My faithful readers know how
nuts I am about The Minister of Chance, which I’ve been calling alternately an
audio series and radio play. I stand corrected. Though it seems a bit of a
contradiction in terms, it’s a sonic movie, according to Dan Freeman, it’s
writer, producer, director, sound effects wizard, etc.
My favorite characters in
The Minister of Chance are The Minister (Julian Wadham) and Kitty (Lauren
Crace), though I enjoy the dry humor of Professor Cantha (Jenny Agutter – remember her in Logan’s Run?) and love to hate the Witch
Prime (Sylvester McCoy). Kitty,
though an ineloquent barmaid (love the cockney!), is determined, fearless and
smarter than people think.
In the first episode, The Sezians,
a magic-based race have invaded and conquered Kitty’s country of Tanto and
outlawed science “own good”. Kitty meets The Minister and embarks on an
adventure with him, even going through doors he creates for walking from one
world to another. The Sezians “seize” Professor Cantha and force her to help
them complete their rocket to protect them against the greater threat that is
headed toward Kitty’s world.
As Kitty and The Minister
enter the “broken world that has no name”, they see a large group of alien
creatures coming their way while looking for The Minister’s friend, The
Horseman. When Kitty wonders why they might not be friendly, the minister says,
“People rarely round up a gang and run anywhere to perform acts of charity.” The
wit keeps coming as well as the tongue-in-cheek humor and puns. Love it!
This fun-packed thrill-ride
doesn’t let up in the succeeding episodes. The mysterious Horseman begins
killing off Sezians, and Kitty and The Minister have further adventures as
things heat up for her world.
Radio static is a small
outfit mostly consisting of Dan and Clare. And there’s no payroll. Clare is
officially the executive producer. Unofficially, she and Dan are chief cook and
bottle washers. Dan’s the creative side while Clare is the organizer. Below is a picture of Dan rehearsing with Jenny Agutter and Beth Goddard (Sunflower - ep 3).
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| ©Ian Nolan/ Radio Static 2010-12 www.ministerofchance.com | |
You’d never know it by
listening to these phenomenal episodes. I don’t know how Lucasfilm (when it
still existed just south of here) or Hollywood could do better. The special
audio effects, script and acting are top-notch. Here’s to crowd-funding and
humble beginnings – or middles and ends, so long as it reaches the masses.
I interviewed Dan late
afternoon on Wednesday – that’s 5:30 AM my time. We had a fantastic chat before
I went back to bed in the hopes of catching some zzzzs before interviewing
Clare a couple hours later.
The
Minister is a character created by Dan some nine or ten years ago for Doctor
Who and was then played by Stephen Fry. Dan and
Stephen wanted to give the character a life and a universe of his own,
independent of the Doctor Who series, and initially that's what they
intended to make together, but when Fry’s surge in popularity put a crimp in
his available time, and the
commissioning editor at the BBC took so long with it, the two agreed to let it
go – at least for Fry’s involvement and the BBC. Dan turned instead to
podcasting.
Dan has done voice-over work
since he was young because he has the ability to alter his voice a great deal.
Over the years, he said, he’s worked up to ever-bigger parts. Here is Dan cutting up with Tamsin Grieg (Sage of the Waves - ep 3).
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| ©Ian Nolan/ Radio Static 2010-12 www.ministerofchance.com |
Dan eventually joined forces
with Clare Eden, an experienced actor’s agent, whom he met through Dan’s
voice-over agent, and together with her knack (or balls?) for approaching
talent and Dan’s amazing script, an all-star cast convened. Clare is pictured below with Sylvester McCoy.
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| ©Ian Nolan/ Radio Static 2010-12 www.ministerofchance.com |
They do have an ad hoc crew
when in production. Jonathon Barnes has worked as script editor for episodes three
through five. Chris Mock has been their soundman throughout although Jim
Armstrong ran sound on the location days for episode three. Clare pointed out
that though they are many times literally working for “a pie and a pint”, they
stay on because of the quality of the work, and they are proud to be a part of
it.
Clare said they occasionally
record at her house, which means she and Dan roll up their sleeves and cook and
clean all day. She added that they strive to keep it fun for everyone. She
credited their success to their great cast that stays on board, Dan’s excellent
scripts and the fun atmosphere and camaraderie.
And Clare said that the audience support has been amazing. Fans are not
only giving money to the project, but offering their time and talents to help
promote the work.
What will the future hold
for The Minister of Chance? CDs might be on the horizon according to Clare and
Dan is toying with a visual movie. Episode four will be released soon and
episode five only awaits some final editing and mixing.
Clare said she hoped that
young people would be plugged into an audio drama on their gadgets that they
are already listening to music on. Though CDs are a possibility, it comes with
greater budget needs and the cost would be greater to the end user. As it is,
when Clare and Dan send thank you merchandise or promotional materials to its
supporters around the world, the shipping runs them “six or seven Quid” a pop.
When asked what attracted
their superb, talented cast, Clare pointed to Dan’s script first and foremost.
The world he has created for the Minister is unique, not just a continuation of
the Doctor Who world, but one perfectly suited to this Minister. “Everyone [we
asked] pretty much said yes,” she said. They both were independently saying,
“We need someone like Julian Wadham,” Clare said. Finally, they up and asked
Julian Wadham. For those on this side of the Atlantic not familiar with his
work, Wadham has been a staple in Britain, appearing in movies and TV series
for more than twenty years.
The Minister of Chance will
be the Guests of Honor at the BritSciFi convention at the Space Centre in Leicester,
UK on March 9th and 10th, When will they be at a convention near
you? Beg your con com to invite them next year and see what happens. Maybe
they’ll say yes right off, too.
