New Doulgas Adams' biography hitting the shelves 25th September

Jem Roberts' 'The Frood: The Authorised and Very Official History of Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' is going to hit the shelves this 25th september

Every Douglas Adams' fan is waiting impatiently for this new book more than ten years after the two previous very complementary biographies : Nick Webb's "Wish You Were Here" and Mj Simpson's "Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams".

There will be several events in UK to celebrate the new book publication.

Saturday 20th September

Douglas Adams Day

Heffers Bookshop (20 Trinity Street, Cambridge)

Cosplay competition + Quiz to win 2 tickets to meet Jem Roberts on 25th September

Tuesday 23rd September

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Douglas Adams, with Jem Roberts & Marie Phillips

Foyles (107 Charing Cross Road, London)

http://www.foyles.co.uk/Public/Events/Detail.aspx?eventId=2325

Wednesday 24th September
Douglas Adams and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy with Jem Roberts in Bath
The Bookshop, The Paragon, Bath
https://www.toppingbooks.co.uk/events/bath/douglas-adams-and-the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-with-jem-roberts/

Thursday 25th September

An Evening with Douglas Adams (courtesy of Jem Roberts and David Haddock)

Heffers Bookshop (20 Trinity Street, Cambridge)

http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-evening-with-douglas-adams-courtesy-of-jem-roberts-and-david-haddock-tickets-12446191895

Satudray 27th September

Douglas Adams Tour of Cambridge

Meeting at 13:00 for 13:15. This is a special tour organized by David Haddock to coincide with the publication of The Frood.

https://www.facebook.com/events/275020802702205/

Saturday 4th october

Douglas Adams: A Celebration (with Jem Roberts, Clive anderson, James Thrift, Ed Victor & Terry Jones!)

Cheltenham Literature Festival

http://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/literature/whats-on/2014/douglas-adams-a-celebration/

Here are few articles about the new book and what you can expect to find in it :

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/may/29/unseen-hitchikers-guide-new-douglas-adams-biography

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/douglas-adams-how-a-new-biography-sheds-light-on-his-genius-9734532.html

If you want to have more infos about Jem's own insight of the book, you can read these three threads on his blog :

http://jemroberts.com/2013/06/13/the-frood-fit-the-first/  (June 2013)
http://jemroberts.com/2014/01/01/the-frood-fit-the-second/ (January 2014)
http://jemroberts.com/2014/05/25/the-frood-fit-the-third/ (May 2014)

The new Book can be bought online at Amazon (UK)



 and Amazon (US)

Towel Day 2014 : don't forget your towel and celebrate !

Once again this year, there will be a large number of events to celebrate Towel Day. So don't miss the biggest day of the year and don't forget your towel !

You'll find an almost complete list of events all around the globe on towelday.org.

There is no reason to stay indoors and alone with your towel for such a day. Events will take place in severail cities of Brazil, Sweden, Germany or Australia to name but a few.

Two of the biggest events will occur in UK and France.

The National Space Centre (Leicester) will be celebrating Towel Day with special guests, displays, talks, workshops and something for everybody to enjoy. There will be two Marvin, Kevin Davies, Dirk Maggs, one Trillian,... More informations here.

In Paris, my association the Grand Ordre de la Serviette (GOS) will celebrate its 6th event for Towel Day. Action starts at 10 AM with a City of Death Tour (Dr Who and Douglas Adams fans will rejoice !), then it will continue with the infamous Towel Olympics (from 3 PM) and then with end with beers, peanuts and a lot of other things at the geek bar Le Dernier Bar Avant la Fin du Monde. Like last year, a special towel has been creatd for the french towel day (see picture below). In fact we began the festivities last week end but of course 25th May is the big day. Full details here (in french)

Great succcess for H2G2 Live special at BBC Radio Theatre !

Saturday 29th March, the cast reunited for a special H2G2 Live event at the BBC radio theatre. The event was part of  Radio 4's Character Invasion program.

The program was adapted and directed by the quite unique Dirk Maggs and starring all the main actors from the original radio series : Simon Jones (Arthur), Mark Wing-Davey (Zaphd), Stephen Moore (Marvin), Sue Sheridan (Trillian) and Geoffrey McGivern (Ford). And the original producer John Lloyd was The Voice of the Book.

Here is a short  review from H2G2 expert, David Haddocks :

" The show was 75 minutes so not the full presentation of what toured in 2012 and 2013 and they did most of the visual side of the sound effects you will be aware of if your saw it in a theatre. At the end of the Pan-Galactic Gargleblaster mixing Mark got a straw stuck in his glasses so there is an extra big laugh that means nothing to the radio audience. Dirk was somewhat stressed by having to keep to a set time and at one point indicated to the cast to stretch things out a bit. I am not sure if this prompted Geoff and Toby to throw in the extra deja vue joke that looked to confuse Simon momentarily, but he handled it with aplomb even if he did end up reading from Toby's script rather than his own. At the end there was a standing ovation and the cast were joined on stage for the curtain call by Stephen Moore and he gave the Marvin robot a kiss."


You can listen to the 75 mn show on BBC Iplayer during one week after the show :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03xky8s

43 (!) great pictures of Hitchhikers LIVE at The Radio Theatre on the BBC website :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/galleries/p01wgfjw

Douglas Adams 62nd Birthday : two events in London !

Today tuesday 11th March, we're celebrating Douglas Adams 62nd Birthday and there are two events happening at the same time in London.



First, the Highgate Cemetery where Douglas Adams is burried is organizing a special event called "Douglas Adams: A Conversation at the End of the Universe".

Special guests Lalla Ward and Richard Dawkins will share memories of Douglas Adams. As you may know Lalla Ward is a former Doctor Who companion and played with Tom Baker in Douglas Adams episodes "City of death" and "Shada".

Richard Dawkins, was a good friend of Douglas Adams. They shared a same views of live and also their atheism. evolutionary biologist and author of books such as "The Selfish Gene" and "The God Delusion". They met after Richard wrote Douglas the only fan letter he ever wrote, and Douglas replied with a fan letter of his own.

Lalla and Richard met at a party for Douglas’ 40th birthday in 1992 and were married later the same year. The event is sold out, but I really hope that we'll get pictures and reports from the evening.

More infos here : http://highgatecemetery.org/events


 

The Second event of the day is the annual Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture that will take at the Royal Geographical Society.

This year's lecture will explore a theme close to the hearts of many of Douglas' fans : "We will be exploring science in fiction, taking a closer look at two popular fictional worlds - Harry Potter and the Simpsons - and exploring the science within".

This year's speakers will be Roger Highfield and Simon Singh.

More infos here : http://www.savetherhino.org/events/798_douglas_adams_memorial_lecture

H2G2 Live is back on stage for a one-off the 29th March !

 The H2G2 live team will be back for a one of saturday 29th March at the BBC Radio Theatre in London. The original cast will be back including Mark Wing Davey (Zaphod) and Stephen Moore (Marvin). The voice of the book will be this time played by the original producer of the radio series John Lloyd.

The event will take place at 10 am and should be broadcast live on Radio 4. Tickets to participate to the event are free but the BBC has decided organize a random draw for tickets to keep it fair. You can register for tickets at any time until Thursday 13 March at 4pm.

Here is a message from director Dirk Maggs published on Faceboook : "We are reuniting at the request of the BBC for a one-off show in London's Broadcasting House Radio Theatre. It will be performed and broadcast live on Radio 4 on the morning of Saturday March 29th. It is part of the network's "Character Invasion Day" and will be a shorter version of the touring show featuring the original cast, with Mark Wing-Davey returning as Zaphod and Stephen Moore in person as Marvin. Tickets are free but limited in number and allocated at the website below. We're really looking forward to it and hope you can catch the show live in the Radio Theatre or Live On Air. Either way, don't forget your towel!"

If you want to apply for a ticket, visit : http://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows/date/events/cilon_hitchhikers_20140329

Sad news : Hitchhiker Live cancelled !

This is a sad day. It has just been anounced that he Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy Radio Show 2013 Tour has been cancelled. The show was due to continue till the end of November.

All our thoughts to the fantastic team that brought to us this incredible show, principally Dirk Maggs.

"IMPORTANT NOTICE

The Radio Theatre Company deeply regret to announce the immediate cancellation of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy Radio Show 2013 Tour. Tonight's performance at The Hawth, Crawley and tomorrow's at the Watford Colosseum will not take place, nor will any of the remaining scheduled shows in October and November. Ticket holders are being contacted and should contact venues for refunds.

Although a well-loved show, Hitchhiker's Live has been subject to the same extreme economic pressures as many productions touring the UK this autumn. Ticket sales across the board have been lower than average and we have not escaped this trend. A difficult financial environment for such a large and technical show means that covering operating costs has become impossible. As a result in the last 24 hours we have had no option but make the extremely hard and painful decision to stop the tour.

We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and share the extreme disappointment and frustration felt by many who were looking forward to seeing the show. we sincerely hope that it can be brought back in the future."

Hichhiker Live hits the road the 14th September !

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Radio Show Live is back for a two and a half month tour in UK starting the 14th September in London and finishing the 30th November in Milton Keynes.

Almost the entire casting is back but Mark Wing-Davey, the original Zaphod, who won't be here this time. But fear not. Dirk Maggs, director and adaptator of Hitchhiker Live, has found a valuable replacement : Mitch Benn. Otherwise, Simon Jones (Arthur Dent), Geoff McGivern (Ford), Susan Sheridan (Trillian), Stephen Moore (Marvin) are all part of the show !

Announcements for the Voice of the Book have been incredible : Neil Gaiman, Clive Anderson, Colin Baker, Billy Boyd, John Lloyd, Jon culshaw, Miriam Margolyes...

If you missed last year tour, you don't want to make the same mistake. So book now !

2013 Tour dates

14 Sep	Book nowLondon, Hackney Empire Voice of the Book: Neil Gaiman
15 Sep	Book nowLondon, Hackney Empire Voice of the Book: Jon Culshaw
16 Sep	BOOK NOWNorwich, Theatre Royal Voice of the Book: Jon Culshaw
17 Sep	BOOK NOWNorwich, Theatre Royal Voice of the Book: Anita Dobson
18 Sep	Book nowLeamington Spa, Royal Spa Centre Voice of the Book: Miriam Margolyes
19 Sep	Book nowCardiff, St David's Hall Voice of the Book: Miriam Margolyes
21 Sep	BOOK NOWNorthampton, Royal & Derngate Voice of the Book: Harriet Walter
22 Sep	Book nowSouthampton, Mayflower Theatre Voice of the Book: Miriam Margolyes
23 Sep	Book nowSouthend, Cliffs Pavilion Voice of the Book: Miriam Margolyes
25-26 Sep	Book nowSunderland, Empire Voice of the Book: Miriam Margolyes
27 Sep	Book nowEdinburgh, Playhouse Voice of the Book: Miriam Margolyes
28 Sep	Book nowGrimsby, Auditorium Voice of the Book: Phill Jupitus
29 Sep	Book nowIpswich, Regent Voice of the Book: Miriam Margolyes
1 Oct	Book nowAylesbury, Waterside Theatre Voice of the Book: Clive Anderson
2 Oct	Book nowBirmingham, New Alexandra Theatre Voice of the Book: John Challis
3 Oct	Book nowMalvern, Forum Theatre Voice of the Book: John Challis
4 Oct	Book NOWCambridge, Corn Exchange Voice of the Book: John Challis
5 Oct	Book NOWBillingham, Forum Theatre Voice of the Book: John Challis
7 Oct	BOOK NOWSheffield, City Hall Voice of the Book: Danny John-Jules
8 Oct	Book nowManchester, Opera House Voice of the Book: Danny John-Jules
9 Oct	Book nowManchester, Opera House Voice of the Book: Shappi Khorsandi
10 Oct	Book nowBradford, St George's Hall Voice of the Book: Graeme Garden
11 Oct	Book nowRhyl, Pavilion Theatre Voice of the Book: John Challis
14-16 Oct	Book nowBelfast, Grand Opera House Voice of the Book: Eoin Colfer (14 & 15), Rula Lenska (16 Oct)
18 Oct	BOOK NOWSt Albans, The Alban Arena Voice of the Book: Anita Dobson
20 Oct	BOOK NOWKingston, Rose Theatre Voice of the Book: Anita Dobson
21 Oct	Book nowCrawley, The Hawth Voice of the Book: Clive Anderson
22 Oct	Book nowWatford, Colosseum Voice of the Book: Clive Anderson
24 Oct	Book nowSouthport, Theatre Voice of the Book: Barry Cryer

25 Oct	Book nowPreston, Guild Hall Voice of the Book: Jon Culshaw
27 Oct	Book nowWoking, New Victoria Theatre Voice of the Book: Danny John-Jules
28 Oct	Book nowReading, The Hexagon Voice of the Book: Clive Anderson
29 Oct	Book nowReading, The Hexagon Voice of the Book: Anita Dobson
31 Oct	Book nowBuxton, Opera House Voice of the Book: Anthony Daniels
1 Nov	Book nowYork, Grand Opera House Voice of the Book: Phill Jupitus
2 Nov	Book nowScarborough, Spa Voice of the Book: Barry Cryer
3 Nov	Book nowDorking, Halls Voice of the Book: Anthony Daniels
5-6 Nov	Book NowGlasgow, Theatre Royal Voice of the Book: Bill Paterson
7 Nov	Book nowDunfermline, Alhambra Theatre Voice of the Book: Billy Boyd
9 Nov	Book nowAberdeen, Music Hall Voice of the Book: Billy Boyd
10 Nov	Book NowInverness, Eden Court Voice of the Book: Billy Boyd
13 Nov	Book NowNew Brighton, Floral Pavilion Voice of the Book: Colin Baker
14 Nov	Book nowLeeds, Grand Theatre Voice of the Book: Colin Baker
15 Nov	Book nowNottingham, Royal Concert Hall Voice of the Book: Colin Baker
16 Nov	Book NowHull, New Theatre Voice of the Book: Colin Baker
17 Nov	Book nowHalifax, Victoria Theatre Voice of the Book: Phill Jupitus
19 Nov	Book nowTorquay, Princess Theatre Voice of the Book: Colin Baker
20 Nov	Book nowHigh Wycombe, Wycombe Swan Voice of the Book: Colin Baker
21 Nov	Book nowSalisbury, City Hall Voice of the Book: Paul Gambaccini
22 Nov	Book nowBromley, Churchill Theatre Voice of the Book: John Lloyd
23 Nov	Book nowBromley, Churchill Theatre Voice of the Book: Anthony Daniels
24 Nov	Book nowPoole, Lighthouse Voice of the Book: Jon Culshaw
25 Nov	Book nowTruro, Hall for Cornwall Voice of the Book: Shappi Khorsandi
27 Nov	Book nowBrighton, Theatre Royal Voice of the Book: John Lloyd
28 Nov	Book nowBrighton, Theatre Royal Voice of the Book: Hugh Dennis
29 Nov	Book nowBasingstoke, The Anvil Voice of the Book: Danny John-Jules
30 Nov	Book nowMilton Keynes, Theatre Voice of the Book: John Lloyd