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| When the Bristol
Improv Theatre announced its new scratch night event, "Scratchpad",
myself and a number of fellow improvisers with whom I had learned
the craft (and, I dare say, come to like) knew it would be the perfect
outlet for a show concept we had previously discussed. Convening for
long chats, rehearsals and ideas sharing sessions in each others'
living rooms, it quickly became apparent that, while the show had
a lot of potential, pulling it off would be a challenge. The concept of EscaProv is simple - a small group of "friends" must complete a themed escape room, hopefully overcoming their differences in the process. |
As the suggestions
of how the players know each other and what the theme of the escape
room is came from the audience, it was down to us to flesh out the
imaginary space around us, establish the dynamics between the characters
and keep the pace moving towards the "lock-in" deadline.
The first show of three took place on September 18th 2019, with shows
two and three happening on October 23rd and November 20th, respectively. ESCAPROV Performers Fernando Campione, James Cottle, Nigel Jones, Ollie Shiels, Colin Thomas, Mills Owen |
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As part of
The Unscripted Players "Big July Showcase 2019" at the Bristol
Improv Theatre, we put on three shows of a completely improvised superhero
origin story, "Origin of Heroes". With a cast and crew comprised
of members of the Unscripted Players, we spent a couple of months
in rehearsal honing the format, developing our rhythm together and
experimenting with some very strange superhero ideas. The show was "hosted" by Lee Stanley (our budget knockoff of the late Marvel icon), who asked the audience for suggestions of (1) a dead-end job for our hero or villain, and (2) how our main character gets their super powers. With those two tiny seeds in our heads, we would build out an entire narrative, often punctuated with all the betrayals, showdowns and training montages you would expect from the genre. All three shows were very well received, despite all being completely different! ORIGINS OF HEROES Performers Sara Basso De Marc, James Cottle, Jethro Dix, Tom Keegan, Alice O'Brien, Will Sørflaten, Joanna Whyman Director Chris Lock |
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| Teaming
up with fellow scriptwriter Kevin Kennedy for a new project, we decided
to take a comedy sketch show to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2012. Along
with Simon Kinnear directing and Sam Hutchinson producing, we came
up with Man Feelings - an act that shouted from the mountain tops
that men's feelings do, in fact, exist. Performing as part of the Laughing Horse at Edinburgh Free Fringe, Man Feelings achieved great success, returning the following year with director John Thornton, as well as headlining the Winchester Pub Fringe Comedy Festival in Bournemouth. |
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| MAN
FEELINGS Writers/Performers James Cottle, Kevin Kennedy Producer Sam Hutchinson Directors Simon Kinnear 2012, John Thornton 2013 |
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| A project entirely
devised and produced by myself, Tabula Rasa was my first foray into
long form theatre, but I knew I didn't want to handle typical theatrical
concepts. Initially planned to be a full on comedy, I soon realised
the dramatic pathos behind the characters lent itself really well
to drama, and so, I began to blend the two, all the while juggling
the weirder Science Fiction elements. Forming a very small crew and cast, we put the show on during March 2012 and it was well received by audiences. Following that, a 10 minute extract was performed at the Bristol Tobacco Factory as part of The Actors' Workshop Showcase later that year. |
TABULA
RASA Director David Wylie Writer James Cottle Producer James Cottle Cast Warren James Cottle Amanda Laura Coulston Frank Tom Rebuffa Dr. Torenal Kate Maxwell |
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James Cottle ©
2019 |
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