. It was just a shift in the pitch of his own voice. Fascinating. Nick then twiddled a bit and showed us the setting for the Cybermen voices from Rise of the Cybermen, which had been broadcast the night before. Again, this showed the versatility of this excellent bit of electronic wizardry.
Evil of the Daleks publicity shot
Thankfully, the weather had held, so we then all traipsed outside for the first batch of photos. Stuart ascended into his creation once more whilst Rob and Ashley (of Devious and our Dalek Builder) snapped away with digital cameras. A break was then called for whilst our redoubtable stage manager, Dave Tozer, adjusted the lights and we all piled inside for coffee and biscuits. Ashley showed us some fabulous footage from Devious, we all started folding our flyers, Nick signed various competition items and gave us some fabulous ‘behind the scenes’ stories about filming the 2005 Dalek episodes, and the Cybermen ones from this year. He also got a text message from David Tennant whilst we were there! It was getting close to Heaven on Earth..!
Evil of the Daleks publicity shot
Nick then set off to record an interview for local radio (we were getting maximum use out of him that night!) Then, with new lights ready, out we went again. Photo followed photo as the sun went down. We wrapped up just after 9.00 pm, and everyone packed up and went off. My sincere thanks go out again to all who gave their time and efforts to come to the evening, especially to Ashley, Steve and Nick for coming such long distances, and to Stuart and Ben for Daleking the occasion. A very memorable and enjoyable few hours. It was good to get everyone to meet up and it really started the process of the whole thing – and a very exciting start at that. Only problem is we now have to wait until September 1st until we meet again. That is the date of the first read-through of the script. Then the real hard work begins… Enjoy the selected photos!
Nick Scovell – 26 May 2006
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