Davie Does A Bronco

David has just accepted the role of O'Neill in Grid Iron Theatre Company's multi award winning touring production of "Decky Does A Bronco".

Winner Scotsman Fringe First Award for New Writing
Winner Stage Award for Best Ensemble
Nominated for TMA/Barclays Award for Best Touring Production

David is really excited to work with Ben Harrison and the Grid Iron team on Douglas Maxwell's powerful piece of work.

http://www.gridiron.org.uk/

Details of the UK tour which begins in May are to follow....

Panto Reviews for Sinbad at Brunton

"David Elliot's Shingle is nimble and wonderfully demented"

Edinburgh Evening News (4stars)

To read the full review please follow the below link;

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/reviews/Review-Sinbad-featuring-The-Little.5847902.jp

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"...it is David Elliot who is frequently allowed to steal the show as best-friend Shingle, his possession by Crabsclaw one of the highlights of the piece."

It's On It's Gone/The Pink Paper (5stars)

To read the full review please follow the below link;

http://itsonitsgone.wordpress.com/2009/12/01/theatre-review-sinbad-brunton/

http://news.pinkpaper.com/Feature.aspx?id=1675

Reviews. reviews and more reviews....

Check out all the amazing reviews from Hangover at;

http://hangovertheplay.com/page15.htm

Nine 4 stars and a 5 for Hangover.

Here are some of David's quotes;

Scotsman 4 stars; "dramatic tour de force from David Elliot.... Elliot has produced a breathtakingly realistic and resonant piece of writing.... Elliot is surely destined for even greater things in future."

Evening News 4 stars; "The performances were excellent, particularly Elliot in the lead role"

Broadway Baby 4 stars; "David Elliot's performance is remarkable for its intensity....brutally honest, nakedly critical and darkly intelligent"

Threeweeks 4 stars; "Elliot's performance is at times comic, at other times savage, but always passionate."

Fringe Review 4 stars; "David Elliot is quite brilliant throughout...the dialogue and Elliot make it worth seeing"

Also check out 5 star for Cock and Bull at;

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/reviews/Theatre-review-Cock-and-Bull.5643712.jp

Stage Review for Cock and Bull

Thom Dibdin, The Stage.

The Fringe has come early to to Edinburgh this year, with the arrival of Cock And Bull Story down in Leith. Crammed into one end of a tiny cafe with an audience of no more than 30, the production feels immediate and visceral as it tells the story of a young boxer Travis (Stuart Ryan) about to step out into the ring for what he hopes to be his last fight as an amateur.

With him in his changing room is Jacko (David Elliot) his best pal who is always there, psyching him up for the fight ahead. As the banter and aggression between them bounces back and forth, Richard Crowe and Richard Zajdlic's script leaks out their background in local gang culture, in violence and gay-bashing, in male bonding and conquests of girls who are immediately cast aside.

Under Liam Rudden's direction this oozes testosterone and sexual double standards. Ryan and Elliot have created characters who could easily have just walked out of a Leith boozer and straight onto the stage, with their dreams of sharing a flat in London and the further conquests they will have there when Travis turns professional.

Yet it is in those double standards that the meat of the play lies, in the realisation that Jacko's rampant homophobia and abusive attitude to women lie in his own self-denial. While for Travis, in the middle of the fight as the flow of adrenalin and the thrill of the engagement engorges his appetite for aggression there is a character whose sexuality might be more obviously in doubt, but whose complexities are must more subtle and up for debate.

Making a virtue of the bare, black-box nature of the staging, this focusses right down onto the characters and allows them to step out, off the stage. Almost literally at some points of the hair-raisingly choreographed fight sequences. A fascinating piece of theatre that thrills and engages from start to end.

David booked for panto season

David has just confirmed that he will be performing at Brunton Panto "Sinbad" as Shingle

21-Nov-2009 To 02-Jan-2010

For tickets and info ; http://www.thebooth.co.uk/show.asp

Cock and Bull first review in....

Theatre Review: A Cock and Bull Story, 10 June, Kitsch Coffee Bar, Edinburgh

Posted on 11 June, 2009 by Jonathan Melville

*****

Gay. For such a small word it’s amazing how much hate it can generate, controversy it can lead to and pain it can inflict: though it only contains three characters, you’d sometimes be forgiven for thinking it’s a four letter word.

While modern society prides itself on its liberal attitude to homosexuality and an understanding of gay issues, hate crimes and gay bashing still occur and form the basis for Liam Rudden’s revival of 1980’s play, A Cock and Bull Story.

Up-and-coming amateur boxer Travis (Stuart Ryan) is about to enter the ring once more to fight for a crucial title which will result in fame and glory, while his mate Jacko (David Elliot) encourages him.

When it becomes clear that the homophobic jibes of local youths might have some substance to them following an occurrence during one of Travis’s fights, the pair’s friendship is strained to breaking point as they try to understand their true feelings for each other.

With the perfunctory set placed in the confines of Kitsch Coffee Bar, a simple black cloth forming the backdrop and a poster of Rocky adding a touch of colour to proceedings, the small audience were more uncomfortable eavesdroppers than detached observers to on-stage events.

Opening to the sight of Travis and Jacko staggering home after yet another booze soaked night out, the pair full of alcohol induced bravado as they manhandle each other down the street with the mock-homoerotic undertones permeating the production, both actors capture their characters within seconds.

These men may have a shared history but they clearly have increasingly disparate views on life, love and the future: the contemplative Travis sees success as leading to a bright future in London, the boorish Jacko thinks of the birds and the booze. Travis may on the surface agree with his friend’s outlook, but there’s clearly more going on beneath the surface.

Exactly what is happening in the mind of the two is at the heart of the story. Both vent their feelings and anger regularly, leading to physical violence, but it’s the look in the eyes of the pair that tells another story.

The threat of what being labelled with the “gay” tag could mean for both Travis and Jacko’s reputations within their fiercly working class neighbourhood is handled well by the actors, the stigma attached portrayed with refreshing, if at times disturbing, honesty.

Elliot in particular is full of nuanced glances directed at both his co-star and off-stage, while Ryan has perfected the ability to say one thing vocally while saying even more with a number of well-judged silences. Both bounce off each other with ease, vital if the audience is to buy into their reactions throughout the production.

Landing a final emotional punch upon the audience which left a number of questions to be pondered on the way home, A Cock and Bull Story is an emotionally hard-hitting play whose leads’ impressive verbal sparring promotes it from lightweight to heavyweight with ease.

A Cock and Bull Story runs at Edinburgh Kitsch Coffee Bar until Saturday. Visit the Emerald Blue website for more details.

HANGOVER

David's next confirmed theatre work is Hangover. A dark two-hander about a man dealing with the worst hangover he will ever have, in more ways than one.

David has written the play and is also acting, producing and directing.

More info can be found on the website- www.hangovertheplay.com

" Just because you can't remember, doesn't mean it never happened."

Danny has the hangover to end all hangovers. However, this is not your typical weekend hangover. In fact, for Danny this has fast become a regular past time. Hangover is portrayed through the clever use of a character, conjured up by Danny's imagination, which helps him to remember the events of the previous night, drawing the story out to its bitter and tragic end. An identifiable and thought provoking drama that hits home the realities of one man's self-destructive behaviour and the consequences his actions have on those around him. However, Danny must pay for his actions, but at what cost?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

David has been cast in "Sherlock Holmes; Murder in Edinburgh". Details below;

Frantic Redhead Productions has been invited by the Edinburgh UNESCO City Literary Trust to perform a Sherlock Holmes play during the month of February as part of the month-long project to encourage all of the citizens of Edinburgh (and Glasgow this year) to read the same book. The book chosen for 2009 is "The Lost World" by Arthur Conan Doyle. The book was selected because Charles Darwin was at the University of Edinburgh for two years studying medicine and it's the 200th anniversary of his birth in 2009 and Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh, went to the University of Edinburgh Medical School and it's the 150th anniversary of his birth in 2009. There will be all sorts of programs, performances, exhibits, films, etc. during the month of February as part of this project and we have been invited to participate in this very this prestigious event.

Prime Productions has agreed to co-produce the play with Frantic Redhead Productions which is great for us as they will provide great artistic support.

We open the show on Saturday, January 31 (the opening ceremony for the project is Friday, January 30) and play daily through the next Saturday, February 8. We will be starting the show in the Gallery space of the French Institute at 12:30pm daily and finishing at the scene of the crime adjacent to the Water of Leith. .

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

David has been cast in the multi-role 5 actor cast version of "It's A Wonderful Life"; which will tour over X-mas period.

See below for details

Catch us in: ROSSLYN CHAPEL (5 - 17 Dec - not 7,14) 0131 445 4023

FALKIRK TOWN HALL 18 DEC 01324 506850

EAST KILBRIDE ARTS CENTRE 19 & 20 Dec 01355 261000

PENICUIK TOWN HALL 22 Dec 0131 445 4023

EYES ON THE STREET PREMIER...

"Eyes on the Street" will be opening at the Encounters Film Fest. See below details...

Countdown to Encounters Short Film Festival begins...

The countdown to Bristol’s 14th annual International Encounters Short Film Festival is now underway with the publication of this year’s programme of screenings, awards, celebrity visitors, events and industry debates and the launch of a new online bookings service at www.encounters-festival.org.uk.

The six day celebration of short film and animation, which takes place in Bristol from Tuesday 18 to Sunday 23 November, will feature over 300 short films and animations, from 30 countries, including newly-rediscovered early animations by Alexander Shiryaev, new BBC comedies, the finalists for the 2008 DepicT! 90-second film challenge, the debut short by Turner Art Prize nominee, Sam Taylor Wood, and Come Here Today, starring Rhys Ifans.

Guests confirmed include BAFTA-award-winning actor and director, Paddy Considine; triple Oscar winner, Richard Williams, and Clare Kitson, the former Channel 4 commissioner credited with rejuvenating Britain’s animation industry.

For full programme details and ticket sales go to: www.encounters-festival.org.uk.

Film Fest

UPDATE:

The movie formally known as "Enough" has now been re-titled as "Abbeyhill" and has been selected at the Bootleg Film Festival on Saturday 13th September

Details on the festival can be found here http://www.bootlegfilmfestival.co.uk

Abbeyhill has also been invited to a special screening by MIMAC/Rushes at the Cupar Arts Festival on October 23rd (All TBC) http://www.cupararts.org.uk/

The director, Neil Rolland, is pretty excited about this and will continue to enter the film in to festivals and see how it goes.