LOST Reduced

Namaste. If like me you watch fairly little TV, mainly because content/programming has taken a down hill slide since Murder One ended.

However in late 2007 when LOST came along turning every known and overused formula on its head whilst offering a challenging viewing experience Generation X turned the box on and tuned in.

So last week when an invite to Sky HD's LOST season 6 launch event landed in my inbox I was over the moon. At the same time a myriad of questions and flashbacks flooded my mind; Was Locke dead? Would all of the dead character return? Did it work? Did they go back in time - to the beginning? If so, will any of them remember anything? Did Evil Locke kill the other guy who had been on the island for ever? Were the skeletons in the cave Rose and her earnest but bumbling husband? Would the Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Julia quadrangle be resolved? How many questions had I forgotten? And would any of these questions matter because the writers flipped the switch and reversed it again? Would I found answers at the launch party?

To make the launch special the Sky team cleverly commissioned The Reduced Shakespeare Company to condense 5 seasons of Lost into 10 minutes. Yes! You read right 104 hours in 10 minutes. This would serve as a refresher prior to Season 6 kicking off as well as a fun night out. To my shame I had not yet seen the The Reduced Shakespeare Company in action so I was excited about finally experiencing them.

Oceanic Airlines check in, Dharma Initiative Crew

We convened at The Hospital Club, checked into Oceanic Airlines to receive our boarding passes and then treated to canapes and drinks by the Hanzo Foundation in what looked like the Swan Station.

Fortunately I arrived on time so the area was empty and I got a chance to take some pictures. As a LOST style clock counted down the minutes the room filled and so did the familiar buzz of geeky anticipation.

Room filling up, Desmond Hume's home in the Swan Station, 4 1 15 16 23 42,
James Midgley & Jenni Falconer, The LOST Initiative's Iain Lee and Paul Terry
Sun Dried "Wild Boar" with Passion Fruit and Basil Vinegar

After drinks the Dharma Initiative crew ushered into the auditorium to be greeted by a short video clip from Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse (executive producers and writers of LOST) and without much ado on to the main performance. Below you can view the intro from Lindelof and Cuse as well as the full LOST Reduced performance. Please note this is a YouTube version, the hi res official version can be viewed over at Sky here.

LOST seasons 1-5 in 10 minutes.

From the hilarious but Oh way too short performance - 2 clues I came up with are:
A confirmed yes! "History can be changed if you have a variable, something unpredictable" so some time travel will be involved with but probably with unexpected results and at least one dead Lostee will be back :


I also thought this was pretty funny. As soon as I could - I screen grabbed The Reduced Shakespeare Company's chart of The Dharma Initiative only to find that they are 2 steps ahead of me. Click on the image and view at the largest size and read the text at the bottom of the chart.

Have questions or would just like to vent? LOST writers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof can be found on Twitter here @CarltonCuse & @DamonLindelof

Sky's The LOST Initiative can be found here @Lost_initiative
, The LOST Initiative's Iain Lee (@iainlee), & Geeky Tom (@geekytom) here. If anyone knows if Paul Terry is on Twitter please do let me know.

Sky HD LOST launch
LOST is on on Sky1 & Sky1 HD Fridays at 9pm

More info at Sky HD

LOST REDUCED: World Premiere!

With the hotly anticipated sixth and final season of LOST launching on February 5th, Sky1 HD is proud to announce LOST REDUCED – a specially created ten minute play from the widely acclaimed Reduced Shakespeare Company.

The celebrated comedy theatre troupe have condensed all five seasons into a fast paced flight through the story of the Oceanic plane crash survivors. The world premiere is to be held in London on Thursday 28th January, performed for an intimate audience. The production will also be filmed for internet broadcast as well as on the Sky Platform’s Anytime service.

- LOST REDUCED
- FIVE SEASONS OF LOST IN TEN MINUTES
- Reduced Shakespeare Company
- Perform world premiere
- London, 28th January
- BY INVITATION ONLY


World Premiere of LOST REDUCED

Where
The Hospital Club
24 Endell Street, Covent Garden,WC2H 9HQ

38 Curzon Street W1J 7TY

When
6:30pm, Thurs 28 Jan, 2010

Play: Kurt & Sid at Trafalgar Studios

Kurt & Sid, starring Danny Dyer and Shaun Evans. From 9 September - 03 October 2009 at the Trafalgar Studios, London.

Roy Smiles witty and beautifully poignant new play explores exactly what it means to dice with death when being alive proves to be all too painful and peace seems elusive…

April 1994. A man sits alone in an attic extension on the cusp of becoming a Seattle suicide statistic. This man is no ‘number and name’ to be reported in a local newspaper. He is an icon, albeit a reluctant one. The frontman of Nirvana. is about to pull the trigger of the gun in his hand and join the leagues of rock star deaths down the ages. Without invitation, Kurt has the curious company of a man purporting to be the Sex Pistol’s Sid Vicious, Kurt’s hero.

Whether he is a ghost, a figment of Kurt’s imagination, an hallucination, a dream, or a Punk impersonator remains to be seen as the two musicians, trade quips and quotes about the emptiness of fame, a mutual understanding of drug addiction and self-destruction.

Where
Trafalgar Studios
Whitehall, London, SW1A 2DY

When
Weds 9 September - Saturday 3 October

Play: The Shawshank Redemption at Wyndham's Theatre

Based on the 1982 Stephen King novella, The Shawshank Redemption tells the story of Andy Dufresne, who is sentenced to life in Shawshank Prison after being convicted of murdering his wife and her lover. Stripped of his freedom, Andy is forced to endure a spirit-crushing routine, but with his quiet strength and inner courage there is one thing Andy never loses: hope.

Andy Dufresne is convicted of murdering his wife and his lover and is sent to the notorious Shawshank Prison to serve two life sentences.

Stripped of his life, family and freedom, Andy is forced to endure a spirit-crushing routine. But with his quiet strength and inner courage, there is one thing that Andy never loses - and that is hope.

This unforgettable story of courage, friendship and daring to hope stars Kevin Anderson (Sleeping with the Enemy, member of the acclaimed Steppenwolf Theater Company) and Reg E. Cathey (from cult US television The Wire).

Where
Wyndham's Theatre
32-36 Charing Cross Road
Leicester Square, London, WC2H 0DA

When
4 September 2009 onwards

Play: Speaking in tongues, Duke of York's Theatre

In the highly charged thriller SPEAKING IN TONGUES, the basis for the film Lantana, the seemingly random confessions of a group of strangers are pieced together by a detective investigating the disappearance of a leading psychiatrist. A powerful study of infidelity and interwoven lives, the play stars John Simm (Life on Mars, State of Play), returning to the stage to lead an exciting cast including Ian Hart (The Virgin Queen, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone), Lucy Cohu (The Queen's Sister, Torchwood) and Kerry Fox (An Angel at my Table, Shallow Grave).

SPEAKING IN TONGUES will have its West End premiere at the Duke of York's Theatre. Writer Andrew Bovell's previous work includes Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom, When The Rain Stops Falling at the Almeida Theatre and his own adaptation of SPEAKING IN TONGUES into the internationally acclaimed film Lantana.

Where
Duke of York's Theatre
St. Martin’s Lane, London WC2N 4BG

When
From 18 September to 12 December.

www.speakingintonguestheplay.com

Hamlet

The King of Denmark is dead.

Consumed with grief, Prince Hamlet determines to avenge his father’s apparent murder, with devastating consequences for his family and the kingdom.

Kenneth Branagh directs Jude Law as Hamlet in Shakespeare’s iconic revenge tragedy.

Jude Law is to tackle the most challenging stage role for a young male actor: Hamlet.

Law will pit himself against some of the great interpreters of the part, including Daniel Day-Lewis and David Warner, under the direction of Kenneth Branagh in a production by the Donmar Warehouse.

The production will not be staged at the pocket-size Donmar, which has a capacity of 250. Instead, Hamlet will be part of a season of plays that the Donmar will present at the much larger Wyndham's Theatre, a few streets away in London's West End.

Hamlet

Saturday July 11, 2009 at 2:30pm

Wyndhams Theatre
Charing Cross Road
London, England WC2H 0DA

Swimming With Sharks Preview

What Buddy wants, Buddy gets.

From getting him coffee to getting him laid, it’s up to new assistant and aspiring screenwriter Guy to satisfy every whim of the incendiary Buddy Ackerman, powerful movie producer and the boss from hell.

Blinded by the promise of a fast track up the Hollywood ladder, Guy is about to find out that movie making is not for the faint hearted. If he’s going to rise to the top, then he'll need to play by Buddy's rules. And Buddy plays dirty.

In this no holds barred telling of the 1994 cult film, award winning Hollywood actor Christian Slater returns to the London stage to get under the skin of the charismatic and sharp talking shark Buddy Ackerman in the world premiere of this fast moving and bitingly funny new thriller.

Written by Michael Lesslie (from a film by George Huang)
Directed by Wilson Milam

Swimming With Sharks Preview
Where
Vaudeville Theatre
404 Strand, London, England WC2R ONH

When
7:30pm, Fri 5 Oct, 2007

More info at http://www.vaudeville-theatre.co.uk

The Masque of the Red Death

This haunting version of Edgar Allan Poe's The Masque of the Red Death follows Punchdrunk's smash-hit success, Faust, which won a Critics' Circle Award in 2006.

Journey into a macabre world, explore the four corners of Battersea Arts Centre and relive its Victorian origins as Punchdrunk immerses the building in Poe's imagination.

'One of the most memorable evenings you're likely to have all year.' Evening Standard (on Faust)

The Masque of the Red Death is an indoor promenade performance lasting up to 3 hours, with two entry times at 7.15pm and 7.45pm.

Evening dress is optional.

On Friday and Saturday nights tickets for The Masque of The Red Death includes entry into Red Death Late Nights, an after-show party with live music and dancing.

Adult content. Not recommended for those under 14 years of age.

The Masque of the Red Death

Where
Battersea Arts Centre
Lavender Hill, London, England SW11

When
7:45pm, Mon 17 Sep, 2007
More info at Punch Drunk Productions